Dick Van Dyke

Formed a night club stand-up comedy act in the late 1940s with his pal from Danville, Phil Erickson. They toured the country as the slapstick, lip-syncing "Merry Mutes". The act eventually broke up in 1954 and Dick went solo, finding work on New Orleans local television.

Often hosted game shows when he was a struggling actor. He hosted Mother's Day (1958) and Laugh Line (1959) but turned down The Price Is Right (1956).

Dick Van Dyke was born Richard Wayne Van Dyke in West Plains, Missouri, to Hazel Victoria (McCord), a stenographer, and Loren Wayne Van Dyke, a salesman. His younger brother was entertainer Jerry Van Dyke. His ancestry includes English, Scottish, German, Swiss-German, and Dutch. Although he'd had small roles beforehand, Van Dyke was launched to stardom in the 1960 musical "Bye-Bye Birdie", for which he won a Tony Award, and, then, later in the movie based on that play, Bye Bye Birdie (1963).

Beat out Johnny Carson for the role of Rob Petrie on what later became The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961) .

His album "Songs I Like by Dick Van Dyke" (Command Records, 1963), released at the height of his television success and just before the release of Mary Poppins (1964), was actually a bestseller, remaining on Billboard's top-40 albums chart for several weeks in late 1963-early 1964.

He has starred in a number of films throughout the years including Mary Poppins (1964), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and Fitzwilly (1967), as well as a number of successful television series which won him no less than four Emmys and three made-for-CBS movies.

He played Lionel Jeffries's son in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) even though Jeffries was actually six months his junior.

After separating from his wife, Margie Willett, in the 1970s, Dick later became involved with Michelle Triola. Margie and Dick had four children born during the first ten years of their marriage: Barry Van Dyke; Carrie Beth van Dyke; Christian Van Dyke and Stacy Van Dyke, all of whom are now in their forties and married themselves.

Lived with Michelle Triola from 1976 until her death in 2009. Van Dyke had become friendly with her before his marriage ended and in his autobiography he admits that the final cause of his divorce from his wife was when he gave Michelle Triola out of his own pocket the six-figure amount she had sued for unsuccessfully in her infamous "palimony" case against Lee Marvin.

Dabbled in computer animation since the 1980s. Using Newtek's Lightwave 3D from home, he created and animated a CG version of himself that he danced with on The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited (2004).

Son Barry Van Dyke and grandson Carey Van Dyke also worked on Diagnosis Murder (1993) with him. Sons Barry and Christian Van Dyke also appeared in The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961) episode, The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Talented Neighborhood (1962).

In July 1999, he was made an honorary life member of The Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA), Inc. at their annual International Convention in Anaheim, California. He has sung in an a cappella quartet called "The Vantastix" since 2000. The group released a children's album in 2008.

Became a great-grandfather on July 26, 2001, when his grandson 'Carey Van Dyke' (Barry Van Dyke's oldest child) and his wife Anne Van Dyke had a baby girl named Ava Van Dyke.

Rob Petrie, Van Dyke's role on The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961), was ranked #22 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue].