https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/07/26/tony-dow-leave-to-b
eaver-wally-dead/

Tony Dow, the all-American Wally on 'Leave It to Beaver,' dies at 77

By Adam Bernstein (Washington Post)

July 26, 2022 at 12:22 p.m. EDT

Tony Dow, the actor who endeared himself to millions of TV viewers as
Wally Cleaver, the all-American big brother on the wholesome sitcom
"Leave It to Beaver," died July 26 at his home in Topanga, Calif. He
was 77.

The cause was complications from liver cancer, said his manager, Frank
Bilotta.

"Leave It to Beaver," airing from 1957 to 1963, depicted an idyllic
suburban postwar American household and became a cultural touchstone of
the baby boom generation. Hugh Beaumont was the handsome, ever-patient
father, Ward Cleaver, and Barbara Billingsley played the glamorous and
understanding matriarch, June, who vacuumed in high heels and always
tucked her boys into their beds.

Cast as the adorable title character -- the exuberant, freckle-faced
Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver -- was Jerry Mathers, who was 8 when the show
began. Mr. Dow, who was 12, played the good-natured and athletic older
son, Wally, who was developing an interest in girls. Ken Osmond had a
memorable, recurring role as Wally's insincere friend Eddie, who is
always kissing up to the adults.

The sitcom began on CBS but appeared for most of its run on the
third-place ABC network and never was a big ratings success. But thanks
to its gentle, wry humor and an appealing ensemble cast, it thrived in
syndication far longer than more popular family sitcoms of that era,
including "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," "Father Knows Best"
and "The Donna Reed Show," TV scholar Robert Thompson has noted.

With his light-brown hair, electric-blue eyes and the athletic build of
a championship diver -- which he was before joining the show -- Mr. Dow
was promoted as a teen heartthrob and received more than 1,000 fan
letters a week at the sitcom's peak. Years later, Mathers recalled Mr.
Dow as much like his "cool" character: soft-spoken, suave and possessed
of gymnastic skills that he showed off by walking up and down a flight
of stairs on his hands.

Finding that options for a former child actor were limited, Mr. Dow was
making a living on the dinner-theater circuit in the 1970s. One
producer, mounting a Kansas City production of the swinging-bachelor
farce "Boeing, Boeing," had the idea of reuniting Mr. Dow and Mathers.
To their shock, they met with packed and wildly enthusiastic audiences
for weeks.

The two actors toured in another romp, "So Long, Stanley!," for more
than a year before Hollywood producers hired them and other surviving
members of the original "Leave It to Beaver" cast -- Beaumont had died
in 1982 -- for a CBS-TV movie reunion, "Still the Beaver" (1983).

Wally was now a successful lawyer, Beaver was unemployed, divorced and
trying to cope with his own mischievous sons, and June was still
dispensing helpful household advice. The program was a ratings smash
and spawned two sitcoms, notably "The New Leave It to Beaver" on Ted
Turner's superstation, WTBS, from 1986 to 1989.

Many critics likened watching the "Beaver" revivals to entering a time
warp. But Mr. Dow defended the enduring appeal of the idealized
Cleavers amid a rapidly changing TV culture.

"When I see a show about drugs, it can be an interesting story and I
can get involved, but it doesn't have the same kind of identification
as when Beaver took his father's electric drill and made a hole in the
garage door," Mr. Dow told the Houston Chronicle in 1988. "Those kind
of stories are what make up real life, and growing up from child to
adulthood. People say the show is milk and cookies, but I disagree. I
think it's the essence of growing up."

Anthony Lee Dow was born in Hollywood on April 13, 1945, and grew up in
the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles. His mother was a onetime Mack Sennett
"Bathing Beauty" who became a body double for silent-movie star Clara
Bow and, briefly, a stunt woman in westerns. His father designed, built
and remodeled houses.

Mr. Dow said he grew up with no particular interest in show business,
focusing instead on athletics. He was a trampolinist as well as a
swimmer and a Junior Olympic and Western states diving champion. In
1956, when he was 11, he was asked by a lifeguard, an older guy with
acting ambitions, to audition with him for a family-adventure TV show
called "Johnny Wildlife."

"He thought that would help him and me get the job since I was supposed
to play his son," Mr. Dow told the New York Daily News. "He didn't get
the role, but I did." The pilot didn't sell, and Mr. Dow was soon back
to the swimming life, until the next year, when the producers of "Leave
It to Beaver" came looking for a new Wally.

The child actor from the "Beaver" pilot had an unfortunate growth
spurt, and one of the producers of "Johnny Wildlife" recommended Mr.
Dow as a replacement.

After production of "Leave It to Beaver" ended, he studied painting and
psychology at the University of California at Los Angeles, played
dramatic and comedic guest parts on various TV series, and appeared on
a daytime teenage soap opera called "Never Too Young." But after he
joined the National Guard in the mid-1960s, he said, his career
stalled. Not knowing when he might be ordered to report for active duty
made it almost impossible to make acting commitments.

Referring to a popular police show, he told the Philadelphia Inquirer,
"I did one 'Adam-12' -- I think because I was the only actor in town at
that time with short hair."

For years, he lived on a boat, made sculpture and lived on income
earned primarily by running a construction business. Despite the
perpetual airplay of "Leave It to Beaver," Mr. Dow did not grow wealthy
from the show. Because of a contract stipulation, he received residual
payments for only four years after the sitcom went into syndication.

Beginning in his 20s, he said, he began a long and gradual descent into
clinical depression. "I'd say inheritance had more to do with it than
acting," he told the Chicago Tribune. "It was an illness prevalent on
my mother's side of the family. But certainly 'Leave It to Beaver' had
something to do with it. Certainly it had something to do with raising
one's expectations and establishing a certain criteria that you would
expect to continue in life."

Attempts to get back into acting only exacerbated his dark moods. He
had played killers, single fathers and lawmen on other shows, but
casting agents could not overcome their perception of him as clean-cut
and earnest Wally. That so few people talked openly of depression
complicated his private struggle, he said, and for years, he could not
find ways to manage what he called a "self-absorbing feeling of
worthlessness, of hopelessness."

He was nearing 40 before he began to stabilize, thanks to what he
called a major improvement in available drug treatments. In frequent
speeches on mental health, Mr. Dow noted that he was "just one of
millions" who have depression. "If Wally Cleaver can be depressed," he
said, "anybody can be."

Turning away from acting to focus on other art forms also helped. He
had modest success as a sculptor, with work appearing in galleries and
international exhibitions. Starting with "The New Leave It to Beaver"
in 1988, Mr. Dow also began a career as a TV director, and his credits
included episodes of "Babylon 53 and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."

His first marriage, to Carol Marlow, ended in divorce. In 1980, he
married Lauren Shulkind, whom he met when she was working for an
advertising firm and looking for an "all-American guy" to cast in a
McDonald's commercial. In addition to his wife, survivors include a son
from his first marriage, Christopher; a brother; and a granddaughter.

In interviews, Mathers said there was a great deal of Mr. Dow in Wally,
that the character was less a performance than a reflection. He was, by
all accounts, an understated personality in a profession full of
showoffs.

"I could never understand the reaction that Jerry or I would get from
people," Mr. Dow told the Kansas City Star in 2003. "Then I was on a
plane once and I walked by this guy, and he looked really familiar to
me. I asked a stewardess, 'Who's that guy?' And she said, 'Oh, that's
[Harlem Globetrotter] Meadowlark Lemon.' And the biggest smile came
across my face.

"All of a sudden I realized what it is," he continued. "I mean, I don't
know what it is but it happened to me. I just got that warm feeling
and smiled and thought, 'You know, that's really cool.' "

Death story retracted - Tony Dow is still alive.

https://www.facebook.com/ABC7George/posts/pfbid0wHqnbdKUnHaa7RRdHGUrVpA7fja9Vk11n1XsaBe8C8whueh15efFcMj8KyxnmXE9l
George Pennacchio
Tuesday, July 26, 2022 at 3:50 PM
UPDATE: Tony Dow is still alive. I had a conversation with his wife, Lauren.. She is understandably distraught and grief-stricken about what's been going on with Tony's health battle these past months. He's been in hospice care at their home, and based on some health issues overnight, Lauren inferred that Tony had passed away to some people close to her and the word quickly spread. Lauren admits she's been "a little fuzzy" these days--understandable.
She told me she now feels "foolish" about what has transpired since his death has been reported around the world. She also told me, through her pain, "it is of my own doing." I told her we know it's been a very stressful time and people understand overwhelming grief. Lauren says she "loves and adores" her husband of 42 years with all of her heart.
While she did say he passed, she now understands the miscommunication and is sorry for causing a commotion in this challenging time.

In article <b9ce5b55-7ad9-4c86-86e1-945f0e784924n@googlegroups.com>,
Diner <bwaystars@gmail.com> wrote:

> Death story retracted - Tony Dow is still alive.
>
>
> https://www.facebook.com/ABC7George/posts/pfbid0wHqnbdKUnHaa7RRdHGUrVpA7fja9Vk
> 11n1XsaBe8C8whueh15efFcMj8KyxnmXE9l
> George Pennacchio
> Tuesday, July 26, 2022 at 3:50 PM
> UPDATE: Tony Dow is still alive. I had a conversation with his wife, Lauren.
> She is understandably distraught and grief-stricken about what's been going
> on with Tony's health battle these past months. He's been in hospice care at
> their home, and based on some health issues overnight, Lauren inferred that
> Tony had passed away to some people close to her and the word quickly spread.
> Lauren admits she's been "a little fuzzy" these days--understandable.
> She told me she now feels "foolish" about what has transpired since his death
> has been reported around the world. She also told me, through her pain, "it
> is of my own doing." I told her we know it's been a very stressful time and
> people understand overwhelming grief. Lauren says she "loves and adores" her
> husband of 42 years with all of her heart.
> While she did say he passed, she now understands the miscommunication and is
> sorry for causing a commotion in this challenging time.

This is the absolute worst Leave It to Beaver plot ever.

Why does this keep happening lately?
And then it usually turns out they were dead after all.

>> Why does this keep happening lately?
And then it usually turns out they were dead after all.

Yeah ... somebody should have '"revue'd" it.

A Friend <nope@noway.com> wrote:
> In article <b9ce5b55-7ad9-4c86-86e1-945f0e784924n@googlegroups.com>,
> Diner <bwaystars@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Death story retracted - Tony Dow is still alive.
>>
>>
>> https://www.facebook.com/ABC7George/posts/pfbid0wHqnbdKUnHaa7RRdHGUrVpA7fja9Vk
>> 11n1XsaBe8C8whueh15efFcMj8KyxnmXE9l
>> George Pennacchio
>> Tuesday, July 26, 2022 at 3:50 PM
>> UPDATE: Tony Dow is still alive. I had a conversation with his wife, Lauren.
>> She is understandably distraught and grief-stricken about what's been going
>> on with Tony's health battle these past months. He's been in hospice care at
>> their home, and based on some health issues overnight, Lauren inferred that
>> Tony had passed away to some people close to her and the word quickly spread.
>> Lauren admits she's been "a little fuzzy" these days--understandable.
>> She told me she now feels "foolish" about what has transpired since his death
>> has been reported around the world. She also told me, through her pain, "it
>> is of my own doing." I told her we know it's been a very stressful time and
>> people understand overwhelming grief. Lauren says she "loves and adores" her
>> husband of 42 years with all of her heart.
>> While she did say he passed, she now understands the miscommunication and is
>> sorry for causing a commotion in this challenging time.
>
>
> This is the absolute worst Leave It to Beaver plot ever.

Not,however a result of anything being left to Jerry Mathers.

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.

On Tuesday, July 26, 2022 at 10:00:14 PM UTC-5, Louis Epstein wrote:
> A Friend <no...@noway.com> wrote:
> > In article <b9ce5b55-7ad9-4c86...@googlegroups.com>,
> > Diner <bway...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Death story retracted - Tony Dow is still alive.
> >>
> >>
> >> https://www.facebook.com/ABC7George/posts/pfbid0wHqnbdKUnHaa7RRdHGUrVpA7fja9Vk
> >> 11n1XsaBe8C8whueh15efFcMj8KyxnmXE9l
> >> George Pennacchio
> >> Tuesday, July 26, 2022 at 3:50 PM
> >> UPDATE: Tony Dow is still alive. I had a conversation with his wife, Lauren.
> >> She is understandably distraught and grief-stricken about what's been going
> >> on with Tony's health battle these past months. He's been in hospice care at
> >> their home, and based on some health issues overnight, Lauren inferred that
> >> Tony had passed away to some people close to her and the word quickly spread.
> >> Lauren admits she's been "a little fuzzy" these days--understandable.
> >> She told me she now feels "foolish" about what has transpired since his death
> >> has been reported around the world. She also told me, through her pain, "it
> >> is of my own doing." I told her we know it's been a very stressful time and
> >> people understand overwhelming grief. Lauren says she "loves and adores" her
> >> husband of 42 years with all of her heart.
> >> While she did say he passed, she now understands the miscommunication and is
> >> sorry for causing a commotion in this challenging time.

> Not,however a result of anything being left to Jerry Mathers.
>
Fake, off-again-on-again death reports? Gee, Beav, the guys are really gonna give me the business!
https://bilottagallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_2409-scaled.jpg

So...

This premature obit instance for Tony Dow brings to mind a dusty memory from the last century: didn't at some point during the '70s or '80s a persistent rumor start circulating that Jerry Mathers--perhaps under another name?--had served in Vietnam and been killed in action? That silliness may have even made it into print in a few marginally-legit publications.

Thus the question: Is there another series in television history where more than one leading--or even supporting--actor or actress was falsely reported dead?

The late Tanya Roberts was certainly a victim of it, but I don't think David Doyle, John Forsythe or any of her five fellow Angels had it happen, at least yet.

BRYAN STYBLE/Florida

And now it's official.

https://www.facebook.com/TonyDowActorDirector/posts/pfbid0ZrqHaW2DbWmo7UcSM37goqzJBnyiLHJQM2ofFtwjP6d2pBHeYN4gmjihxiLyZXBl
Tony Dow
Wednesday, July 27, 2022 at 3:24 PM

Dear Family, Friends, & Fans
We have received confirmation from Christopher, Tony’s son, that Tony passed away earlier this morning, with his loving family at his side to see him through this journey.
We know that the world is collectively saddened by the loss of this incredible man. He gave so much to us all and was loved by so many. One fan said it best—“It is rare when there is a person who is so universally loved like Tony.”
Our heart goes out to Tony’s wife, Lauren, who will miss her soulmate of 42 years…To his son, Christopher, who will dearly miss his father, who was also his best friend…to his daughter-in-law, Melissa, who loved him like her own father…To his Granddaughter, Tyla, who will undoubtedly carry on her Grandfather’s kind soul, To his Brother Dion and Sister-in-Law, Judy, and to all of his extended family and friends. Words cannot express how much we will all feel his absence, but will cherish the memories he left to each and every one of us.
Christopher has stated: Although this is a very sad day, I have comfort and peace that he is in a better place. He was the best Dad anyone could ask for. He was my coach, my mentor, my voice of reason, my best friend, my best man in my wedding, and my hero. My wife said something powerful and shows the kind of man he was. She said: “Tony was such a kind man. He had such a huge heart and I’ve never heard Tony say a bad or negative thing about anyone.”
We respectfully ask that everyone give the family privacy in their time of mourning.

ADDENDUM:

Actually, dead Charle's Angel Farrah Fawcett had pretty much the OPPOSITE of a false-media-obit occur to her:

Fawcett died for real quite early on Thursday, June 25, 2009, yet JUST ABOUT NO ONE NOTICED because a certain darling and tuneful pal of Oprah's expired only hours later, and the world catapulted into Diana crash-style sob-to-sob coverage and other than Ryan O'Neal, nobody seemed to care a whit about the Texas beauty's ugly cancer demise.

STYBLE/Florida

On 7/27/2022 3:46 PM, radioacti...@gmail.com wrote:

>
> Thus the question: Is there another series in television history where more than one leading--or even supporting--actor or actress was falsely reported dead?

Bob Hope
In 1998, five years before his death, a prepared obituary written by the
Associated Press was inadvertently released, resulting in Hope's death
being announced on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In article <89addee2-747c-457e-9134-acd71e5c4877n@googlegroups.com>,
<"radioacti...@gmail.com"> wrote:

> ADDENDUM:
>
> Actually, dead Charle's Angel Farrah Fawcett had pretty much the OPPOSITE of
> a false-media-obit occur to her:
>
> Fawcett died for real quite early on Thursday, June 25, 2009, yet JUST ABOUT
> NO ONE NOTICED because a certain darling and tuneful pal of Oprah's

That was Michael Jackson, a world-class celebrity and not merely
"Oprah's pal."

> expired only hours later, and the world catapulted into Diana
> crash-style sob-to-sob coverage and other than Ryan O'Neal, nobody
> seemed to care a whit about the Texas beauty's ugly cancer demise.
>
> STYBLE/Florida

For Christ's sake, Styble, Michael Jackson's unexpected death was major
news. Major interrupt-the-network, stop-the-presses news, important
enough even to interrupt the cartoons you were watching. Fawcett's
death had been anticipated for months because of her illness.

An example from the real world most of us live in would be the death of
Sammy Davis Jr, which had been long expected due to his illness. The
news of his death was eclipsed by Jim Henson's, which came as a shock.

Well, my oblique reference to Michael Jackson--of whom I remain a huge fan, and was a general defender of on local radio airwaves in several cities in the wake of his massively unfortunate scandal--was simply a stylistic thing; just as even we non-believers are counseled to never invoke the name of G-d, so I too avoid voicing the names of certain titans of culture, which Jackson certainly was.

Now to address your larger point: to wit, that my analyses I were completely discounting the shock factor.

And you're RIGHT. That is a HUGE consideration which I completely left out of each of my cultural calculus here. And it would be an inexcusable lapse even if I was another mere worldwide-web loudmouth, but I am proud that for decades I was a professional newsman of one sort or another on radio and television, and in print.

Thanks for setting me straight.

BRYAN STYBLE/Florida

Turd Ferguson <tferg@snl.com> wrote:
> On 7/27/2022 3:46 PM, radioacti...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>>
>> Thus the question: Is there another series in television history where more than one leading--or even supporting--actor or actress was falsely reported dead?
>
> Bob Hope
> In 1998, five years before his death, a prepared obituary written by the
> Associated Press was inadvertently released, resulting in Hope's death
> being announced on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
>

(By a representative who wound up dying shortly before Hope).

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.

In article <66a5771a-5907-4c27-ab86-f2266b101d05n@googlegroups.com>,
<"radioacti...@gmail.com"> wrote:

> Well, my oblique reference to Michael Jackson--of whom I remain a huge fan,
> and was a general defender of on local radio airwaves in several cities in
> the wake of his massively unfortunate scandal--was simply a stylistic thing;
> just as even we non-believers are counseled to never invoke the name of G-d,
> so I too avoid voicing the names of certain titans of culture, which Jackson
> certainly was.
>
> Now to address your larger point: to wit, that my analyses I were completely
> discounting the shock factor.
>
> And you're RIGHT. That is a HUGE consideration which I completely left out
> of each of my cultural calculus here. And it would be an inexcusable lapse
> even if I was another mere worldwide-web loudmouth, but I am proud that for
> decades I was a professional newsman of one sort or another on radio and
> television, and in print.
>
> Thanks for setting me straight.
>
> BRYAN STYBLE/Florida

From one old news wreck to another, you're welcome.

> > In 1998, five years before his death, a prepared obituary written by the
> > Associated Press was inadvertently released, resulting in Hope's death
> > being announced on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

I seem to remember Julie Strain being announced publicly to have died, to be retracted a week later for her to "really" die a year later.

In article <a324c246-ddc0-483a-8cf1-28bf1eb2c914n@googlegroups.com>,
<"radioacti...@gmail.com"> wrote:

> This premature obit instance for Tony Dow brings to mind a dusty memory from
> the last century: didn't at some point during the '70s or '80s a persistent
> rumor start circulating that Jerry Mathers--perhaps under another name?--had
> served in Vietnam and been killed in action? That silliness may have even
> made it into print in a few marginally-legit publications.

Mathers had appeared at the Emmys as a presenter, dressed in his (I
think) USAF uniform. That's about when the rumors about his death
started. When the undead Mathers kept showing up on TV, the rumor
transferred to the younger kid on the Flipper series. He's still alive
AFAIK.

On 7/27/2022 7:11 PM, A Friend wrote:
>
> Mathers had appeared at the Emmys as a presenter, dressed in his (I
> think) USAF uniform. That's about when the rumors about his death
> started. When the undead Mathers kept showing up on TV, the rumor
> transferred to the younger kid on the Flipper series. He's still alive
> AFAIK.

Snopes is mostly crap these days, but I remember they covered this years
ago back when they actually wrote about urban legends.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/believe-it-to-beaver/

Also
https://factsverse.com/was-jerry-beaver-mathers-killed-in-vietnam/

I think I may have answered my own tabled question about TV series with multiple instances of premature obits for its cast: Leave It To Beaver had this happen as explicated herein for the very-living Jerry Mathers and then for the late Tony Dow.

But what about the late Ken Osmond?

For just as Mathers was (apparently) confused with some other Mathers who DID make it to Vietnam, so was former actor Osmond erroneously rumored to have been moonlighting as his doppelgänger, the porn pioneer John Holmes..

And as everyone remembers, Holmes was a witness to the Wonderland quadruple-murder, and ended up dying of AIDS at the Westwood V.A. facility (on Sunday, March 13, 1988, six days after fellow underground film star Devine expired, as it happened).

So that makes three for LITB; hard to imagine any series topping that.

BRYAN STYBLE/Florida

On Wed, 27 Jul 2022 15:43:54 -0700 (PDT), "radioacti...@gmail.com"
<radioactiveseattle@gmail.com> wrote:

>just as even we non-believers are counseled to never invoke the name of G-d,

1. The Bible says "don't use God's name in vain," i.e. don't use it
casually. That's very different from "never write the word God, but if you
do have to, misspell it," which is a uniquely Jewish teaching.

2. You refer to God more than anyone else I know of on Usenet.

3. You may like to refer to yourself as a "non-believer," and you may even
think of yourself as one, but your own words betray you. Rush Limbaugh
even figured out you weren't really an atheist just from talking to you on
the air for a few seconds.

On 7/29/2022 9:26 AM, David Carson wrote:
> On Wed, 27 Jul 2022 15:43:54 -0700 (PDT), "radioacti...@gmail.com"
> <radioactiveseattle@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> just as even we non-believers are counseled to never invoke the name of G-d,
>
> 1. The Bible says "don't use God's name in vain," i.e. don't use it
> casually. That's very different from "never write the word God, but if you
> do have to, misspell it," which is a uniquely Jewish teaching.

That, of course, is not at all a Jewish
teaching, unique or otherwise. There
is no such "never write the word..."
prohibition. As has been repeatedly
explained here over the years, the use
of the hyphen or of substitute letters
(the latter similar to spoken use when
not in actual prayer) is to prevent a
desecration of the name by writing it
on a piece of paper which will likely
end up being torn, having liquid spilled
on it, and/or being tossed in the trash,
mingled then or subsequently with more
offensive waste. You'll find the name
routinely spelled out in full in prayer
books, Bibles, scholarly texts and other
documents which, if damaged beyond
utility, are then given a proper burial
in a Jewish cemetery. Naturally there
is the argument that this is not a
concern on computers where if typed on
a screen the word simply vanishes once
the screen is turned off, but the counter
is that screen images can be output to
paper or other physical carriers and so
the same care should be taken as with
physical writing.

radioacti...@gmail.com <radioactiveseattle@gmail.com> wrote:
> Well, my oblique reference to Michael Jackson--of whom I remain a huge fan, and
> was a general defender of on local radio airwaves in several cities in the wake
> of his massively unfortunate scandal--was simply a stylistic thing; just as even
> we non-believers are counseled to never invoke the name of G-d, so I too avoid
> voicing the names of certain titans of culture, which Jackson certainly was.

Refer to my recent remarks on the death of Michael James Jackson who was not
the Michael James Jackson referred to at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jackson_(disambiguation) .

> Now to address your larger point: to wit, that my analyses I were completely discounting the shock factor.
>
> And you're RIGHT. That is a HUGE consideration which I completely left out of each of my cultural calculus here. And it would be an inexcusable lapse even if I was another mere worldwide-web loudmouth, but I am proud that for decades I was a professional newsman of one sort or another on radio and television, and in print.
>
> Thanks for setting me straight.
>
> BRYAN STYBLE/Florida

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.

David Carson <davo@neosoft.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 27 Jul 2022 15:43:54 -0700 (PDT), "radioacti...@gmail.com"
> <radioactiveseattle@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>just as even we non-believers are counseled to never invoke the name of G-d,
>
> 1. The Bible says "don't use God's name in vain," i.e. don't use it
> casually. That's very different from "never write the word God, but if you
> do have to, misspell it," which is a uniquely Jewish teaching.
I have never understood the attempts to apply this Jewish teaching
to the English language...I can understand the imputation of
unspeakable sacredness to the Tetragrammation,the particular name
of God expressed by the four Hebrew characters beginning with "Yod"
that the "Bible Students" (later "Witnesses") inspired by the poor
prognostications of Charles Taze Russell exuberantly mispronounce
at every opportunity,but just as the Tanakh refers to the Almighty
by other names,I regard the specific sacredness as "lost in translation"
since other words for the Almighty are indeed,OTHER words for the Almighty.

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.

"Heeey Wally?" "Yeah Beav?" "Hey Wally, well, I miss you." "I miss you
too Beav." "Was it creepy and scary?" "Ah heck no, Beav, it was ...
peaceful." "What's it like Wally?" "Well, it's a lot like Mayfield."
"Mom and dad are here, Lumpy, heck, even that creep Eddie Haskell is
here." "Really? Eddie got in?" "Yeah, I guess they took pity on him."
"There's even a malt shop, me and all the guys and girls hang out
after the Friday night game." "You get to play football and basketball
too?" "Heck ya Beav and the the best part is, no one gets hurt." "Gee
Wally, I can't wait to come there." "Well Beaver, you have time, but
when you do, Mom, dad and me will be waiting."