Wallace "Wally" Cleaver is a fictional character in the iconic American television sitcom Leave It to Beaver. Wally is the thirteen-year-old son of archetypal 1950s suburban parents, Ward and June Cleaver and the older brother of the seven-year-old ("almost eight") title character, Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver. The characters grew older along with the actors. Wally is portrayed in the series by Tony Dow. Dow portrays an adult Wally Cleaver in both the reunion telemovie, Still the Beaver (1983), and in the sequel series The New Leave It to Beaver (1985–1989). Child actor Paul Sullivan, however, portrays the character in the series pilot, "It's a Small World", which aired in April 1957. In the 1997 film adaptation of the original series, Leave It to Beaver, Wally is portrayed by Erik von Detten. Leave it to Beaver was created by writers Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, who found inspiration among their own children for plot lines and dialogue. Wally is based on Connelly's son, Jay. Overview Wally is the "all-American" boy. He is an intelligent, polite teenager, who is trusted by his parents, popular with his peers, and liked by his teachers. He is an athlete with track, basketball and baseball being his three favorite sports; and, he excels at all. His friends, Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford and Eddie Haskell, have a knack for getting into trouble and taking Wally along for the ride. Unlike his brother Beaver (who thinks girls are "creepy"), Wally is popular with the girls and has many girlfriends during the course of the series' run. In the later seasons, Wally has a few after school jobs and buys a used car. The humor of the character rests in Wally's teenage perspective. He occasionally makes blunt or inappropriate comments that are bewildering or embarrassing to adults. He slips into slang occasionally, which upsets his mother. He sometimes humorously regards his parents as clueless squares. His dating life is sometimes frustrating as he tries to deal with the thoughts and emotions of teenaged girls. Wally also acts as a foil to the shenanigans of Eddie and Lumpy, but sometimes reluctantly goes along with them. Wally serves as a bridge between Ward, June and Beaver. He is more astute and experienced than his brother and often puts parental communications in simpler terms for Beaver's comprehension. At other times, he clues the parents in on Beaver's activities, plans and feelings. At the age