Today we are visiting The Dick Van Dyke Show!
Two things will always come to mind when I think of The Dick Van Dyke Show, the first is of course the entrance when Rob Petrie side steps to avoid tripping and Laura Petrie saying, "Oh Rob!".
(Also have to give Laura credit here for making capri pants popular!)
This was the sitcom that broke the mold when it came to the head of the household actually having a profession and showing him at work. For many years before this show premiered, you would always here about "dad" being at work but you would never hear what kind of work he did. In some cases you would even see them at home all the time (eg. Ozzie Nelson). This was the first show where you got to see the main character interact with his co-workers as well as his family at home. And very often the two would meet, especially in the classic episode "Coast to Coast Blabbermouth" when Laura almost cost Rob his job by revealing that Alan Brady wore a toupee. This show is just as funny today as it was when it first premiered in 1961.
It is now part of TV folklore that the classic sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show was originally conceived as a starring vehicle for the series' creator, Carl Reiner. In the pilot episode "Head of the Family," filmed in New York in 1959, Reiner played TV comedy writer Rob Petrie (then pronounced "pea-tree"), who divided his time between his job as a head writer on "The Alan Sturdy Show" with co-workers Buddy Sorrell (Morty Gunty) and Sally Rogers (Sylvia Miles) and his home life in New Rochelle with his wife, Laura (Barbara Britton) and son, Ritchie (Gary Morgan). Potential sponsors and networks liked the premise but not the cast...or to be more blunt, no one wanted to buy a series with Carl Reiner as star.
Debuting October 3, 1961, on CBS, The Dick Van Dyke Show, as mentioned, top-billed the titular star as Rob Petrie, who was now head writer for "The Alan Brady Show" During the series' first few seasons, Alan Brady (a brash, dictatorial character reportedly inspired by Reiner's former boss and colleague Sid Caesar) was seldom seen -- and when he was, it was only from the back. It was an open secret that Carl Reiner himself played Brady, though he did not take screen billing. Only in the series' fourth season was Brady's face actually seen, and only then was Reiner credited on-screen as the actor playing the part. Other recurring characters included Richard Deacon as Alan Brady's producer (and beleaguered brother-in-law) Mel Cooley, Jerry Paris and Ann Morgan Guilbert as the Petries' next-door neighbors Jerry and Millie Helper (he was a dentist, she was Laura's best friend), future director Bill Idelson as Sally Rogers' erstwhile boyfriend, Herman Glimpshire, and Joan Shawlee as Buddy's ex-showgirl wife, Pickles.
Although The Dick Van Dyke Show's somewhat higher ratings still did not set the world on fire, the series received a great deal of word-of-mouth buzz during its second season, and its audience grew steadily throughout the remainder of its run. The fact that the series picked up several Emmy Awards along the way was the icing on the cake. After five seasons, star Dick Van Dyke and producer Carl Reiner opted to quit while they were ahead -- a rare move in the mid-'60s (and even rarer four decades later). Thus, The Dick Van Dyke Show concluded its nighttime run on September 7, 1966, though reruns continued to air on CBS's daytime schedule until 1969. Thereafter, the series entered off-network syndication, where its has continued to flourish mightily well into the 21st century. And in 2003, the surviving cast members were reunited for a two-hour special.
I've recently discovered by while the research for this "Stroll" that you can watch the show on this web site anytime, how cool is that?
Throughout the series it was known that Rob was writing his autobiography, the last episode was bitter-sweet for many of us. Rob finally finishes his autobiography (it took 5 years to write) and gives the book to Laura to read. As Laura reads, we see classic moments from several episodes, including how Rob and Laura met, how Rob almost missed his wedding, and of course the birth of Ritchie. As Laura finishes the book, Rob tells her that although the publisher hated it, Alan Brady has decided to buy it for a TV series!
It was one of the best last episodes of a series that I've ever seen...
Thank goodness that we never really have to say goodbye to Rob and the gang...
Until we meet again........ Don't forget to keep up with the "oldies!"
Theme from the "Dick Van Dyke Show"
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