The Dick Van Dyke Show Turns 60 Celebrate With Dick Van Dyke And Fact About The Series

“Instead of relying on typical sitcom tropes, it depicted real people with real frailties interacting with each other,” says VinceWaldron, author of The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book. The show ran for five seasons, garnered 15 Emmys and, all these decades later, remains watchable and quotable. In honor of its 60th anniversary, here’s a celebration of the TV classic—and the legend who still makes us smile.

Young at Heart Dick Van Dyke

The Missouri native had just won a Tony Award for Bye Bye Birdie on Broadway when he was cast as Rob Petrie. “What made him so special was that he had the qualities of an introvert but could instantly switch to being this very talented performer with great physicality,” Waldron says. Now 95, the song-and-dance man—who received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor in 2021—lives in Los Angeles with his wife of nine years, makeup artist ArleneSilver, and has four children. Why he won’t retire: “I just love the work. I love to do it. If you’re doing something you like doing, then why retire from it? It doesn’t make sense.” Why he still loves dancing: “I do a little dancing every day. Any kind of movement like that will help keep joints and bones moving. And my wife keeps me young! She has a lot of energy. She’s a singer and a dancer, so we do musicals around here all day.” His fans’ favorite roles: “I think mostly Mary Poppins [1964] and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang [1968]. I’m getting a lot of letters from kids who have just discovered those old movies. I know that I’ll be remembered more for Bert than anything. I’m happy about it.” On his plans for turning 100: “I remember GeorgeBurns booked himself at the Palladium [theater]. He didn’t quite make it there, but at least he had an optimistic outlook. I’ve got nothing booked yet! There’s an old saying: ‘Sing like nobody can hear you, dance like nobody can see you and love like you’ve never been hurt.’ That’s a good way to live. That’s my motto.”

The Year Was 1961…

Creator and producer CarlReiner—a writer and actor for SidCaesar’s variety shows—was originally slated to star. The pilot for the show, titled Head of the Family, was rejected by the network, but producer SheldonLeonard liked what he saw and decided to retool it with a new star. Reiner stayed on, playing TV host AlanBrady. Heeeeere’s Johnny? The finalists for the role of Rob were whittled down to two: comedian JohnnyCarson and Van Dyke. Because the latter star had a little more name recognition because of Broadway’s Bye Bye Birdie, he landed the job. Carson started hosting The Tonight Show in 1962. Danny Thomas to the Rescue: CBS planned to cancel the show after its first season because of low ratings. That prompted co-producer Thomas to personally plead with network executives to keep the show on the air. They reconsidered and it picked up a fan base during summer reruns. Pillow Talk: Rob and Laura slept in twin beds because network censors did not allow TV couples to bunk together back in the day. The exception: Ozzie and HarrietNelson in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet series, as the two were married in real life. Those Pants! Moore objected to scripts that called for Laura to vacuum the living room in a dress and high heels like June Cleaver did. A young mother at the time, she told producers that she performed household chores in comfortable clothes. The result? Laura’s trademark capri pants. Backstage Drama: Behind the scenes, Van Dyke admitted that he people-pleased to a fault, and years later, in 1972, he checked into a hospital for alcohol addiction. Meanwhile, Moore complained of dizziness, weight loss and blurred vision. Presuming she was overworked, she later learned these were symptoms of Type 1 diabetes. Behind the Music: The opening to the show remains memorable because of Van Dyke’s stumble over the living room ottoman. And though audiences hear only an instrumental theme, lyrics do exist: In fact, co-star Morey Amsterdam wrote them! Applause Sign: The show was filmed before a live studio audience—with three exceptions. One was during production of “Happy Birthday and Too Many More,” which was filmed shortly after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. A Sort-of Sequel: In 1971, Van Dyke played a local television talk show host not named Rob Petrie in The New Dick Van Dyke Show. (HopeLange played his wife.) Although Reiner developed the series, it was not a success and ended after three seasons.

The Rest of the Gang

Mary Tyler Moore (1936–2017) Role: Laura Petrie, Rob’s ebullient and supportive wife Backstory: Van Dyke initially objected to the hiring of Mary Tyler Moore to play his wife because, at age 24, she was 11 years his junior. But the onscreen chemistry between the actor and the former dancer—who had been passed over to play Danny Thomas’ daughter on his self-titled show—proved undeniable. After the Show: Moore, of course, went on to star in and co-produce the groundbreaking sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show from 1970 to ’77 and scored an Oscar nomination for playing an icy wife and mother in Ordinary People. In her last TV appearance, in 2013, she reunited with Mary Tyler Moore Show co-stars BettyWhite, ClorisLeachman, ValerieHarper and GeorgiaEngel on an episode of the sitcom Hot in Cleveland. Rose Marie (1923–2017) Role: Sally Rogers, one of three comedy writers on The Alan Brady Show Backstory: Witty, wisecracking and independent, Sally was the rare woman on TV who worked a full-time job—in a traditional male career field, no less. Per the New York Times, the role was inspired by SelmaDiamond, who had written for Sid Caesar in the 1950s. After the Show: Rose Marie, a former child star, appeared on The Love Boat, Cagney & Lacey, Murphy Brown, Wings and Suddenly Susan and was a regular on the game show TheHollywood Squares between 1966 and 1980. Morey Amsterdam (1908–96) Role: Buddy Sorrell, the doughnut-eating, coffee-drinking writer for The Alan Brady Show Backstory: The comic and writer was a veteran of vaudeville, radio and early television when he was cast as Buddy. After the first season, he lost 55 pounds and had cosmetic surgery to remove the skin under his chin to make his character appear younger. After the Show: He appeared in various television specials, including Comic Relief in 1992 and The Dick Van Dyke Show Remembered in 1994. He also appeared in the 1993 film Sandman. Ann Morgan Guilbert (1928–2016) Role: Millie Helper, Laura’s gabby next-door neighbor and the wife of dentist Jerry Helper (JerryParis) Backstory: Her decades-long career began in the 1950s as a featured performer and singer in the Billy Barnes Revue before she moved on to television. After the Show: She was a regular as feisty Grandma Yetta on the 1990s sitcom The Nanny and, in 2015, had a guest spot on Grey’s Anatomy. Larry Mathews (1955– ) Role: Ritchie Petrie, the only child of Rob and Laura Backstory: At age 5, Mathews had just signed with an agency—at the advice of the local mailman—when Reiner phoned and asked to send over a little boy for a new pilot with Dick Van Dyke. He got the part, despite only two months of training. After the Show: The former child star graduated from UCLA in 1976 and worked as account executive. But he did reprise his role in 2004 for The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited.