Dick Van Dyke’s net worth is derived from his actor performances in numerous popular films, musicals, TV sitcoms, and dramas, as well as his directing and producing abilities.
He is possibly best remembered for his parts in classic musical films such as “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Mary Poppins,” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” among others.
Early Years
Richard Wayne Van Dyke, better known as Dick Van Dyke, was born on December 13, 1925, in West Plains, Missouri. Hazel Victoria (née McCord) worked as a stenographer, while Loren Wayne “Cookie” Van Dyke worked as a salesperson. He and his younger brother Jerry Van Dyke, who was also an actor, grew up in Danville, Illinois.
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He graduated from high school in 1944, intending to join the United States Army Air Forces and train as a pilot during World War II.
He was often turned down for enlistment owing to his weight, but he was eventually admitted as a radio announcer and then as a member of the Special Services, where he entertained troops.
Career
Van Dyke began working as a radio DJ in his hometown in the late 1940s.
He was also a member of a comedy pair with pantomime performer Phil Erickson, with whom he toured the West Coast and starred on a local television show in Atlanta, Georgia, called “The Merry Mutes,” in the early 1950s. His other early television performances include 1954’s “Chance of a Lifetime,” 1957-1958’s “The Phil Silvers Show,” ABC’s “The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom,” and NBC’s “The Polly Bergen Show.”
Van Dyke made his Broadway debut in 1959 in a performance of “The Girls Against the Boys.” From 1960 to 1961, he played the lead in “Bye Bye Birdie.” Van Dyke earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in 1961 for his performance in “Bye Bye Birdie,” which also won four other Tony Awards.
Van Dyke starred in his own CBS sitcom, “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” beginning in 1961, in which he played comedy writer Rob Petrie. He received three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series throughout the run of the show, which lasted until 1966.
In addition, the sitcom won four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series. An all-star cast of actors, including Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Jerry Paris, Ann Morgan Guilbert, and Mary Tyler Moore, joined him on the show.
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Van Dyke’s next effort was “The New Dick Van Dyke Show,” a completely unrelated sitcom that lasted from 1971 to 1974. Despite the fact that this play was less successful than his first, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance.
“Van Dyke and Company,” his third show, was a short-lived sketch comedy show that also included Andy Kaufman and Super Save Osborne. Even though it only lasted three months, it won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy-Variety Series.
Van Dyke had a long and successful film career in addition to his television appearances.
In 1963, he made his debut film appearance in an adaptation of the Broadway blockbuster musical “Bye Bye Birdie,” which he had previously appeared in. He subsequently went on to star in Walt Disney’s “Mary Poppins,” which has become a classic (1964).
In it, he plays Bert, a character with a cockney accent; Van Dyke’s rendition of the accent is widely regarded as one of the worst ever seen in a film. With the notable exception of the musical “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” he starred in a succession of pictures that all performed poorly at the box office for the rest of the 1960s (1968).
In fact, Van Dyke’s film roles influenced his television career; after appearing in the 1990 film “Dick Tracy,” in which he played D.A. Fletcher, he was offered the role of Dr. Mark Sloan in an episode of “Jake and the Fatman.”
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He eventually got his own television show, “Diagnosis: Murder,” which lasted from 1993 to 2001 and included the Sloan character. Many members of his family have appeared in “Diagnosis: Murder” episodes, including his son Barry Van Dyke and grandchildren Shane and Carey Van Dyke.
Personal Life
Van Dyke married his first wife, Margerie Willett, live on the radio show “Bride and Groom” in February 1948. They had four children as a couple. Van Dyke and Willett separated in 1984 after a protracted separation. Van Dyke then resided with Michelle Triola Marvin, his lifelong partner, until she died in 2009. They have been married for over 30 years.
Van Dyke married makeup artist Arlene Silver in 2012, when she was 46 years his junior. Van Dyke has been upfront and public about his alcoholism, and he sought treatment for it in 1972. He was a heavy smoker for most of his adult life, but revealed in 2013 that he had quit and relied on Nicorette gum to suppress his cravings.
Net worth of Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke has a net worth of $50 million as an actor, comedian, director, and producer.
