Tony Dow, known for playing Wally Cleaver on "Leave It to Beaver," near death

Actor, director and artist Tony Dow, who is well known for playing Wally Cleaver on the sitcom "Leave It to Beaver," is near death, according to his wife, Lauren Dow.

Frank Bilotta and Renee James, Dow's management team and friends took to Facebook Tuesday morning to report the death. The post, however, was taken down, and Lauren Dow confirmed to CBS Sunday Morning that her husband is still alive and breathing, but is in hospice care.

He had been battling a re-occurrence with cancer.

Dow was born in Hollywood and began playing Wally Cleaver at age 12.

"The genius of "Leave It to Beaver" was that the show was written from a child's point of view," Dow said to CBS in an interview.

Dow tagged along with his swimming coach to an audition and got the role. 

When the show's run ended, Dow moved more into writing and directing, but continued to make appearances on shows including "The Love Boat," "Charles in Charge" and "Lassie." As a director, he helmed episodes of shows including "Coach," "Babylon 5," "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Swamp Thing."

He has since spent much of his time focusing on his artwork.