The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show was an American television sitcom which aired from October 3, 1961 to September 7, 1966. The show starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. Totaling 158 episodes, it was created and produced by comedy legend Carl Reiner, who wrote many episodes and also played the part of Alan Brady.
Van Dyke played Robert Petrie, a comedy writer for a fictional New York TV variety series called The Alan Brady Show. Moore played Rob's wife, Laura.
Storylines dealt with Rob and his two coworkers, Buddy and Sally, who wrote material for the TV show. Melvin Cooley, a balding straight man, was the show's producer and brother-in-law of Alan Brady, who was seldom seen.
Other stories centered around the home life of Rob and Laura, who lived in suburban New Rochelle, New York. Frequently seen was their young son Ritchie, as well as neighbors Jerry and Millie.
The show was an excellent vehicle for much of Van Dyke's physical comedy and sight gags. One classic example, with which many viewers are familiar, is the scene in the opening titles in which Van Dyke enters through the front door and trips over his ottoman. (They filmed three openings, one in which Van Dyke trips over the ottoman and 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 stairs. Viewers were kept wondering which would be used on any particular episode as they were usually randomly placed.)
The series was considered a trailblazer in many ways for its realistic portrayal of relationships, and also caused some controversy because of Mary Tyler Moore's taboo-breaking decision to wear slacks in an era when most sitcom wives wore dresses and skirts.
Carl Reiner originally planned to both produce and star in the series, which was originally titled Head of the Family. A pilot episode was made, but it was unsuccessful. Reiner nonetheless continued to base the character of Rob Petrie on himself, with many of the show's plots based on his own experience writing for Your Show of Shows.
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 of its own free will, rather than await cancellation.
Dick Van Dyke was considered an inspiration for many sitcoms of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, in particular the long-running Mad About You which was in many ways a modern-day remake of the older show. Carl Reiner even reprised the role of Alan Brady for an episode.
Dick Van Dyke has been highly successful in syndicated reruns. It now airs on the cable network TV Land.
Other cast members
Reunion Special
On May 11, 2004, CBS aired a reunion special, The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited. Produced by Carl Reiner, who referred to the hour-long special as "The 159th Episode," the show reunited cast members Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Larry Mathews, Ann Morgan Guilbert, and Jerry Van Dyke. Reiner reprised his role as Alan Brady. The remainder of the cast, now deceased, were sadly absent but fondly remembered in flashbacks. The first 45 minutes of the special consisted of a storyline in which Rob, Laura and Sally are invited to write Alan Brady's eulogy (even though Brady is still alive and well; he just wants to know what people will say about him after he dies). The last 10-15 minutes features Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore reminiscing. The program was introduced by Ray Romano.
