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Topic: Dick Van Dyke

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Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke. Van Dyke starred in the films Bye Bye Birdie, Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and the television series The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Diagnosis: Murder . Van Dyke has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.

Van Dyke was born in West Plains, Missouri, to Loren (nickname "Cookie") and Hazel (born McCord) Van Dyke, but he grew up in Danville, Illinois. He is the older brother of actor Jerry Van Dyke, who is best known for his role on the TV series Coach. His grandson, Shane Van Dyke, is also an actor, and directed Titanic II. He is of Dutch descent on his father's side. His mother, as a Mayflower descendant, is of English extraction but also carries additional Scottish ancestry.

During World War II, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps where he became a radio announcer and served in Special Services entertaining troops in the Continental United States. While Van Dyke appeared at the Chapman Park Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, he and the former Margerie Willett were married on the radio show "Bride and Groom", in 1948. They had four children: Christian (Chris), Barry, Carrie Beth, and Stacy. They divorced in 1984 after a long separation. He lived with longtime companion Michelle Triola for more than 30 years until her death in 2009. Van Dyke's son Barry Van Dyke and grandsons Shane Van Dyke and Carey Van Dyke are also actors; both of these last two, along with other Van Dyke relations and grandchildren, appeared in various episodes of the long-running series Diagnosis: Murder. All of Van Dyke's children are married, and he has seven grandchildren. His son Chris was district attorney for Marion County, Oregon in the 1980s. In 1987, his granddaughter Jessica Van Dyke died from Reye's Syndrome which drove him to do a series of television commercials to raise public awareness of the danger to children. In 2010, he claimed to have once been rescued from drifting out to sea and possible death by a pod of porpoises.

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