DVD
Today is Dick Van Dyke's 90th birthday. I've always been a fan, and think his work on The Dick Van Dyke Show is the greatest sustained lead performance in the history of television.
He's best known for that role, but he was also a Broadway and movie star. So let's take a little time today and enjoy his work.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:03 AM
4 Comments:
Wow, that's pretty high praise. I knew you liked the show but I did not realize how much so.
It's not just that he does a great job, but that he covers all the bases. As Rob Petrie, he does romantic comedy, witty banter, drama, straight man material, slapstick, singing, dancing, whatever is called for. In fact, he so good that almost everything he's done since has been a disappointment.
Except for a Disney or Disneyesque musical or two, he hasn't done anything else, has he, apart from Murder She Wrote, Love Boat and a Columbo killer?
He's done a fair amount since his original sitcom. He starred in a fair number of movies, including some that weren't bad, or were at least of interest--Divorce American Style, The Comic and Cold Turkey, to name a few. However, he didn't establish himself as a movie star and even his best work wasn't comparable to his show, which was head and shoulders above any other sitcom on TV at the time. Then he starred in three separate TV series which had a combined run of over ten years, but none of them compared to his first big hit.
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