Dick Van Dyke Biography

Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, comedian, writer, singer, dancer, and producer with a career spanning seven decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke and father of Barry Van Dyke. Van Dyke starred in the films Bye Bye Birdie, Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and in the TV series The Dick Van Dyke Show and Diagnosis: Murder. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard. Van Dyke received The Life Achievement Award at the annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony on January 27, 2013.

Life and career

Early and personal life

Van Dyke was born in West Plains, Missouri, to Loren (nickname "Cookie") and Hazel (née McCord) Van Dyke, but he grew up in Danville, Illinois. He is the older brother of actor Jerry Van Dyke, who is best known for his role on the TV series Coach. His grandson, Shane Van Dyke, is also an actor and directed Titanic II. He is of Dutch descent on his father's side; his mother was a descendant of Mayflower passenger Peter Browne from England.

During World War II, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps where he became a radio announcer, later transferring to the Special Services entertaining troops in the Continental United States. In 1948, while Van Dyke was appearing at the Chapman Park Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, he and the former Margerie Willett were married on the radio show Bride and Groom. They had four children: Christian (Chris), Barry, Carrie Beth, and Stacy. They divorced in 1984 after a long separation. He lived with longtime companion Michelle Triola for more than 30 years, until her death in 2009. Van Dyke's son Barry Van Dyke and grandsons Shane Van Dyke and Carey Van Dyke are also actors; both of these last two, along with other Van Dyke relations and grandchildren, appeared in various episodes of the long-running series Diagnosis: Murder. Although Stacey Van Dyke was not famous in show business, she did make an appearance in a Christmas episode "Murder in the Family" of Diagnosis: Murder (Season 4, Episode 12) as Carol Sloan Hilton, the estranged daughter of Doctor Mark Sloan. "All of Van Dyke's children are married and he has seven grandchildren. His son, Chris, was district attorney for Marion County, Oregon, in the 1980s. In 1987, his granddaughter Jessica Van Dyke died from Reye's syndrome, which drove him to do a series of television commercials to raise public awareness of the danger of aspirin to children.

In 2010, he said he had once been rescued by a pod of dolphins as he was drifting out to sea and saved from possible death.

On February 29, 2012, Van Dyke married make-up artist Arlene Silver, 40. They had met six years previously at the SAG awards.

Van Dyke was a heavy cigarette smoker for most of his life. He has been using Nicorette gum since 2003.

In April 2013, Van Dyke revealed that he has been displaying symptoms of a neurological disorder since 2006, but despite undergoing tests no diagnosis has been made. He had to cancel scheduled appearances due to this unspecified neurological illness. In May 2013, the actor stated that his titanium dental implants were responsible.

On August 19, 2013, it was reported that Van Dyke, age 87, was rescued from inside his Jaguar by a passerby as the actor's car caught fire on a Los Angeles-area highway. He was not injured in the fire. The car burned down to its frame.

Radio and stage career

During the late 1940s, Van Dyke was a radio DJ in Danville, Illinois. In 1947, Van Dyke was persuaded by Phil Erickson to form a comedy duo with him called "Eric and Van"?the Merry Mutes." The team toured the West Coast nightclub circuit, performing a mime act and lip synching to old 78 records. They brought their act to Atlanta, Georgia, in the early 1950s and performed a local television show featuring original skits and music called "The Merry Mutes".

In November 1959, Van Dyke made his Broadway debut in The Girls Against the Boys. He then played the lead role of Albert Peterson in Bye Bye Birdie, which ran from April 14, 1960 to Oct 7, 1961. In a May 2011 interview with Rachael Ray, Van Dyke noted that when he auditioned for a smaller part in the show he had no dance experience, and that after he sang his audition song he did an impromptu soft-shoe out of sheer nervousness. Gower Champion, the show's director and choreographer, was watching, and promptly went up on stage to inform Van Dyke he had the lead. An astonished Van Dyke protested that he could not dance, to which Champion replied "We'll teach you". That musical won four Tony awards including Van Dyke's Best Featured Actor Tony, in 1961. In 1980, Van Dyke appeared as the title role in The Music Man on Broadway.

Television career

Dick Van Dyke's start in television was with WDSU-TV New Orleans Channel 6 (NBC), first as a single comedian and later as emcee of a comedy program. Van Dyke's first network TV appearance was with Dennis James on James' Chance of a Lifetime in 1954. He later appeared in two episodes of The Phil Silvers Show during its 1957"1958 season. He also appeared early in his career on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom and NBC's The Polly Bergen Show. During this time a friend from the Army was working as an executive for CBS television and recommended Van Dyke to that network. Out of this came a seven-year contract with the network. During an interview on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! program, Van Dyke said he was the anchorman for the CBS morning show during this period with Walter Cronkite as his newsman.

From 1961 to 1966, Van Dyke starred in the CBS sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, in which he portrayed a comedy writer named Rob Petrie. Originally the show was supposed to have Carl Reiner as the lead but CBS insisted on recasting and Reiner chose Van Dyke to replace him in the role. Complementing Van Dyke was a veteran cast of comic actors including Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Jerry Paris, Ann Morgan Guilbert, Richard Deacon, and Carl Reiner (as Alan Brady), as well as television newcomer Mary Tyler Moore, who played Rob's wife, Laura Petrie. Van Dyke won three Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and the series received four Emmy Awards as Outstanding Comedy Series.

From 1971 to 1974, Van Dyke starred in an unrelated sitcom called The New Dick Van Dyke Show in which he starred as a local television talk show host. He received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance but the show was less successful than its predecessor, and Van Dyke pulled the plug on the show after just three seasons. In 1973, Van Dyke voiced his animated likeness for the October 27, 1973 installment of Hanna-Barbera's The New Scooby-Doo Movies, "Scooby-Doo Meets Dick Van Dyke," the series' final first-run episode. The following year, he received an Emmy Award nomination for his role as an alcoholic businessman in the television movie The Morning After (1974). Van Dyke revealed after its release that he had recently overcome a real-life drinking problem. He admits he was an alcoholic for 25 years. That same year he guest-starred as a murdering photographer on an episode of Columbo, Negative Reaction. Van Dyke returned to comedy in 1976 with the sketch comedy show Van Dyke and Company, which co-starred Andy Kaufman and Super Dave Osborne. Despite being canceled after three months, the show won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy-Variety Series. After a few guest appearances on the long-running comedy-variety series The Carol Burnett Show, Van Dyke became a regular on the show, in the fall of 1977. However, he only appeared in half of the episodes of the final season. For the next decade he appeared mostly in TV movies. One atypical role was as a murdering judge on the second episode of the TV series Matlock in 1986 starring Andy Griffith. In 1989, he guest-starred on the NBC comedy series The Golden Girls portraying a lover of Beatrice Arthur's character. This role earned him his first Emmy Award nomination since 1977.

His film work affected his TV career: the reviews he received for his role as D.A. Fletcher in Dick Tracy led him to star first as the character Dr. Mark Sloan in an episode of Jake and the Fatman, then in a series of TV movies on CBS that became the foundation for his popular television drama Diagnosis: Murder. The series ran from 1993 to 2001 with son Barry Van Dyke co-starring in the role of Dr. Sloan's son Lieutenant Detective Steve Sloan. Also starring on the same show was a familiar daytime soap actress, Victoria Rowell, as Dr. Sloan's pathologist/medical partner, Dr. Amanda Bentley, and an unfamiliar character actor and lifelong Van Dyke fan, Charlie Schlatter, in the role of Dr. Sloan's handsome, resident student, Dr. Jesse Travis. Van Dyke continued to find television work after the show ended, including a dramatically and critically successful performance of The Gin Game, produced for television in 2003 that reunited him with Mary Tyler Moore. In 2003, he portrayed a doctor on Scrubs. A 2004 special of The Dick Van Dyke Show titled The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited was heavily promoted as the first new episode of the classic series to be shown in 38 years. Van Dyke and his surviving cast members recreated their roles; the program was roundly panned by critics. In 2006 he guest-starred as college professor Dr. Jonathan Maxwell for a series of Murder 101 mystery films on the Hallmark Channel.

Film career

Van Dyke began his film career by playing the role of Albert J. Peterson in the film version of Bye Bye Birdie (1963). Despite his unhappiness with the adaptation—its focus differed from the stage version— the film was a success. That same year, Van Dyke was cast in two roles: as the chimney sweep Bert, and as Mr. Dawes Senior, the chairman of the bank in Walt Disney's Mary Poppins (1964). For his scenes as the chairman, he was heavily costumed to look much older, and was credited in that role as "Nackvid Keyd" (at the end of the credits, the letters unscramble into "Dick Van Dyke"). Van Dyke's attempt at a cockney accent has been decried as one of the worst accents in film history, cited by actors since as an example of how not to sound. In a 2003 poll by Empire magazine of the worst-ever accents in film, he came in second. According to Van Dyke, his accent coach was Irish, who "didn't do an accent any better than I did." Still, Mary Poppins was successful upon release and its enduring appeal has made it one of the most famous films of all time. "Chim Chim Cher-ee", one of the songs that Van Dyke performed in Mary Poppins, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the Sherman Brothers, the film's songwriting duo.

Many of the comedy films Van Dyke starred in throughout the 1960s were relatively unsuccessful at the box office, including What a Way to Go!, Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N., Fitzwilly, The Art of Love, Some Kind of a Nut, Never a Dull Moment, and Divorce American Style. But he also starred (with his native accent, despite the English setting) in the successful musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), which co-starred Sally Ann Howes and featured songs by the Sherman Brothers, and choreography by Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood. The Sherman Brothers, Breaux, and Wood were also songsmiths and choreographers for Mary Poppins.

In 1969, Van Dyke appeared in the comedy-drama The Comic, written and directed by Carl Reiner. Van Dyke portrayed a self-destructive silent-film era comedian who struggles with alcoholism, depression, and his own rampant ego. Reiner wrote the film especially for Van Dyke, who often spoke of his admiration for silent-film era comedians such as Charlie Chaplin and his hero Stan Laurel. Twenty-one years later in 1990, Van Dyke, whose usual role had been the amiable hero, took a small but villainous turn as the crooked D.A. Fletcher in Warren Beatty's film Dick Tracy. Van Dyke returned to motion pictures in 2006 with Curious George as Mr. Bloomsberry and as villain Cecil Fredericks in the Ben Stiller film Night at the Museum. He reprised the role in a cameo for the sequel, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian but it was cut from the film. It can be found in the special features on the DVD release.

Other projects

Van Dyke received a Grammy Award in 1964, along with Julie Andrews, for his performance on the soundtrack to Mary Poppins. In 1970, he published Faith, Hope and Hilarity: A Child's Eye View of Religion a book of humorous anecdotes based largely on his experiences as a Sunday School teacher. Van Dyke was principal in "KXIV Inc." and owned 1400 AM KXIV in Phoenix (later KSUN) from 1965 to 1985. KXIV was at one time an applicant for an FM station in the same area.

As an a cappella enthusiast, Van Dyke has sung in a group called "The Vantastix" since September 2000. The quartet has performed several times in Los Angeles as well as on Larry King Live, The First Annual TV Land Awards, and sang the national anthem at three Los Angeles Lakers games including a nationally televised NBA Finals performance on NBC. Van Dyke was made an honorary member of the Barbershop Harmony Society in 1999.

Van Dyke became a computer animation enthusiast after purchasing a Commodore Amiga in 1991. He is credited with the creation of 3D-rendered effects used on Diagnosis: Murder and The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited. Van Dyke has displayed his computer-generated imagery work at SIGGRAPH, and continues to work with LightWave 3D.

In 2010, Van Dyke appeared on a children's album titled Rhythm Train, with Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and singer Leslie Bixler. Van Dyke raps on one of the album's tracks.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	Bye Bye Birdie	Albert F. Peterson
1964	What a Way to Go!	Edgar Hopper
	Mary Poppins	Bert/Mr. Dawes, Senior	Nominated: Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1965	The Art of Love	Paul Sloane/Toulouse aka Picasso
1966	Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N.	Lt. Robin Crusoe	Won: Laurel Award for Male Comedy Performance
1967	Divorce American Style	Richard Harmon
	Fitzwilly	Claude R. Fitzwilliam
1968	Never a Dull Moment	Jack Albany
	Chitty Chitty Bang Bang	Caractacus Potts
1969	Some Kind of a Nut	Fred Amidon
	The Comic	Billy Bright
1971	Cold Turkey	Rev. Clayton Brooks
1976	Tubby the Tuba	Tubby the Tuba	Voice
1979	The Runner Stumbles	Father Brian Rivard
1990	Dick Tracy	D.A. Fletcher
2001	Walt " The Man Behind the Myth	Narrator/himself	Voice
2005	Batman: New Times	Commissioner Gordon	Voice
2006	Curious George	Mr. Bloomsberry	Voice
	Night at the Museum	Cecil Fredricks
2009	Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian	Cecil Fredricks	Scenes deleted*

*Note: Although he is not seen in the regular release of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Dick Van Dyke's work can be seen in the "Deleted Scenes" section of the film's DVD, along with Bill Cobbs and Mickey Rooney.

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1955"56	The Morning Show	Host	CBS
1956	CBS Cartoon Theater	Host
1956"57	To Tell the Truth	Panelist	5 episodes
1957"58	The Phil Silvers Show	Pvt. Lumpkin / Pvt. 'Swifty' Bilko	2 episodes
1958	The Chevy Showroom Starring Andy Williams	Himself
1958"59	Mother's Day	Host
1959	Laugh Line	Host	Canceled after 3 months
1961"66	The Dick Van Dyke Show	Rob Petrie	Emmy Awards for: Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Series (1964), Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment (1965), Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series (1966)
1969	Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman	Himself	Special (with Mary Tyler Moore)
1970	Dick Van Dyke Meets Bill Cosby	Himself	Special
1971"74	The New Dick Van Dyke Show	Dick Preston	Nominated: Golden Globe Award for Best TV Actor " Musical/Comedy
1973	The New Scooby-Doo Movies	Himself	Voice
1974	Julie and Dick at Covent Garden	Himself	With Julie Andrews
	Columbo	Paul Galesko	"Negative Reaction"
	The Morning After	Charlie Lester	Nominated: Emmy for Best Lead Actor in a Drama
1976	Van Dyke and Company	Himself	Won: Emmy for Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New TV Program
	Lola!	Cast member	TV series
1977	The Carol Burnett Show	Cast member	11 episodes
1979	Supertrain	Waldo Chase	Episode: "And a Cup of Kindness Too"
1981	True Life Stories	Charlie	Documentary
	Harry's Battles	Harry Fitzsimmons	Unsold 1/2 hour pilot
	How to Eat Like a Child	Himself	Special
1982	The Country Girl	Frank Elgin	Movie
	Drop-Out Father	Ed McCall	Movie
1983	CBS Library	Father (voice)	Episode: "Wrong Way Kid" Emmy for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming
	Found Money	Max Sheppard	Movie
1985	American Playhouse	Les Dischinger	Episode: "Breakfast with Les and Bess"
1986	Strong Medicine	Sam Hawthorne	Movie
	Matlock	Judge Carter Addison	Episode: "The Judge"
1987	Ghost of a Chance	Bill Nolan	Movie
	Highway to Heaven	Wally Dunn	Episode: "Wally"
	Airwolf	Malduke	Episode: Malduke
1988	The Van Dyke Show	Dick Burgess	10 episodes
1989	The Golden Girls	Ken	Episode: "Love Under the Big Top" Nominated: Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
1991	Daughters of Privilege	Buddy Keys	Movie
	Jake and the Fatman	Dr. Mark Sloan	Episode: "It Never Entered My Mind"
1992	Diagnosis Of Murder	Dr. Mark Sloan	Diagnosis Murder movie
	The House on Sycamore Street	Dr. Mark Sloan	Diagnosis Murder movie
1993	The Town That Santa Forgot	Narrator/Old Jeremy Creek	Voice
	A Twist of the Knife	Dr. Mark Sloan	Diagnosis Murder movie
1993" 2001	Diagnosis: Murder	Dr. Mark Sloan	178 Episodes
1995	Coach	Luthor Van Dam's Cousin (uncredited)	Episode: "Christmas of the Van Damned"
1999	Becker	Fred Becker	Episode: "Becker the Elder"
2000	Sabrina, the Teenage Witch	Duke	Episode: "Welcome Back, Duke"
2002	A Town Without Pity	Dr. Mark Sloan	Diagnosis Murder Movie
	Without Warning	Dr. Mark Sloan	Diagnosis Murder Movie
2003	The Gin Game	Weller Martin	Movie
	The Alan Brady Show	Webb	Voice
	Scrubs	Dr. Townshend	Episode: "My Brother, My Keeper"
2004	The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited	Rob Petrie	Movie
2006	Murder 101	Dr. Jonathan Maxwell	Movie
2007	Murder 101: If Wishes Were Horses	Dr. Jonathan Maxwell	Movie
2007	Murder 101: College Can Be Murder	Dr. Jonathan Maxwell	Movie
2008	Murder 101: The Locked Room Mystery	Dr. Jonathan Maxwell	Movie
2010	The Bonnie Hunt Show	Himself
2010, 2011	The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson	Himself	2 episodes
2011	Rachael Ray	Himself
2012	The Doctors	Himself
	Fun with Dick and Jerry Van Dyke	Himself	TV movie

Other works

Stage

• The Girls Against the Boys (November 2, 1959 – November 14, 1959)
• Bye Bye Birdie (April 14, 1960 – October 7, 1961) (left the show when it moved to the Shubert Theatre)
• The Music Man (June 5, 1980 – June 22, 1980) (Revival)
• Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life (guest star from January 24, 2006 – January 26, 2006)

Albums

• Bye Bye Birdie (Original Cast Album) (1960)
• Bye Bye Birdie (Soundtrack) (1963)
• Mary Poppins (Soundtrack) (1964)
• Songs I Like By Dick Van Dyke (with Enoch Light & his Orchestra/Ray Charles Singers) (1963)
• Put on a Happy Face (with Dick Van Dyke and The Vantastix) (2008)
• Rhythm Train (with Leslie Bixler and Chad Smith) (2010)

Books

• (Van Dyke's memoir)