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The Dick Van Dyke Show
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The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television situation comedy which initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 and ran until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. A three-camera/studio audience production format was used during production.
The show was also produced by Reiner, who wrote many episodes and played the role of Alan Brady. Reiner based the main character on himself and the Brady character on his former boss Sid Caesar.
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Encyclopedia
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television situation comedy which initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 and ran until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. A three-camera/studio audience production format was used during production.
The show was also produced by Reiner, who wrote many episodes and played the role of Alan Brady. Reiner based the main character on himself and the Brady character on his former boss Sid Caesar. Many of the show's plots were inspired by Reiner's experiences as a writer for Your Show of Shows (which starred Caesar). The Dick Van Dyke Show was the recipient of 15 Emmy Awards.
Storyline
The storylines gave viewers an "inside look" at how the TV show was run and written. Storylines deal with Rob and his two coworkers, Buddy and Sally, who write material for the TV show. Mel Cooley, a balding straight man (and recipient of numerous insulting one-liners from Buddy), is the show's producer and the brother-in-law of Alan Brady, the show's seldom-seen star. As Rob, Buddy, and Sally write for a comedy show, the premise provides a built-in forum for them to "be funny." Other stories focus on the home life of Rob and Laura, who live at 148 Bonnie Meadow Road in suburban New Rochelle, New York. Frequently seen is their young son, Ritchie, as well as their neighbors, Jerry and Millie Helper.
Influence
The show was an excellent vehicle for Van Dyke's physical comedy and sight gags. The classic example is the scene in the opening titles, in which Van Dyke enters through the front door and trips over the ottoman. (This opening was added beginning in the second season of the series. The first season's opening credits were a composite of promotion stills and screen grabs from the pilot episode.) Producers filmed three versions: one in which Van Dyke trips over the ottoman, one in which he steps around it, and a rarely seen third variation in which Van Dyke avoids the ottoman and then trips on the carpet.
The series was considered a trailblazer for its comparatively realistic portrayal of relationships — although the Petries slept in separate beds — and caused some mild controversy because of Mary Tyler Moore's decision to wear capri slacks in an era when most sitcom wives wore dresses and skirts, even though Lucille Ball had previously worn capri slacks on I Love Lucy. The show would also lampoon current cultural trends of the times, like a new dance craze called the Twizzle. One of the most popular episodes, "It May Look Like a Walnut", spoofed The Twilight Zone and low budget sci-fi films, especially Invasion of the Body Snatchers. When the British Invasion led by the Beatles came, real life British singing duo Chad and Jeremy guest starred portraying the fictional Redcoats.
Carl Reiner originally planned to produce and star in the series, which was going to be titled Head of the Family. A pilot episode was made in July of 1960, but it was unsuccessful. Executive producer Sheldon Leonard liked Reiner's concept but felt that Reiner was miscast. Leonard cast Dick van Dyke as Rob Petrie, and Reiner was recast to better effect as Alan Brady (a character called "Alan Sturdy" in Reiner's unsuccessful pilot), the egotistical television star for whom Rob works. In the early episodes, Reiner was only shown with his head turned away from the camera. His voice would also be heard in many commercial announcements when the characters are watching TV or as a radio DJ. Both Leonard and business partner Danny Thomas also appeared on the show in guest roles.
During its run The Dick Van Dyke Show overpowered many competitors. In 1964, it quickly eclipsed Mickey Rooney's sitcom Mickey, which aired on ABC in the same time slot. In 1969, Van Dyke and Moore reunited for a one hour variety special called Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman which included a never before seen alternate take from one of the show's episodes where Van Dyke breaks down and cries after being dimissed from a film role instead of just being disapointed.
Reiner always maintained that he never intended for the series to run more than five seasons, making this one of the first successful American TV series to end on its own accord rather than through cancellation. It has done extremely well in syndicated reruns, most notably on Nick at Nite from 1991 to 2000, then on its sister cable network TV Land from 2000 to 2007.
Cast
Main:
- Robert "Rob" Petrie (Dick Van Dyke), the head comedy writer for a fictional New York TV variety series called The Alan Brady Show. The role of Rob Petrie was almost given to Johnny Carson, but Sheldon Leonard, the show's executive producer, suggested Van Dyke.
- Laura Meeker/Meehan Petrie (Mary Tyler Moore), Rob's wife. A stay-at-home mom and former dancer in the U.S.O. (where she met Rob). The role of Laura proved to be the most difficult to cast. About 60 actresses auditioned for the part before Moore was signed, and she almost didn't go to the audition.
- Maurice "Buddy" Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam) - an energetic (and at times facetious) "human joke machine" (as was Amsterdam himself), one of the comedy writers; he's constantly making fun of Mel Cooley (the show's producer) for being bald (and dull). His character is loosely based on Mel Brooks who also wrote for Your Show of Shows. He makes frequent jokes about his marriage to his wife "Pickles". On several occasions it is shown he is a non-practicing Jew. He owns a large German Shepherd named Larry, and plays the cello. Amsterdam was recommended by Rose Marie as soon as she had signed on.
- Sally Rogers (Rose Marie), another of the comedy writers (and the comedy trio's designated typist), who is always on the lookout for a husband. She never drinks and quotes frequently from her aunt Agnes (though she always gets the quotes wrong). She has an on again off again relationship with her boyfriend Herman Glimscher who seems to be too much of a mommy's boy to get married. She frequently scares men off with her sense of humor.
Supporting:
- Richard "Ritchie" Rosebud Petrie (Larry Mathews), Rob's and Laura's son. (His middle name is an acronym for "Robert Oscar Samuel Edward Benjamin Ulysses David" from his grandparents and great-grandfather's names, and whom they admired.)
- Melvin "Mel" Cooley (Richard Deacon), the balding producer of The Alan Brady Show (and Brady's brother-in-law), who is constantly at odds with Buddy, who often makes insulting comments about Mel's baldness, to which Mel oft times responds with a simple "Yechh!".
- Jerry (Jerry Paris) and Mildred "Millie" Krumbermacher Helper (Ann Morgan Guilbert), the Petries' next-door neighbors. Two children have been named from the Helper family, Pat, and Freddie, though Pat has not been seen.
Secondary characters:
- Alan Brady (Carl Reiner), the egocentric, toupee-wearing star of The Alan Brady Show. Originally an offscreen character, then shown only with his back to the camera or only in voice, Brady began to make full-face appearances in the third season.
- Stacey Petrie (Jerry Van Dyke), Rob's brother, banjo player, and one-time sleepwalker, played by Dick Van Dyke's real-life brother.
- Fiona "Pickles" Sorrell (Barbara Perry/Joan Shawlee), Buddy's slightly nutty wife. She would become an offscreen character after Season 2.
- Herman Glimscher (Bill Idelson), Sally's occasional and "nerdy" boyfriend. In the 2004 Reunion Special, Sally and Herman had been married for years. (In an early episode Sally referred to him as Woodrow)
- Sam and Clara Petrie (Tom Tully/J. Pat O'Malley and Isabel Randolph), Rob's parents.
- Mr. and Mrs. Alan Meehan (Carl Benton Reid and Geraldine Wall), Laura's parents.
- Freddie Helper (Peter Oliphant), Millie and Jerry Helper's son and Ritchie's closest friend.
- Herbie Faye appeared on the series six times, including a 1965 role as Harry Keen in the episode "Brother, Can You Spare $2,500?"
Trivia
The pilot episode ("Head of the Family," July 19, 1960) starred Carl Reiner as Robert Petrie, who was later replaced by Dick Van Dyke in the final casting. Carl Reiner stayed on the show as Robert Petrie's boss, Alan Brady. Filming of the pilot episode of the The Dick Van Dyke Show ("The Sick Boy and the Sitter") started on January 20, 1961, the day of President John F. Kennedy's inauguration, to whom 'Rob' and 'Laura' (Jacqueline Kennedy) were frequently compared to in television for their outstanding physical attractiveness as a married couple. Throughout the series Rob is shown working on his memoirs, a retelling of his life after he met his wife Laura. In the series finale, Rob finishes the book and submits it for publication. When he is rejected, Alan Brady offers to produce it as a television series, starring Alan Brady as Robert Petrie. This brings the series full circle, as the pilot episode featured Carl Reiner as Robert Petrie.
Episodes
DVD releases
For reasons that are unclear, six episodes from the second season have lapsed into the public domain, and as a result are widely available at Wal-Mart and 'dollar stores' for $1-$2 per DVD or VHS tape.
Image Entertainment has released all 5 Seasons of The Dick Van Dyke Show on DVD in Region 1. Season sets were released between October 2003 - June 2004. Also, on May 24, 2005, Image Entertainment released a 25-disc boxset of the entire series.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date
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| Season 1 | 31 | October 21 2003 | | Season 2 | 33 | October 21 2003 | | Season 3 | 31 | February 24 2004 | | Season 4 | 32 | April 27 2004 | | Season 5 | 31 | June 29 2004 |
External links
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