08/03/2007
TV Home / Entertainment Channel / Bullz-Eye Home
He’s a legend of TV comedy by any standard of measurement, and although he’ll be 82 years old on his next birthday, that hasn’t slowed down Dick Van Dyke nearly as much as you’d think it would. In addition to starring in an ongoing series of TV movies for The Hallmark Channel with his son and grandson (“Murder 101”), Van Dyke also regularly does performances for children’s hospitals, where he still sings and dances his heart out. Van Dyke was at the TCA Press Tour to hype his latest “Murder 101” movie, “If Wishes Were Horses,” and we piled into a press scrum to spend a few minutes with the man who once played Rob Petrie.
Reporter: What are your favorite projects
that you've worked on over the years?
Dick Van Dyke: Well, you know, all of us, from Carl Reiner to every one of us, said that “The Dick Van Dyke Show” was the five best years of our lives, just the most creative and most fun we ever had. And, of course, 'Mary Poppins' would be number two! And working with my family on these 'Murder 101' films is just phenomenal.”
Reporter: When you were on “Diagnosis Murder,” you had a mustache. Did you feel like you acted better with the mustache or without it?
DVD: I felt more like Dr. Sloan! (Growing it) was my idea, but my wife didn't kiss me for 10 years because of that damned mustache!
Reporter: Was that the reason, really?
DVD: Yeah! She just hates mustaches! But I thought it fit the part, for me. I shaved it off, and I looked strange to myself. She said it made me look older, but I said, “Who cares?”
Reporter: How is it working with your family?
DVD: It's just a ball. We have such a good time. We all have kind of the same sense of humor, the same sense of timing, and it's a breeze, it's so easy. One or two takes, and we're off!
Reporter: How's your brother Jerry?
DVD: He's great! He's living in Cancun!
Reporter: Really?
DVD: He's been down there…he's in a beautiful place down on the beach.
Reporter: Was his place destroyed by that hurricane?
DVD: He's in the face of every hurricane. He just got through re-doing his house. His pool got launched out to sea! He said, “You think FEMA's bad, deal with a Mexican insurance company!” But he's sticking there. He loves it, and he's got a beautiful spot.
Reporter: Could you ever talk him onto one of these movies, do you think?
DVD: Oh, yeah, I think he'd come up and do it, if we can write a part for him. He did one of the “Diagnosis Murder” episodes. He played a nutcase…which he is!
Reporter: What TV do you like to watch?
DVD: You know, I'm completely off episodic now. I'm down to “Jeopardy!” and The History Channel.
Reporter: I love The History Channel.
DVD: Oh, I love that History Channel. There's not much on (network TV). Reality shows are aimed at morons, as far as I'm concerned. I shouldn't say that…but I can't take 'em.
Reporter: It was impressive watching you plop on the couch and then jump back up again. I couldn't do that!
DVD: Well, I'm a dancer! I just did a show a couple of weeks ago, where I danced and sang for two hours! That's the secret, I think: keep moving!
Bullz-Eye: Are there any projects of yours that aren't yet out on DVD that you'd like to see released?
DVD: No, but, you know, somebody called
me and said that they were going to release the old 'Van
Dyke' show in color, and I don't see the point. There
are a lot of the young kids, I guess, who won't watch
anything that's in black and white, but…it's like colorizing
Laurel and Hardy. Some things just don't belong in color.
Reporter: You know, they did colorize some Laurel and Hardy stuff. Did you see it?
DVD: Oh, yeah. It was awful. It's like colorizing “Citizen Kane.” Some things just belong in black and white.
Reporter: What instruments do you play?
DVD: I play a little piano, but that's about it. I've got a baritone ukulele that I like that I'm pretty good at. But I do a lot of singing. I sing, mostly.
Reporter: You know, there was a panel here a few days ago about pioneers of late night TV, and Dick Cavett was here.
DVD: He was? How is he? I haven't seen him in years!
Reporter: He's good. He just turned 70, but he looked good. But I was wondering, what was it like being a guest on “The Tonight Show?” Do you remember your first appearance on “The Tonight Show,” or any of your other opportunities on late night TV?
DVD: You know, back in the late '50s, when Jack Paar was hosting (“The Tonight Show”), he took a two-week vacation, and I took over the show. And in those days, there was no tape: it was 11:30 p.m. until 1 in the morning! I bored myself to death. I was so bad, I cannot tell you! I got sleepy, I got bored, I thought I wasn't funny…I was awful. I was the worst. Originally, they had considered Johnny (Carson) for “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” but if they had switched us, I would've died on “The Tonight Show.” Thank God things worked the way they did! You know, I was also the anchor on the CBS morning show for a year, and my newscaster was Walter Cronkite. I was the anchor in 1956, and I was doing three hours a day on the air, every morning. I got a picture from Walter just last year that he had dug out; it was of the two of us on the set, and he wrote, “How did you ever make it without me?”
Reporter: That's a great story!
DVD: Yeah, and he's a great guy. But I was 29 years old and didn't know what I was doing. I had no idea.
Reporter: Yeah, but those three hours a day, that experience must've been invaluable to you for the rest of your life!
DVD: Well, it was live! And if anything went wrong, it went wrong, and that was it! I could write a book about the things we had to deal with.
Reporter: Have you ever considered writing a book?
DVD: Yeah, but I get bored thinking about my life. It's kind of uneventful.
Reporter: Really?
DVD: Well, funny things happened. But, no, I don't think I'll ever write a book.