The title credits flash on the screen and that familiar big band tune starts to play. The front door opens and in walks Rob Petrie. A kiss for Laura and a quick step toward the living room, and then, whoop, boom! Rob goes down in that memorable tumble over the ottoman. This opening segment is probably one of the most recognized in classic television sitcom history—and it is, of course, from “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” Now, almost 65 years after its CBS premiere in October 1961, the show continues to endure and be watched by a contingent of diehard faithful fans, as well as new generations of viewers.
How has “The Dick Van Dyke Show” withstood the test of time? The success of the show is certainly attributable to the genius of creator and producer, Carl Reiner, whose knack for taking a somewhat ordinary life event and crafting it into an entertaining sitcom storyline was extraordinary.
The show’s success can also be credited to the casting of a stellar slate of actors—Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Richard Deacon, Larry Mathews, and even Reiner himself. The glue that cemented this troupe of performers together and ensured the show’s popularity, however, was the relatively unknown and unassuming future star of the show—the multitalented Dick Van Dyke.
“The Dick Van Dyke Show” was the vehicle that propelled Dick to stardom, making him a household name and giving the initials “DVD” a whole new meaning (long before anyone had invented digital media storage). It also paved the way for an amazing future portfolio of Van Dyke performances that still entertain us today. Through the years, Dick has unequivocally stated that his time working on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” was the best five years of his professional life.
As we celebrate the 100th birthday of Dick Van Dyke, it is appropriate that we acknowledge the legacy of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and revisit some of the most beloved and memorable episodes from the show. The episodes below are also among Dick’s favorites, having been identified and enumerated by him on The Chairman’s Choice, a Nick-at-Nite television special from the early 1990s.
1. “That’s My Boy??” (Season 3, Episode 1)
Original airdate: September 25, 1963
Rob believes that he and Laura may have brought home the wrong baby from the hospital after several incidents of confusion transpired at the hospital between the Petrie family and the Peters family. All concern is ultimately put to rest when the Peters visit Rob and Laura, and Rob discovers that Mr. and Mrs. Peters are a Black couple.
Written by Sam Denoff and Bill Persky, this opening episode of season three of the series was actually inspired by real events in Persky’s life when his own child was born. This episode is also known for garnering the longest laugh from the audience at the episode climax, so much so that director John Rich had to stop the filming and reset before they could continue. Mr. Peters was played by Greg Morris, of future “Mission Impossible” fame.
2. “It May Look Like A Walnut” (Season 2, Episode 20)
Original airdate: February 6, 1963
After watching a science fiction movie on TV before bed, Rob has a nightmare and believes that all of the walnuts in the supermarkets have been contaminated by an alien named Kolak from the planet Twilo, causing everyone who is exposed to these walnuts to lose their sense of humor and their thumbs.
Written by Carl Reiner with a tongue-in-cheek tip-of-the hat to Rod Serling’s “The Twilight Zone,” this season two episode included a cameo appearance by show financier and producer, Danny Thomas, who portrayed the role of Kolak. This episode is well-known by fans of the show for the unforgettable scene of Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) sliding down and out of the front closet on 1,800 pounds of walnuts. This episode was also ranked at number 13 on TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
3. “Never Bathe on Saturday” (Season 4, Episode 27)
Original airdate: March 31, 1965
Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke on the set of “The Dick Van Dyke Show”
A romantic getaway for Rob and Laura goes awry after Laura gets her big toe caught in the spout of the bathtub behind a locked bathroom door at their “fancy” hotel.
This season four episode was written by Reiner, who had been promising Mary Tyler Moore that a very special episode was being crafted to feature her performance. Moore was very upset to find out that she was off-camera for a majority of the story, despite Reiner’s insistence that all male viewers of the program would be entranced by imagining her in the bathtub, covered only by a small towel. Mary’s disposition during filming was influenced by the fact that she had just decided to try to quit smoking at the start of that week’s production.
4. “I’d Rather Be Bald Than Have No Head At All” (Season 3, Episode 31)
Original airdate: April 29, 1964
In this season three episode also written by Persky and Denoff, Rob is concerned that he is going bald, so he seeks the advice of Buddy’s barber to halt the progress. Rob applies the barber’s secret formula to his hair just before bed and then proceeds to drift off into a deep sleep, dreaming that the concoction first causes him to go totally bald. He then dreams that the potion reverses entirely and promotes the growth of a head of lettuce on his scalp. He finally awakens to discover, with relief, that he still has a full head of hair.
Years ago, Dick Van Dyke had a wager with Carl Reiner that he would lose his hair by a certain age. As fate would have it, Dick had to pay out on the bet with Carl, since even at age 100, Dick still has a full head of hair.
5. “Where Did I Come From?” (Season 1, Episode 15)
Original airdate: January 3, 1962
Ritchie, played by Larry Mathews, asks his parents this innocent but daunting question in this season one episode written by Carl Reiner, wondering if perhaps he came from New Jersey. Breathing a sigh of relief and realizing that they do not need the assistance of Dr. Spock to answer his inquiry, Rob and Laura go on to recount the crazy series of events that led to Ritchie’s birth.
This early episode of the series afforded multiple opportunities for Van Dyke to exhibit his slapstick physicality and also demonstrate the skills that he had studied and admittedly stolen from his idols, the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Stan Laurel.
