Dick Van Dyke

Dick Van Dyke (1925) is an American comedian and actor. He achieved great popularity in the USA in the 1960s with his The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966) for which he received three Primetime Emmy Awards. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the chimney sweep Bert in Walt Disney's Mary Poppins (1964) and for his starring role in the comedy series The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971). He celebrated a comeback in the 1990s with the crime series Diagnosis Murder (1993-2001).


Spanish postcard by Ediciones Tarjefher / Ediciones Mandolina, no. 324. Photo: Walt Disney Productions. Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins (Robert Stevenson, 1964).


Romanian postcard by Casa Filmului Acin.


French postcard. Photo: Walt Disney Productions. Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins (Robert Stevenson, 1964).

One of the most realistic television films ever about alcoholism

Richard Wayne 'Dick' Van Dyke was born in West Plains, Missouri, in 1925. He was the son of Loren Wayne Van Dyke, a sales representative, and Hazel Vorice McCord. Van Dyke is the elder brother of actor and comedian Jerry Van Dyke and the father of actor Barry Van Dyke. Dick grew up in the sleepy town of Danville founded by Dutch settlers. Nothing is known of Van Dyke's Dutch roots.

As a child, Dick loved watching Laurel and Hardy, which inspired him to enter the entertainment business. At Stan Laurel's funeral, Van Dyke gave a speech. In high school, he joined the school play and when he joined the Air Force during World War II, he also starred in shows there and worked as a radio announcer. After presenting some local comedy programmes, Van Dyke was offered a contract by CBS in 1956. He was initially seen a lot in game and talk shows.

In 1957, he made his debut as an actor in an episode of the comedy series The Phil Silvers Show. In 1960, Van Dyke played his first leading role on stage in the play 'Bye Bye Birdie', for which he won a Tony Award. Dick van Dyke was then offered the lead role of Rob Petrie in the highly popular sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, with Mary Tyler Moore as his co-star. He won three Emmy Awards for his role in this series, which ran for five seasons.

Van Dyke then slowly moved from television to film. He again starred in the film adaptation Bye Bye Birdie (George Sidney, 1963) with Ann Margret and Janet Leigh and appeared in the black comedy What a Way to Go! (J. Lee Thompson, 1964) alongside established Hollywood stars such as Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman and Dean Martin. In the same year, he played a double role in the Walt Disney musical Mary Poppins (Robert Stevenson, 1964) starring Julie Andrews. He was the bon vivant Bert, the chimney-sweep and, heavily disguised, Mr. Dawes, Senior, the elderly owner of the bank. In the UK, Van Dyke's attempt to imitate a cockney accent was ridiculed, but he showed his versatility as a singer and dancer. Van Dyke received a Grammy Award for his contribution to the soundtrack of Mary Poppins.

He also had great success with the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Ken Hughes, 1968) opposite Sally Ann Howes. Due to the decline in further cinema success, Dick Van Dyke switched back to television in the 1970s. He returned with The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971-1974) with Hope Lange. In 1974, he surprised everyone in his first dramatic role, as an alcoholic businessman in The Morning After (Richard T. Heffron, 1974). Van Dyke received universal acclaim for his performance and an Emmy nomination. The film was seen as one of the most realistic television films ever about alcoholism. Van Dyke was one of the first entertainment figures to go public about his own alcoholism struggles. He received thousands of letters of support. In 1976, he hosted the television show Van Dyke and Company, which won an Emmy Award but was cancelled after only eleven episodes. He played guest roles in popular TV series such as Columbo, The Golden Girls, Matlock and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.


Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg N.V., Rotterdam. Photo: Mary Tyler Moore and Dick van Dyke in The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966).


French postcard by Les Presses de Belville, Paris, no. 103. Photo: Walt Disney Productions. Publicity still for Mary Poppins (Robert Stevenson, 1964).


American Arcade card.

A successful crime series

At 65, Dick Van Dyke's career seemed to be almost over before he was cast in the film Dick Tracy (Warren Beatty, 1990). For his role as District Attorney Fletcher, Dick Tracy's superior, he received many positive reviews. This led to him subsequently being given leading roles in several television films and this in turn led to the production of the successful crime series Diagnosis: Murder (1993-2001).

Van Dyke embodied the prudent forensic pathologist Dr Mark Sloan, whose interest in crime led him to become actively involved in police work time and again. He co-starred with his son Barry Van Dyke who played the son Steve Sloan. In the sitcom Becker (1998), Van Dyke played the father of the main character Dr John Becker (Ted Danson).

In 2006, Van Dyke appeared in a larger role as a veteran night watchman in the hit film Night at the Museum (Shawn Levy, 2006) alongside Ben Stiller and Robin Williams. He played the role again in the sequel Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (Shawn Levy, 2014).

Van Dyke also appeared in the sequel Mary Poppins Returns (Rob Marshall, 2018) starring Emily Blunt. He played Mr Dawes Junior and, now over 90 years old, performed a dance routine in one scene. In 2023, Van Dyke competed in the TV programme The Masked Singer. He was in the leprechaun's suit, much to the surprise of the judges. That same year, he starred in several episodes of the soap opera Days of Our Lives for which he was awarded a Daytime Emmy Award for best guest starring role in a drama series in 2024. At 98, he was the oldest person to win an Emmy.

Dick Van Dyke's first marriage was to Margie Willett from 1948 to 1984, with whom he had four children: Barry Van Dyke, Carrie Beth Van Dyke, Christian Van Dyke and Stacy Van Dyke. Dick Van Dyke has been married for a second time since 2012 to Arlene Silver.


Spanish postcard by Postal Oscarcolor, no. 170, 1964.


Spanish postcard by Ediciones Tarje Fher/Ediciones Mandolina, 1964. Photo: Walt Disney Productions. Still from Mary Poppins (1964).


French postcard by Les Presses de Belleville, Paris, no. 108. Photo: Walt Disney Productions. Publicity still for Mary Poppins (Robert Stevenson, 1964).


French postcard by Les Presses de Belleville, no. 101. Photo: Walt Disney Productions. Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins (Robert Stevenson, 1964).

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch and German), and IMDb.