The Dick Van Dyke Show | |
---|---|
Genre | Sitcom |
Created by | Carl Reiner |
Written by | Carl Reiner Frank Tarloff (as "David Adler") John Whedon Sheldon Keller Howard Merrill Martin Ragaway Bill Persky Sam Denoff Garry Marshall Jerry Belson Carl Kleinschmitt Dale McRaven |
Directed by | Sheldon Leonard John Rich Jerry Paris Howard Morris Alan Rafkin |
Starring |
Dick Van Dyke Mary Tyler Moore Rose Marie Morey Amsterdam Larry Mathews Richard Deacon |
Theme music composer | Earle Hagen |
Composer(s) | Earle Hagen |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 5 |
No. of episodes | 158 + 1 reunion special (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Sheldon Leonard, in association with Danny Thomas |
Producer(s) | Carl Reiner Bill Persky (1965) Sam Denoff (1965) |
Running time | 22–24 minutes |
Production company(s) | Calvada Productions |
Distributor | Paul Brownstein Productions |
Release | |
Original network | CBS |
Picture format | Black-and-white |
Audio format | Monaural |
Original release | October 3, 1961 | – June 1, 1966
Chronology | |
Followed by | The New Dick Van Dyke Show |
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning over five seasons. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Larry Mathews, and Mary Tyler Moore. It centered on the work and home life of television comedy writer Rob Petrie (Van Dyke). The show was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff. The music for the show's theme song was written by Earle Hagen.
The series won 15 Emmy Awards. In 1997, the episodes "Coast-to-Coast Big Mouth" and "It May Look Like a Walnut" were ranked at 8 and 15 respectively on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. In 2002, it was ranked at 13 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and in 2013, it was ranked at 20 on their list of the 60 Best Series.
The two main settings show the work and home life of Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke), the head writer of a comedy/variety show produced in Manhattan. Viewers are given an "inside look" at how a television show (the fictitious The Alan Brady Show) was written and produced. Many scenes deal with Rob and his co-writers, Buddy Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam) and Sally Rogers (Rose Marie). Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon), a balding and recipient of numerous insulting one-liners from Buddy, was the show's producer and the brother-in-law of the show's star, Alan Brady (Carl Reiner). As Rob, Buddy, and Sally write for a comedy show, the premise provides a built-in forum for them to constantly make jokes. Other scenes focus on the home life of Rob, his wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), and son Richie (Larry Mathews), who live at 148 Bonnie Meadow Road in suburban New Rochelle, New York. Also often seen are their next-door neighbors and best friends, Jerry Helper (Jerry Paris), a dentist, and his wife Millie (Ann Morgan Guilbert).