Dick Van Dyke Net Worth

Dick Van Dyke's Quotes

• I've retired so many times now it's getting to be a habit.
• I remember in the book that Caractacus was married. There was no love interest, no love story. So I think bringing Truly Scrumptious in works very well because we had assumed he was a widower. And they couldn't have picked a better Truly Scrumptious than Sally [Sally Ann Howes]. They came up with Sally Ann and I heard her voice, and it was the richest contralto. She auditioned with "The Lovely Lonely Man" and I thought, "My God, this girl is great!" and then she was stunningly beautiful. She loved those kids and they loved her, which I think comes across on the screen. They just thought a great deal of her and she spent a lot of time with them, you know, between shots - telling stories and playing games during all those long waiting periods.
• I never wanted to be an actor and to this day I don't. I can't get a handle on it. An actor wants to become someone else. I am a song-and-dance man and I enjoy being myself, which is all I can do.
• I've made peace with insecurity... because there is no security of any kind.
• In the best of all worlds the producers would take some responsibility for the kinds of things they're putting out. Unfortunately, they don't. And then I-- they keep saying we can't have our First Amendment rights abridged and we can't have censorship. Well we had it back in the Hays days [Production Code Administration, headed by 'Will H. Hays', the official Hollywood censor office], in the Johnson office days. And I think they should--maybe the American people might bring it back if things get bad enough.

Interesting Facts about Dick Van Dyke

1. 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).
2. Resided 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.
3. Older brother of entertainer Jerry Van Dyke.
4. 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).
5. Daughter Stacy Van Dyke guest starred on Diagnosis Murder (1993), in Diagnosis Murder: Murder in the Family (1996). Grandson Shane Van Dyke guest-starred in 14 episodes of Diagnosis Murder (1993).
6. According to his book "Those Funny Kids: A Treasury of Classroom Laughter", by age 11 he had grown to 6'1".
7. Served in the United States Air Force.
8. He enlisted to be a pilot in the Army Air Corps during World War II, but initially did not make the cut because he did not meet the weight requirement, as he was underweight. He tried three times to enlist, before barely making the cut. He actually served as a radio announcer during the war, and he did not leave the United States.
9. He and his wife Margie married on the radio show "Bride and Groom" because the show paid for the wedding rings, a honeymoon and household appliances. After their wedding, the Van Dykes were so poor that they had to live in their car for a while.
10. Beat out Johnny Carson for the role of Rob Petrie on what later became The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961).
11. Won Broadway's 1961 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Musical) for "Bye, Bye Birdie" and a Grammy Award for the Mary Poppins (1964) soundtrack.
12. His comic inspiration was Stan Laurel. He says he was able to find him by looking up his name in the phone book in Santa Monica, California, where Laurel resided. He called and Laurel invited him over. The two became good friends. When Laurel passed away, Van Dyke delivered his eulogy at the funeral.
13. Says that his most memorable role is that of Bert the chimney-sweep in Mary Poppins (1964).
14. Overcame alcoholism in the 1970s.
15. Children: Christian Van Dyke, Barry Van Dyke, Stacy Van Dyke and Carrie Beth van Dyke. Grandchildren: Carey Van Dyke, Shane Van Dyke, Wes Van Dyke and Taryn Van Dyke. Great-granddaughter: Ava Van Dyke.
16. 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.
17. Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 25, 1993. But when the star was unveiled, his name was misspelled on the star as "VANDYKE". Being a good sport, he laughed, took a pen and drew a slash between "VAN" and "DYKE". The star was corrected soon after.
18. 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.
19. His attempt at a Cockney accent in Mary Poppins (1964) is so notorious that a "Dick Van Dyke accent" is an accepted slang term for an American's unsuccessful attempt at any British accent. Despite that, he is quite popular in the United Kingdom.
20. 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.