Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor,

comedian, singer, dancer, writer, and producer.

He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke and father of Barry Van Dyke; his
entertainment career has spanned almost seven decades. After gaining
recognition on radio and Broadway, Van Dyke became known for his role as Rob
Petrie on the CBS television sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, which ran from
1961 to 1966. He also gained significant popularity for roles in the musical films
Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Mary Poppins (1964), and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968).
His other prominent film appearances include roles in The Comic (1969), Dick
Tracy (1990), Curious George (2006), Night at the Museum (2006), and Night at
the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014).

Recipient of five Primetime Emmys, a Tony and a Grammy Award, Van Dyke was
inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995.[1] He received the Screen
Actors Guild's highest honor, the SAG Life Achievement Award, in 2013.[2] Van
Dyke has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard
and has also been recognized as a Disney Legend.[3]

Contents

1 Early life
2 Career
2.1 Radio and stage
2.2 Television
2.3 Film
2.4 Other projects
3 Personal life
4 Filmography
4.1 Film
4.2 Television
5 Other works
5.1 Stage
5.2 Albums
5.3 Books
6 Awards and nominations
7 References
 8 External links

Early life

Van Dyke was born on December 13, 1925, in West Plains, Missouri,[4] to Hazel
Victoria (ne McCord; 18961992), a stenographer, and Loren Wayne Van Dyke
(19001976), a salesman.[5][6][7] He grew up in Danville, Illinois. He is the older
brother of actor Jerry Van Dyke, who is best known for a role on the TV series
Coach. Van Dyke has Dutch, English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry,[8] with a family
line that traces back to Mayflower passenger John Alden.[9]

Among Van Dyke's high school classmates in Danville were Donald O'Connor and
Bobby Short, both of whom would go on to successful careers as entertainers.
[10] One of his closest friends was a cousin of Gene Hackman, the future actor,
who also lived in Danville in those years.[10] Van Dyke's mother's family was
very religious, and for a brief period in his youth, he considered a career in
ministry, although a drama class in high school convinced him that his true
calling was as a professional entertainer.[10] In his autobiography, he wrote, "I
suppose that I never completely gave up my childhood idea of being a minister.
Only the medium and the message changed. I have still endeavored to touch
people's souls, to raise their spirits and put smiles on their faces."[10] Even after
the launch of his career as an entertainer, he taught Sunday school in the
Presbyterian Church, where he was an elder, and he continued to read such
theologians as Buber, Tillich, and Bonhoeffer, who helped explain in practical
terms the relevance of religion in everyday life.[10]

Van Dyke left high school in 1944, his senior year, intending to join the United
States Army Air Forces for pilot training during World War II. Denied enlistment
several times for being underweight, he was eventually accepted for service as a
radio announcer before transferring to the Special Services and entertaining
troops in the continental United States.[11] He received his high school diploma
in 2004.[12]
Career
Radio and stage
Van Dyke in a 1959 publicity photo

During the late 1940s, Van Dyke was a radio DJ in Danville, Illinois. In 1947, Van
Dyke was persuaded by pantomime performer Phil Erickson[13] to form a
comedy duo with him called "Eric and Vanthe Merry Mutes."[14] 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".[15]
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 October 7, 1961. In a May 2011 interview with Rachael
Ray, Van Dyke said that when he auditioned for a smaller part in the show he had
no experience as a dancer, 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.[16] In
1980, Van Dyke appeared as the title role in the first Broadway revival of The
Music Man.[17]