Wally Cleaver at the Louvre

Tony Dow, best known as the actor who portrayed the Beaver’s big brother, Wally, on the 1950s family TV series “Leave It to Beaver,” will soon have one of his abstract sculptures on display at the Louvre.

Yes, that Louvre, the one in “The Da Vinci Code.” But the sculpture isn’t going to be permanently installed next to the “Mona Lisa” or anything. It will be part of the annual Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts exhibition, held at the Carrousel du Louvre, an exhibition hall within the Louvre.

The three-day exhibition next month also will feature artists from Brazil, Canada, China, France, Spain and Turkey.

In addition to his work as an actor and television director, Dow, 63, has been sculpting and painting since his teens. His work has been shown at Karen Lynne Galleries Inc., with locations in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles and Boca Raton, Fla., and it was owners Robert Berger and Karen Lynne Asher who submitted his name and those of about 30 other artists as candidates for the Louvre exhibition.

“Of course I’m really proud of ‘Leave It to Beaver’ and my directing career in television,” Dow told the Associated Press. “Those are great accomplishments. I’m really proud of them, but this is interesting because I don’t think they know anything about that.”

-- Diane Haithman