Exclusive | Dick Van Dyke wants to be remembered for these 2 ‘iconic’…
He’s still supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Dick Van Dyke wants to be remembered for two “iconic” initiatives as he celebrates his monumental one hundredth birthday on Saturday, Dec. 13.
“I think the two things he always talks about, the two blessings that came to him, were ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’ and ‘Mary Poppins,’” Steve Boettcher, director of the upcoming documentary “Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration,” completely told The Post.
Dick Van Dyke attends the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, DC, on May 21, 2021. Getty Images
Van Dyke at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, on June 20, 2024. Getty Images
“Those two are really the iconic things that he wants to be remembered for,” the filmmaker added.
“The Dick Van Dyke Show” premiered in 1961 and centered on Rob Petrie (Van Dyke), a comedy author on the fictional “Alan Brady Show.”
The Carl Reiner-created sitcom revolved round Petrie’s life at house in New Rochelle, NY, with spouse Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) and younger son Ritchie (Larry Mathews), in addition to his time at work with fellow writers Buddy Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam), Sally Rogers (Rose Marie) and their producer Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon).
Mary Tyler Moore and Van Dyke on “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” Bettmann Archive
Van Dyke between takes during filming of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” in 1961. Getty Images
Moore and Van Dyke rehearsing for “The Dick Van Dyke Show” in 1963. Getty Images
“It was just serendipity,” Van Dyke said in 2015, almost 50 years after “The Dick Van Dyke Show” resulted in 1966.
“I’d still be doing the show if they let me,” the Hollywood legend, who received three Emmys for his function as Petrie, added. “It was the most fun I’ve ever had.”
“Mary Poppins,” meanwhile, was launched in 1964 and starred Van Dyke as the hilarious chimney sweep Bert alongside Julie Andrews’ titular character and Karen Dotrice as younger Jane Banks.
Julie Andrews and Van Dyke in the 1964 musical “Mary Poppins.” Courtesy Everett Collection
Van Dyke as Bert in “Mary Poppins.” Courtesy Everett Collection
Van Dyke singing and dancing in “Mary Poppins.” Courtesy Everett Collection
Although “The Dick Van Dyke Show” made him a family title, “Mary Poppins” was what solidified Van Dyke as an appearing and comedy staple round the world.
“I knew way before we started that we had a wonderful movie,” the “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” star told People about the hit Disney basic last month. “There was something…everybody was kind of affected by it.”
“We knew we had something really valuable, really good to do,” he added. “So we all did our best and enjoyed as much as we could. I can’t think of one thing that actually went wrong.”
While Boettcher’s upcoming doc explores Van Dyke’s time on each “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “Mary Poppins,” it also touches upon considered one of the “hidden gems” from the “Diagnosis Murder” star’s more than 80-year profession.
Van Dyke in 1958. Getty Images
Van Dyke and Moore in “The Dick Van Dyke Show” in 1965. Courtesy Everett Collection
Van Dyke and Andrews together in “Mary Poppins.” Courtesy Everett Collection
“The Comic,” which Boettcher described as a “little-known movie” that “everyone hasn’t seen,” was launched in 1969 and starred Van Dyke as silent-film comic Billy Bright.
But not like the standard family-oriented fare that Van Dyke had turn out to be recognized for, the Carl Reiner-written movie was “a little darker” and ended “on a sad note.”
“It’s not typical Dick Van Dyke,” Boettcher told The Post. “But it shows the career of a comic who’s a silent motion picture star who has kind of aged out of the silent movie era.”
The film, however, paid tribute to many of the basic icons that impressed Van Dyke to enter showbiz in the first place.
Van Dyke in the 1969 movie “The Comic” making a humorous face Courtesy Everett Collection
Dick Van Dyke as silent-film comic Billy Bright in “The Comic.” Courtesy Everett Collection
Michele Lee, Van Dyke and Cornel Wilde in “The Comic.” Everett Collection / Everett Collection
“I think what’s fascinating is it’s certainly a nod to that era, the era that he grew up with and watched movies in and emulated, whether it was the Stan Laurels of the world or those kinds of people like Buster Keaton,” Boettcher said.
“Those kinds of people he was nodding to in that film and honoring them,” the filmmaker added.
Van Dyke opened up about “The Comic” in a candid interview just over 40 years after the movie’s release.
Van Dyke in 1964. Courtesy Everett Collection
Van Dyke during the taping of “Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic” in 2023. CBS by way of Getty Images
“We were excited about that,” he said in 2010. (*2*)
“It was an interesting movie, but opened and closed in the same week,” the “Bye Bye Birdie” star added. “We were kind of proud of it.”
As for “Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration,” Boettcher said that he and his team have been “humbled” to be the ones telling the Hollywood nice’s story.
“Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration” releases in choose theaters on Dec. 13. AP
Director Steve Boettcher said that he and his team have been “humbled” to be the ones telling Van Dyke’s story. The New York Post
“I think we’re all better because he’s made us laugh and made us smile and entertained us so long with such great music,” the director added. “That’s truly the legacy that he leaves.”
“What you see is what you get with Mr. Van Dyke,” Boettcher said. “He is just the most gracious, wonderful, charming guy. He’s kind of the last of a generation of entertainers, and I think [our] film reflects that.”
“Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration” hits choose theaters for two days only on Saturday, Dec. 13, and Sunday, Dec. 14.
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