Dick Van Dyke

From that role, his cinematographic life developed, above all, supported by his ability to be close, funny and wildly creative. His humor is very heir to the expressive gag of silent movies, and in fact his gestures and even his physique are very reminiscent of the great Stan Laurel , the ineffable skinny man who was always tied up by the fat Oliver Hardy . And, coincidences of life, they were the ones who prompted the actor’s film career. The fact is that on a comic level, with Dick Van Dyke what the mythical protagonist ofThe twilight of the gods , when he talked about his golden age: “We didn’t need dialogues. We had faces.” Proof of this was his role as Bert in the Julie Andrews musical . Antics like the animated penguins stay in the imagination for life.

Richard Wayne Van Dyke was born on December 13, 1925 in West Plains, a town in Missouri, in the United States. He grew up in Danville, Illinois, where he studied his early years. The accession of him by Buster Keaton filmsand from “El gordo y el flaco” they took him down the path of the show. And after serving in the Air Force during World War II, he made his leap into the world of show business. Tall, lanky (1.85 m), with a deep baritone voice and contagious humor, Dick Van Dyke appeared on various television shows from the late 50s. Until in 1961 he began directing his own program, “The Show by Dick Van Dyke”, which lasted until 1966, and would have repeated editions years later in the 71 episodes from 1971 to 1973, and again in 1988 with another ten new chapters. He soon saw the talent of the comedian, but before reaching the cinema he forged himself on the Broadway tables, where for example he triumphed with the musical “Bye-Bye Birdie”. In fact, the screen adaptation of that work,A Kiss for Birdie , directed by George Sidney in 1963, would be his cinematic baptism. The actor was close to forty years old, but then he would begin a decade full of successes and endearing films.

In 1964 the funny comedy by J. Lee Thompson would arrive Her and her husbands , with a great Shirley MacLaine . But that year, of course, was that of Julie Andrews in the role of governess inMary Poppins . Even with the passing of the decades, this film from the Disney factory continues to fascinate due to its unusual imagination, bordering on even the funniest surrealism. The couple made up of Mary Poppins and Bert the chimney sweep is still the dream of any child. Dick Van Dyke – who played a double role in the film (playing the old Mr. Dawes) – does not hesitate to say that it is the best work of his life. Another of his most remembered films by the children wasLieutenant Robinson (1966), an adventure comedy more than remotely inspired by the work of Daniel Defoe . And the following year he shot with Debbie Reynolds the comedyMy wife’s boyfriend , although the best of that 1967 was the highly inspiredBeware the Butler , a crazy story full of charm in which he shared the limelight with Barbara Feldon (Super Agent 86 ). In 1968, another of Van Dyke’s greatest successes would appear in Van Dyke’s filmography, again a creation for the whole family:Chitty Chitty, Bang Bang . The character of the crazy inventor Caractacus was a marvel of eccentricity and fun. Raise your hand the fan who did not enjoy this movie when he was a child!

However, despite these successes his career began to change. After the less successful comediesNot a Moment to Respite (1968), where he was associated with the great Edward G. Robinson , andSome Kind of a Nut (1969), with Angie Dickinson , the actor began to lavish more on simple, lower-quality telefilms. It was a bad time when Dick Van Dyke had serious alcohol problems and the work rate dropped. He still had time to shoot something salvageable, like A month of abstinence (1971) or the dramaMás allá del amor , by Stanley Kramer , but his acting career was almost limited to minor appearances in television series. He also hit rock bottom personally when he divorced his wife, Margie, in 1984, whom he had married in 1948 and with whom he had four children.

But Van Dyke never stagnated in his work… The last thing that stood out in the life of this likeable actor with a broad smile was, above all, his leading role in the series Diagnosis of Murder , which was a huge critical and public success and which would know nothing. less than eight seasons, with 179 episodes between 1993 and 2002. As for the big screen, he had a small role in the wide cast ofDick Tracy (1990) and made a strong comeback as a likeable and sneaky janitor in the hilariousNight at the museum (2006).