Richard Wayne Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, singer, and dancer. He is best 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, Mary Poppins, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He received the Screen Actors Guild’s highest honor, the SAG Life Achievement Award, in 2013.
About Dick Van Dyke in brief
Richard Wayne Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, singer, and dancer. He is best 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, Mary Poppins, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He received the Screen Actors Guild’s highest honor, the SAG Life Achievement Award, in 2013. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard and has also been recognized as a Disney Legend. He was born on December 13, 1925, in West Plains, Missouri, to Hazel Victoria, a stenographer, and Loren Wayne “Cookie’s” van Dyke, a salesman. His family line traces back to Mayflower passenger John Alden. He considered a career in ministry in his youth, although a drama class in high school convinced him that his true calling was as a professional entertainer. In November 1959, Van Dykes made his Broadway debut in The Girls Against the Boys. He then played the lead role of Albert Peterson in Bye ByeBirdie, which runs from October 7, 1960, to April 7, 1961. In 1980, he appeared in the title role in the Broadway revival of The Music Man, which won four Tony awards including Best Featured Actor, Tony, and Grammy Award. In April 2011, he said that when he auditioned for a show, he had no experience as a dancer, and that after he sang his audition song he did an impromptu impromptu soft-shoe dance out of sheer nervousness.
He left high school in 1944, his senior year, intending to join the United States Army Air Forces for pilot training during World War II. He eventually accepted for service as a radio announcer before transferring to the Special Services and entertaining troops in the continental United States. His older brother, Jerry, is an actor who sometimes appeared as his brother in the TV series Coach. His son, Barry, is also an actor and has appeared in a number of TV shows, including Diagnosis: Murder and Murder 101. He taught Sunday school in the Presbyterian Church, where he was an elder, and he continued to read such theologians as Martin Buber, Paul Tillich, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who helped explain in practical terms the relevance of religion in everyday life. In his autobiography, he wrote, “I suppose that I never completely gave up my childhood idea of being a minister. I have still endeavored to touch people’s souls, to raise their spirits and put smiles on their faces.” He is a Dutch surname, although he has English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry as well. In 1947, he was persuaded by pantomime performer Phil Erickson to form a comedy duo with him called \”Eric and Van—the Merry Mutes.’ 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.
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