TV Land marks 'Van Dyke' gold anniversary

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NEW YORK, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- TV Land has acquired the rights to rerun episodes of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" starting this week, the network announced.

The black-and-white episodes starring Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore will begin airing Monday to mark the 50th anniversary of the show's premier on Oct. 3, 1961.

The network said the plan called for the airing of the 36 creme-de-la-creme episodes starring Van Dyke as sitcom writer Rob Petrie and Moore as his feisty wife, Laura. Comedy icon Carl Reiner was the creator of the series, which marked a new phase in the evolution of television comedies after the 1950s.

"TV Land is dedicated to showing the best in sitcoms throughout the decades," Executive Vice President Jacklyn Cohen said in a statement. "The Petries were a mainstay of the network for quite some time so we're so glad to welcome them home."