Dick Van Dyke ‘Lucked Out’ Working With Julie Andrews on ‘Mary Poppins’: ‘We Loved Ourselves’
In the 1964 musical Mary Poppinsa happily sooty one Dick Van Dyke glides across a London stage set while Chimney Sweep Bert sings “Chim Chim Cher-ee” with sheer glee. He later becomes unrecognizable in the role of grumpy banker Mr. Dawes Sr. “I had to see Walt [Disney] and ask him to let me do it. So he let me do a screen test,” recalls Dick of the surprising second role in the film. “I got the part – and didn’t even charge him extra! It was so much fun.”
With a remarkable career spanning seven decades, 97-year-old Dick has a lot to look forward to. “I didn’t know I was going to be an entertainer. I thought I was going to starve,” says the Illinois-raised star, who began performing in high school. His service during World War II as an Army radio announcer eventually led to Broadway and television The Dick Van Dyke Show and starring in two of the world’s most popular family-friendly musicals, Mary Poppins And Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. “I get a lot of letters from kids who just discovered these old movies,” he says. “I know I’ll be remembered mostly for Bert. I am pleased.”
Dick Van Dyke: It was “fun” to work with Julie Andrews
Of course, his career did not end with Mary Poppins. Dick’s later work included other film roles – including some roles as villains – and a return to series television Diagnosis: murderplus guest appearances and several books including 2015 keep moving. “I’m the type of person who gets up on the right side of the bed,” explains Dick. “I’m full of ideas and I make a list of things I want to do.”
In 1961, Dick won a Tony for his starring role in the original Broadway cast of Bye Birdie. He and the other members of the show – including them Chita Rivera and Paul Lynde – appeared together on an episode of The Ed Sullivan Show. It was here that America got its first glimpse of Dick’s graceful footwork as he performed “Put On a Happy Face.”
In less than a year, Dick would be the star of The Dick Van Dyke Show. The Carl Reiner-conceived series, starring Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam, was a ratings winner, earning four Emmys for Outstanding Comedy and three for its Lead Actor. “It’s been an amazing five years with a very talented, sweet, wonderful man,” gushed Rose Marie Closer in 2017. “I know it sounds like a cliché, but we were like family. Honest to God.”
The story goes on
Dick recalls the “happiest, most creative five years of my life.” He loved that Carl allowed them to improvise and occasionally sing and dance. “My favorite show was the one where we all got to perform,” he says Closer.
Over the course of the show, Dick fell in love with Mary Tyler Moore, who played his wife Laura. “She had never done comedy before, but we could read each other’s minds,” he recalls.
During a break from the show, Dick teamed up with Julie Andrews make Mary Poppins. “I just got lucky with the leading actresses,” admits Dick, who describes Julie as “talented and approachable.” It was a pretty great way to spend the summer. “Like I said to Julie, ‘If I’m not having fun, I stink.’ “When I’m having fun, I’m pretty good,” says Dick. “We just enjoyed it.”
In 1993, Dick returned to television with Diagnosis: murder, a medical crime drama that became a family affair. “My son Barry was there from the start,” Dick said in 2000. Grandson Shane also played a med student. “Eventually I had all four of them [Barry’s] Kids on the show,” said the actor, who has had a varied career but has always been most proud of his family-friendly projects. “I think we’re kind of an alternative choice for people who are fed up with sex and violence,” he said Diagnosis: murder. “You can watch it with the kids and feel safe doing it.”
This February, Dick headed to another show that had mass acclaim. He calls against each other disguised as a gnome The Masked Singer “the weirdest thing he’s ever done in his long career.” “I think some people thought I was dead,” jokes Dick.
Despite being voted out first, Dick left the competition with a singing smile Mary Poppins‘ “Supercalifragilisticexpiallegic.” It brought the judges to tears. “A lot of viewers started singing along, too,” says Dick. “It was great, it was great fun to bring those memories back to people.”
