Biography for
Dick Van Dyke More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

13 December 1925, West Plains, Missouri, USA

Birth Name

Richard Wayne Van Dyke

Height

6' 1" (1.85 m)

Mini Biography

Although he'd had small roles beforehand, Dick Van Dyke was launched to stardom in the 1960 musical "Bye-Bye Birdie", for which he won a Tony Award, and then later in the movie based on that play, Bye Bye Birdie (1963). He has starred in a number of films throughout the years including Mary Poppins (1964), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and Fitzwilly (1967), as well as a number of successful television series which won him no less than four Emmys and three made-for-CBS movies. After separating from his wife Margie Willett in the 1970s, Dick later became involved with Michelle Triola. Margie and Dick had four children born during the first ten years of their marriage: Barry Van Dyke; Carrie Beth van Dyke; Christian Van Dyke and Stacy Van Dyke, all of whom are now in their forties and married themselves. He has seven grandchildren, including Shane Van Dyke, Carey Van Dyke, Wes Van Dyke and 'Taryn Van Dyke' (Barry's children) and family members often appear with him on "Diagnosis Murder" (1993).

IMDb Mini Biography By: Taiyo

Spouse

Margie Willett

(12 February 1948 - 4 May 1984) (divorced) 4 children

Trivia

Often hosted game shows when he was a struggling actor. He hosted "Mother's Day" (1958) and "Laugh Line" (1959) but turned down "The Price Is Right" (1956).

Lived with Michelle Triola from 1976 until her death in 2009.

Brother of entertainer Jerry Van Dyke.

Son Barry Van Dyke and grandson Carey Van Dyke also worked on "Diagnosis Murder" (1993) with him. Sons Barry and Christian Van Dyke also appeared in an episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961). The storyline showed Dick visiting son Ritchie's grade school class for "Daddy's Day", when fathers visited the classroom to explain what they did for a living.

Daughter Stacy Van Dyke guest starred on "Diagnosis Murder" (1993), in "Diagnosis Murder: Murder in the Family (#4.12)" (1996). Grandson Shane Van Dyke guest-starred in 14 episodes of "Diagnosis Murder" (1993).

According to his book "Those Funny Kids: A Treasury of Classroom Laughter", by age 11 he had grown to 6'1".

Is ambidextrous.

Served in the U.S. Air Force.

He enlisted to be a pilot in the Army Air Corps during WWII, but initially did not make the cut because he did not meet the weight requirement, as he was underweight. He tried 3 times to enlist, before barely making the cut. He actually served as a radio announcer during the war, and he did not leave the United States.

He and his wife Margie married on the radio show "Bride and Groom" because the show paid for the wedding rings, a honeymoon and household appliances. After their wedding, the Van Dykes were so poor that they had to live in their car for a while.

Beat out Johnny Carson for the role of Rob Petrie on what later became "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961) .

Won Broadway's 1961 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Musical) for "Bye, Bye Birdie" and a Grammy Award for the Mary Poppins (1964) soundtrack.

His comic inspiration was Stan Laurel. He says he was able to find him by looking up his name in the phone book in Santa Monica, California, where Laurel lived. He called and Laurel invited him over. The two became good friends. When Laurel died, Van Dyke delivered his eulogy at the funeral.

Says that his most memorable role is that of Bert the chimney-sweep in Mary Poppins (1964).

Overcame alcoholism in the 1970s.

Children: Christian Van Dyke, Barry Van Dyke, Stacy Van Dyke and Carrie Beth van Dyke. Grandchildren: Carey Van Dyke, Shane Van Dyke, Wes Van Dyke and 'Taryn Van Dyke'. Great-granddaughter: Ava Van Dyke.

Became a great-grandfather on July 26, 2001, when his grandson Carey Van Dyke (Barry Van Dyke's oldest child) and his wife Anne Van Dyke had a baby girl named Ava Van Dyke.

He finally received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1992. But when the star was unveiled, his name was misspelled on the star as "VANDYKE". Being a good sport he laughed, took a pen and drew a slash between "VAN" and "DYKE". The star was corrected soon after.

His album "Songs I Like By Dick Van Dyke" (Command Records, 1963), released at the height of his TV success and just before the release of Mary Poppins (1964), was actually a best-seller, remaining on Billboard's top-40 albums chart for several weeks in late 1963-early 1964.

In Britain, his attempt at a Cockney accent in Mary Poppins (1964) is so notorious that a "Dick Van Dyke accent" is an accepted slang term for an American's unsuccessful attempt at a British accent. Despite that, he is quite popular in Britain.

In July 1999 he was made an honorary life member of The Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA), Inc. at their annual International Convention in Anaheim, California. He has sung in an a cappella quartet called "The Vantastix" since 2000. The group released a children's album in 2008.

The album "Songs I Like By Dick Van Dyke" was recorded on Friday, November 22, 1963. Early in the recording session the artists and orchestra were informed of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. In spite of the tragic news, and a deadline from Command Records that had to be met, the recording session continued to a successful conclusion - albeit in an emotionally-charged atmosphere. He said that he scarcely remembers the session because he was in such a state of shock after hearing the news.

Rob Petrie, Van Dyke's role on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961), was ranked #22 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue].

Although he had light brown hair when he was in his 30s and 40s, he had blonde hair as a child.

In his 30s and 40s he had a talent for playing crotchety, eccentric old men. He played this kind of role in Mary Poppins (1964) as "Mr. Dawes Sr." and in a "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961) episode where he played one of Rob Petrie's elderly relatives.

Played Lionel Jeffries's son in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) even though Jeffries is actually six months his junior.

Is a close friend of his "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961) co-star Mary Tyler Moore.

Grew up in Danville, Illinois, with brother Jerry Van Dyke and fellow celebrities Gene Hackman and Bobby Short. Was a graduate of Danville High School, where he was in the drama club.

Was offered the role of Ambassador Thorn in The Omen (1976) before it went to Gregory Peck, but turned it down because of the film's violent and gory content.

Dabbled in computer animation since the 1980s. Using Newtek's Lightwave 3D from home, he created and animated a CG version of himself that he danced with on The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited (2004) (TV).

His cockney accent in Mary Poppins (1964) was so heavily criticized that it may have cost him a Best Leading Actor Academy Award nomination the following year.

Son of Loren Van Dyke and wife Hazel Vorice McCord.

Had a brief stint as a TV weatherman.

Portrayed Albert Peterson in the original Broadway stage version of Bye Bye Birdie and reprised his role in the movie Bye Bye Birdie (1963).

Is a staunch Democrat and a vocal supporter of gun control. Attended some fundraisers for Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 Democratic primaries.

Was a heavy smoker for fifty years, smoking three packs of cigarettes a day for a time. He finally managed to quit using gum and patches.

Best known for his starring roles as Rob Petrie on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961) and as Dr. Mark Sloan on "Diagnosis Murder" (1993).

In 1968 he left Hollywood and bought a ranch in Arizona.

Actively campaigned in Democrat Pierre Salinger's losing 1964 fight for senator against Republican George Murphy.

Is a huge fan of Barbra Streisand.

By the late 1980s it seemed that Van Dyke's career was over. However, his acclaimed performance as the District Attorney in Dick Tracy (1990) led to "Diagnosis Murder" (1993), which proved to be a big television comeback for the 67-year-old star.

Personal Quotes

I've retired so many times now it's getting to be a habit.

I remember in the book that Caractacus was married. There was no love interest, no love story. So I think bringing Truly Scrumptious in works very well because we had assumed he was a widower. And they couldn't have picked a better Truly Scrumptious than Sally [Sally Ann Howes]. They came up with Sally Ann and I heard her voice, and it was the richest contralto. She auditioned with "The Lovely Lonely Man" and I thought, "My God, this girl is great!" and then she was stunningly beautiful. She loved those kids and they loved her, which I think comes across on the screen. They just thought a great deal of her and she spent a lot of time with them, you know, between shots - telling stories and playing games during all those long waiting periods.

I never wanted to be an actor and to this day I don't. I can't get a handle on it. An actor wants to become someone else. I am a song-and-dance man and I enjoy being myself, which is all I can do.

I've made peace with insecurity... because there is no security of any kind.

In the best of all worlds the producers would take some responsibility for the kinds of things they're putting out. Unfortunately, they don't. And then I - they keep saying we can't have our First Amendment rights abridged and we can't have censorship. Well we had it back in the Hayes days, in the Johnson office days. And I think they should - maybe the American people might bring it back if things get bad enough.

I think it's such a shame that Walt didn't live to see computer animation, because he would have had a good time with it ... In those days it was before the blue screen. They used what was called yellow sulphur lighting - the screen was yellow, and we worked with that all day, and by the time the day was over you couldn't see anything ... It was just an empty soundstage. And sometimes we didn't even have the music - we would just dance to a click rhythm. But I think technically it holds up today just as well as anything.

I thought Walt Disney hired me because I was such a great singer and dancer. As it turns out, he had heard me in an interview talking about what was happening to family entertainment. I was decrying the fact that it seemed like no holds were barred anymore in entertainment ... That's why he called me in, because I said something he agreed with. And I got the part. - On Mary Poppins (1964)

It was a marvelous relaxer ... Jack Daniel's became my good friend. Then sometime in my early forties he turned on me.

But at the time, I thought I would come out, because there was such a strange perception about alcoholism that people had serious character flaws, you know. They had weak wills or something. They had this image of, you know, a guy laying in on the street and skid row, whereas it can happen to normal, average middle-class guy.

I think that cigarettes are worse. I think that nicotine ... I've heard heroin addicts and cocaine addicts say it was nothing compared to getting off cigarettes.

Where Are They Now

(October 2000) Announces he will be retiring from acting and will be leaving "Diagnosis Murder" (1993) at the end of Season 8 (2000-2001).

(January 2006) He and his son, Barry Van Dyke, returned to television in the Hallmark Channel movie, Murder 101 (2006) (TV).

(November 2007) Filming with his grandsons (Shane and Carey Van Dyke) and son (Barry Van Dyke) "Murder 101: New Age" for Hallmark Channel.

(September 2008) Treated for bronchitis but was not hospitalized.

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