43 Fun Facts About Dick Van Dyke

Dick Van Dyke was born on December 13, 1925, in which state?

Missouri: though born in West Plains, he grew up in Danville, Illinois, where he acted in high school plays.

Van Dyke left high school in his senior year to train as a pilot in which service during World War II?

US Army Air Forces: he left Danville High in 1944 to train as a pilot, but ended up in Special Services building sets and working as a radio announcer.

What was the nightclub comedy duo Van Dyke formed in 1947, miming and lip-synching to 78 rpm records?

The Merry Mutes: pantomime performer Phil Erickson talked him into the act, billed as 'Eric and Van', and they later landed a local TV show.

Van Dyke won a Tony Award for playing Albert Peterson in the original 1960 production of which musical?

Bye Bye Birdie: he was still starring in it on Broadway when he was tapped to lead his own TV sitcom.

On The Dick Van Dyke Show, Rose Marie played which wisecracking comedy writer?

Sally Rogers: Rose Marie had been performing since age three, when a talent contest launched her as the child singing star Baby Rose Marie.

Who created The Dick Van Dyke Show and played the tyrannical star Alan Brady?

Carl Reiner: he had played Rob himself in the unsold 1960 pilot before handing the lead to Van Dyke for the series.

The Dick Van Dyke Show grew out of which 1960 pilot?

Head of the Family: the pilot went unsold, and when the idea was reworked into the series, the role of Rob went to Van Dyke.

In the opening credits of The Dick Van Dyke Show, what does Rob sometimes trip over and sometimes avoid?

An ottoman: after a shaky first season the show shot a fresh opening, and the trip-or-sidestep takes were rotated for the rest of its run.

Where did the Petries live on The Dick Van Dyke Show?

New Rochelle, New York: the show's creator based Rob, the TV writer who lived there with his wife and son, on himself.

In 1977, Van Dyke took a regular sidekick role on which comedian's long-running variety show?

Carol Burnett: that same year his own Van Dyke and Company won the Emmy for comedy-variety series, beating her show.

Which real-life relative of Van Dyke played Rob's sibling Stacey on The Dick Van Dyke Show?

Jerry Van Dyke later starred in Coach. Barry Van Dyke played Dick's son on Diagnosis Murder decades later.

In Mary Poppins, Bert works as a chimney sweep, a kite seller, a pavement artist and what else?

One-man band: Bert juggles all these odd jobs, and one of his chalk pavement pictures becomes the doorway into the film's animated fantasy.

Whose accent beat Van Dyke's Cockney in Empire's 2003 poll of the worst film accents ever?

Sean Connery in The Untouchables: Empire said his Highland burr always remained, whatever role he played, and Van Dyke's Cockney came second.

In Mary Poppins, Dick Van Dyke took a second, heavily made-up role under which scrambled credit?

Navckid Keyd: after landing the role of Bert, Van Dyke lobbied to take on this second, much older part as well.

Van Dyke's only Grammy came in 1964, shared with Julie Andrews, for what?

The film won five Oscars, including Best Actress for Andrews in her feature debut and Best Original Song for 'Chim Chim Cher-ee'.

Whose children's novel was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) based on?

Ian Fleming: he first told the flying-car tale as a bedtime story for his son, Caspar, and wrote it up while recovering from a heart attack.

In Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Baron Bomburst rules which fictional country?

Vulgaria: the Baron wants Caractacus Potts to build him a copy of the magical car, but his men kidnap Grandpa Potts by mistake.

The 1969 movie The Comic was written especially for Van Dyke, casting him as what?

The character struggles with alcoholism and ego, themes that echoed Van Dyke's own life. He has cited Stan Laurel and Buster Keaton as his idols.

In Cold Turkey, Van Dyke's minister leads his Iowa town to do what for 30 days?

Quit smoking: as a publicity stunt, a tobacco company offers $25 million to any American town that can stop smoking for a month.

In a 1974 TV movie, Van Dyke played a businessman ruined by which addiction?

Alcoholism: the drama aired not long after Van Dyke himself had been treated for a drinking problem.

Which comedian made his prime-time debut on Van Dyke's 1976 sketch series Van Dyke and Company?

Andy Kaufman: the show lasted just three months, yet it still won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy-Variety Series.

Who played Steve, Dr. Mark Sloan's homicide detective son, on Diagnosis: Murder?

Barry Van Dyke, Dick's real-life son, and the show kept it in the family: Barry's teenage sons and Dick's daughter Stacy also appeared.

Diagnosis: Murder's Dr. Mark Sloan first appeared in an episode of which series?

Jake and the Fatman: Sloan debuted in its episode 'It Never Entered My Mind', which led to three TV movies and then his own series.

Van Dyke guest-starred in a 1987 episode of which action series, whose final season his son led?

Airwolf: its revived fourth season on USA Network brought Stringfellow Hawke's lost brother St. John back to life, played by Van Dyke's son.

Van Dyke has sung since 2000 with an a cappella group called what?

The Vantastix formed after a young man told Van Dyke he'd heard he liked to harmonize, and the quartet went on to sing the anthem at Lakers games.

As a Malibu wildfire approached in December 2024, who carried the 98-year-old Van Dyke to safety?

Three neighbors: he had exhausted himself trying to crawl to the car, so they carried him out and then put out a small fire in his guest house.

Which honour did the studio behind Mary Poppins give Van Dyke in 1998?

Disney Legend: Walt Disney is said to have cast him as Bert after reading that Van Dyke wanted to make films his children could watch.

In 2013 Van Dyke received the Life Achievement Award from which organisation?

Screen Actors Guild: the award honors humanitarian work as well as a career, and he had long volunteered at the Midnight Mission, a Los Angeles homeless shelter.

In Mary Poppins Returns (2018), Van Dyke played which character?

Mr. Dawes Jr.: 54 years after playing the elderly banker Dawes Sr., he came back as the banker's son.

In 2023, at 97, Dick Van Dyke performed on The Masked Singer as which character?

Gnome: after being unmasked, he sang 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' from Mary Poppins as his encore.

In 2024, at 98, Van Dyke became the oldest Daytime Emmy winner ever for a guest role on which soap opera?

He won Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series at the 51st Daytime Emmys.

On his 99th birthday in 2024, Van Dyke starred in the video for which band's 'All My Love'?

Coldplay: the video was shot at his Malibu home, and Chris Martin later joined him on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote it.

Which two silent-era comedians has Van Dyke most often named as his heroes?

Stan Laurel and Buster Keaton: when Van Dyke told Laurel he had stolen a lot from him, Laurel replied, 'Yes, I know.'

Before network fame, Van Dyke first broke into local television in which Southern city?

Atlanta: getting onto local television there soon led to guest spots on national variety shows, and later to New Orleans and New York.

The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited, a 2004 CBS reunion, was hosted by which sitcom star?

Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Jerry Van Dyke and Carl Reiner all returned.

The 100th-birthday documentary Starring Dick Van Dyke aired as part of which PBS series?

The other, Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration, played in cinemas on December 13 and 14, 2025.

Who played Rob's wife Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show?

She was just 24 when the show began. The two reunited decades later for a 2003 TV production of The Gin Game.

Rejected as underweight, Van Dyke finally passed his wartime weigh-in after eating a lot of what?

Bananas: a friend who drove him to the recruiting base three times said the military told him to gain weight, so they filled him with bananas and milkshakes.

Van Dyke returned to Broadway in 1980 as Harold Hill in a revival of which musical?

The revival followed a US tour in the title role. His Broadway debut had been the short-lived 1959 revue The Girls Against the Boys.

Which film role was Van Dyke reportedly offered in the late 1960s?

James Bond: he says he turned the part down by asking the producer, 'Have you heard my British accent?'

Which hobby did Van Dyke put to work creating effects for his own series, Diagnosis: Murder?

3D computer animation: he got hooked soon after buying his first Amiga computer in 1991.

On the 2010 children's album Rhythm Train, Van Dyke rapped alongside the drummer of which band?

Chad Smith and singer Leslie Bixler were his collaborators. In 2017 he released Step (Back) In Time, his first solo album since 1963.

From 1965 to 1982, Van Dyke owned an AM radio station, KXIV, in which city?

Radio ran through his career: he had been a DJ in Illinois and a morning host in Georgia before television made him a star.