Dick Van Dyke Biography
Summary
"Richard Wayne 'Dick' Van Dyke" (born December 13, 1925) is an Emmy-Award winning American actor of film, stage, and screen, comedian and dancer. He is known for his starring roles in "Mary Poppins", "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", "The Dick Van Dyke Show" in the 1960s, and "Diagnosis: Murder" as Dr. Mark Sloan in the 1990s. He recently played the role of Cecil Fredericks in "Night at the Museum".
Biography
Early life
Van Dyke was born in West Plains, Missouri, and grew up in Danville, Illinois, the son of Hazel Vorice McCord, and of Loren Wayne Van Dyke, a traveling salesman for the Sunshine Biscuit Company with a talent for comedy. He attended elementary school in Danville, starting in 1931. In 1938 the Van Dykes, of ancient Dutch origin (originally Van Dijk), moved to Crawfordsville, Indiana, for two years, and returned to Danville in 1940 where he attended high school. As a child, he was inspired to go into show business by watching Laurel & Hardy films at the movie theater. After appearing in many high school plays and community theatre productions, Van Dyke enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. There he participated in stage shows and worked as a radio DJ.
Television career
Dick Van Dyke starred in a popular situational comedy called "The Dick Van Dyke Show", from 1961-1966 in which he played a comedy writer named Rob Petrie. From 1971-1974, Van Dyke starred in an unrelated sitcom called the "The New Dick Van Dyke Show" in which he portrayed a local television talk show host. In 1988, he starred in a short-lived sitcom called the "The Van Dyke Show" in which he portrayed a retired Broadway Star. From 1993-2001 he portrayed Dr. Mark Sloane in the long running television series "Diagnosis Murder", a medical/crime drama.
He also has made many guest appearances on other television programs throughout his lengthy career.
Film career
Van Dyke began his film career by reprising his stage role in the film version of "Bye Bye Birdie" in 1963. Although Van Dyke was unhappy with the adaptation because the focus was shifted to Ann-Margret's character, the film was a major success. He followed that up with Walt Disney's "Mary Poppins" in 1964, in which he played Bert, a Cockney chimney sweep, and also, in heavy disguise, the bank's elderly chairman. Van Dyke's attempt at a cockney accent (lapsing out of it at times) was nonetheless widely ridiculed and is still frequently parodied. It is still often cited as one of the worst attempts at a British accent by an American actor, a fact acknowledged with good humour by Van Dyke himself on the 2004 DVD release of the film. But the film was very popular and innovative and also showed his versatility as a singer and dancer. One of his showcase songs, 'Chim Chim Cher-ee', won the Oscar for the Sherman Brothers, the film's songwriting team.
Van Dyke made several more comedy movies throughout the 1960s including "What a Way to Go!", "Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N.", "Fitzwilly", "The Art of Love", "Never a Dull Moment", and "Divorce American Style". Although most of his movies from this era were relatively unsuccessful, the film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" was a worldwide success and is still fondly remembered today. In later years, Van Dyke would complain that he had 'never made a good movie'.
Dramatic roles and career comeback
In 1969, Van Dyke appeared in the comedy-drama "The Comic", which was written and directed by Carl Reiner. Van Dyke plays a silent-film era comedian who struggles with alcoholism and depression. Reiner wrote the film especially for Van Dyke, who would often talk of his admiration for silent film era comedians such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Ben Turpin and his hero, Stan Laurel. He also began starring in a series of commercials as a spokesperson for Kodak.
In 1971, Van Dyke starred with Hope Lange in another sitcom called "The New Dick Van Dyke Show". In it, he played Dick Preston, a local talk show host in Phoenix, Arizona. Van Dyke was living in Arizona at the time and the show was filmed there. Despite airing for three seasons, the show was not as popular as his previous series had been.
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' (aka 'The Haunted Carnival'), the series' final first run episode.
In 1974, Van Dyke received wide acclaim and an Emmy nomination for his role as an alcoholic businessman in the television movie "The Morning After". Regarded by many as the most realistic television film ever made dealing with alcoholism, it is sometimes shown at treatment centers. The final scene in particular is regarded by many as chilling and unforgettable. It was at this time that Van Dyke admitted he had recently overcome a real-life drinking problem.
In 1975, he played another atypical role as a murdering photographer in an episode of the popular series "Columbo". He also began doing public service announcements for the National Fire Protection Agency through 1984. Van Dyke returned to comedy in 1976 with the sketch comedy show "Van Dyke and Company" which also starred Andy Kaufman and Super Dave Osborne. Despite being cancelled after only three months, the show won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy-Variety Series, beating "Saturday Night Live". In 1977, Van Dyke then joined the cast of "The Carol Burnett Show" after Harvey Korman left the show. Unfortunately, his comedy style did not work as well with Burnett's, and he left the show after three months. For the next decade, he appeared mainly in low-rated TV movies. One exception was another atypical role as a murdering judge on the first episode of the TV series "Matlock" in 1986 starring Andy Griffith. In 1988, Van Dyke returned with another sitcom called "The Van Dyke Show" which co-starred his son, Barry. The show was cancelled after just five episodes.
His career seemed essentially over by 1989 when Dick Van Dyke started a career comeback. First, he took a guest starring role on NBC's hit TV series "The Golden Girls" playing Dorothy's (Bea Arthur's) beau, who decides to give up being a lawyer to become a circus clown. The role earned him his first Emmy nomination since 1977. 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 movie "Dick Tracy". The reviews he received for "Tracy" led him to star in a series of TV movies on CBS that became the foundation for his popular television drama, "Diagnosis: Murder", which ran from 1993 to 2001. (He first played the character, Dr. Mark Sloan, in an episode of "Jake and the Fatman".) He 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, a 2004 on "Scrubs", where he played a doctor who could not keep up with the changing ways of medical care, and a starring role as Dr. Jonathan Maxwell in a made-for-TV movie in 2006. In 2004, he reunited with Moore once again as he reprised the role of Rob Petrie for a Carl Reiner-produced TV special "The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited."
Van Dyke returned to motion pictures in the 2006 film "Curious George" as Mr. Bloomsberry. His most recent role is Cecil in the Ben Stiller film "Night at the Museum", released in December 2006. In January 2007 Van Dyke reprised his role as Dr. Jonathan Maxwell in "Murder 101: College Can Be Murder" for the Hallmark Channel . In an interview included on the DVD release of "Night at the Museum", Van Dyke jokes that he keeps trying to retire but something seems to always come up. Van Dyke's latest "Murder 101" movie is set to air in August 2007.
Other work
Van Dyke was a great admirer of Stan Laurel and even gave the eulogy at his funeral. He also produced a TV special soon afterward, "A Salute to Stan Laurel". He once met Laurel and told him he had copied a great deal from him. He said Laurel only laughed and said, 'I've noticed that.' Van Dyke once did a sketch on his sitcom in which he imitated Laurel. After the show aired, he phoned Laurel to ask what he thought of it. To Van Dyke's surprise, Laurel said he still owned one of 'Stanley's' bowler hats and would have lent it to Van Dyke for the sketch if he had only asked.
Van Dyke received a Grammy Award for his performance on the soundtrack to "Mary Poppins".
One of Van Dyke's modern passions is producing 3D computer graphics. He created many of the 3D rendered effects shown in Diagnosis: Murder, and continues to work with LightWave 3D.
Personal life
Van Dyke is the older brother of actor Jerry Van Dyke, who is best known for his role on the TV series "Coach".
He married Margie Willett in 1948, with whom he had four children: Christian, Barry, Carrie Beth and Stacy. They divorced in 1984 after a long separation. Van Dyke's son Barry Van Dyke and grandson Carey Van Dyke are also actors; both, along with other Van Dyke relations and grandchildren, appeared in various episodes of the long-running "Diagnosis: Murder" series. All of Van Dyke's children are married, and he has seven grandchildren. He currently resides with girlfriend, Michelle Triola.
In 1987, his granddaughter Jessica Van Dyke died from Reye's Syndrome which caused him to do a series of television commercials to raise public awareness of the danger to children. He is still the National Spokesperson of the National Reye's Syndrome Foundation .
During "The Dick Van Dyke Show", he fought alcoholism, which he successfully conquered. He has also served as an elder in the Presbyterian Church.
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 is a computer animation enthusiast and has displayed some of his CGI work at trade shows. This interest is referred to in the 2004 TV movie "The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited", which shows that Rob Petrie has also become a CGI hobbyist.
Filmography
"Bye Bye Birdie" (1963)
"What a Way to Go!" (1964)
"Mary Poppins" (1964)
"The Art of Love" (1965)
"Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N." (1966)
"Divorce American Style" (1967)
"Fitzwilly" (1967)
"Never a Dull Moment" (1968)
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (1968)
"Some Kind of a Nut" (1969)
"The Comic" (1969)
"Cold Turkey" (1971)
"Tubby the Tuba" (1976)
"The Runner Stumbles" (1979)
"Dick Tracy" (1990)
"Batman: New Times" (2005)
"Curious George" (2006)
"Night at the Museum" (2006)
"Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age" (2007) ("upcoming")
Television
"The Morning Show (host from 1955-2006)
"CBS Cartoon Theater" (1956)
"The Chevy Showroom Starring Andy Williams" (1958)
"Mother's Day" (1958-1959)
"Laugh Line" (1959) (canceled after 3 months)
"The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961-1966)
"Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman" (1969)
"Dick Van Dyke Meets Bill Cosby" (1970)
"The New Dick Van Dyke Show" (1971-1974)
"Julie and Dick at Covent Garden" (1974)
"The Morning After" (1974)
"Columbo: Negative Reaction" (1974)
"Van Dyke and Company" (1976)
"The Carol Burnett Show" (cast member in 1977)
"True Life Stories" (1981)
"The Country Girl" (1982)
"Drop-Out Father" (1982)
"Wrong Way Kid" (1983) (voice)
"Found Money" (1983)
"Breakfast with Les and Bess" (1985)
"Strong Medicine" (1986)
"Ghost of a Chance" (1987)
"The Van Dyke Show" (1988)
"Matlock" (1990)
"Daughters of Privilege" (1991)
"Diagnosis: Murder" (1992-2001)
"The House on Sycamore Street" (1992)
"The Town That Santa Forgot" (1993) (voice)
"A Twist of the Knife" (1993)
"Becker (1999)
"Diagnosis: Murder" (1993-2001)
"Paul O'Grady does America (2003)
"A Town Without Pity" (2002)
"Without Warning" (2002)
"Sabrina the Teenage Witch" (2002)
"The Gin Game" (2003)
"The Alan Brady Show" (2003) (voice)
"The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited" (2004)
"Scrubs" (2004)
"Murder 101" (2006)
"Murder 101: College Can Be Murder" (2007)
"Murder 101: If Wishes Were Horses" (2007)
Stage
"The Girls Against the Boys" (November 2 - 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 - June 22, 1980) (Revival)
"Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life" (guest star from January 24-26 2006)
External links
(Van Dyke's 3D graphics involvement)
(Dick Van Dyke in Danville, Ill and Crawfordsville, Ind.) — PDF Article
(Watch Dick Van Dyke Show Episode)
(At the Museum of Broadcast Communications)
(Dick Van Dyke -Disney Legends profile)
(Watch Dick Van Dyke talk about his career for the Archive of American Television Arts and Sciences)
(Dick Van Dyke hosting CBS Cartoon Theater)
(Dick's Home town community portal)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Dick Van Dyke.
