Richard Wayne Van Dyke was born 97 years ago in Missouri, USA, is married and has 4 children. He is an actor, comedian, singer and dancer.
As a teenager, Dick reckoned taking a career in politics, however, whilst in high school he took drama lessons and changed his mind to become a comedian instead.
His first ‘job’ was as a radio deejay in the late 40s. In that same period, he formed a comedy duo called the ‘Merry Mutes’ and performed in several nightclubs and some years later took part in a TV show.
In the next three decades, Dick played in various theatrical productions and musicals as well as appeared in many TV programmes, particularly sitcoms, as well as hosted several shows. These include ‘Bye bye Birdie’, ‘The New Dick Van Dyke Show’, ‘The Morning After’ and the popular drama series ‘Diagnosis: Murder’ which ran from 1993 to 2001. Dick had the role of a doctor and in this series also starred his son Barry.
Van Dyke continued with his career, starring in more movies, TV shows, series and sitcoms til 2021. He had even released a solo album as well as published 4 books.
During his +70-year career, Dick starred in over 30 films and 60 TV productions, plus 4 theatrical performances. He received several awards including a Grammy, a Golden Globe, 4 Primetime Emmy, 1 Daytime Emmy and 1 Tony, amongst others.