Born Richard Wayne Van Dyke on Dec. 13, 1925 in West Plains, MO, he was raised in Danville, IL – the same hometown as his later “Van Dyke Show” character, Rob Petrie – by his parents Hazel and Loren “Cookie” Van Dyke; the latter, a traveling salesman with a knack for making customers laugh. Van Dyke attended high school in Danville (among his friends at the time were actor Gene Hackman and nightclub legend Bobby Short) and was a fixture in local theater productions. He was also a devoted movie fan, with a particular fondness for the comedy of Laurel and Hardy. In fact, in later years, he would befriend the elderly Stan Laurel and even delivered the eulogy at his funeral in 1965.

Exceptionally tall and thin at an early age, Van Dyke attempted to enlist in the Air Force during World War II, but was rejected by the pilot program due to a weight requirement; he eventually served as a Stateside radio announcer during the war, and participated in several military-produced plays. Along the way, he attempted to launch an advertising agency in Danville, but found more success at radio and television stations in regional markets. He also formed a pantomime duo with his friend Philip Erickson called “The Merry Mutes,” which offered an excellent showcase for his considerable gift for physical comedy.

Eventually, he landed a contract with CBS and replaced Johnny Carson as the host of “The Morning Show” (CBS, 1954-57). More hosting gigs preceded his television acting debut on a 1957 episode of “The Phil Silvers Show” (CBS, 1955-59). More television followed, as did a short stint opposite the legendary Bert Lahr (of “Wizard of Oz” fame) in the Broadway play “The Girls Against the Boys” (1959), but Van Dyke’s career really did not take off until the following year, when he was cast as lovestruck English teacher/songwriter Albert Peterson in the Broadway musical “Bye Bye Birdie” in 1960. Van Dyke’s sunny, ebullient performance – which included his rendition of the enduring “Put on a Happy Face” – earned him a Tony Award in 1961, and caught the attention of actor-turned-TV writer and producer Sheldon Leonard (“The Danny Thomas Show,” ABC/CBS, 1953-1964), who recommended him to Carl Reiner for a new sitcom that the veteran writer/producer was developing. Reiner had penned and starred in a rejected pilot based on his own experiences as a TV comedy writer and family man called “Head of the Family,” which aired on the anthology series “The Comedy Spot” (CBS, 1960-62) in 1960, but with Leonard’s assistance, he began crafting what would eventually become “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”

Van Dyke was top-billed as Rob Petrie, who juggles a career as a New York comedy writer for the fictional “Alan Brady Show” (Reiner himself would later appear as the egomaniacal Brady) with his home life in New Rochelle with wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore, then still a relative newcomer) and son Ritchie. Van Dyke’s boundless energy and knack for both physical and verbal comedy was the show’s engine, but he was complimented by one of the best supporting casts in TV history: in addition to Moore, comedy vets Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie played his fellow writers, while Richard Deacon was producer Mel Cooley and Jerry Paris was neighbor Jerry Helper. Van Dyke’s own brother, Jerry Van Dyke, made his acting debut on the series. The sitcom was also blessed with exceptionally smart writing and direction, courtesy of writers Garry Marshall, Arnold Peyser, and Jerry Belson, and directors Paris, Leonard, James Komack, and Theodore J. Flicker. Though it was slow to gain a substantial audience, “The Dick Van Dyke Show” was hailed by critics and won numerous Emmys, with Van Dyke himself winning two Emmys for her performance. The show remained a hit in syndication decades after its final episode, and was considered by many to be among the finest TV sitcoms ever produced.

Van Dyke’s success on television naturally translated to a movie career, which began in earnest with the 1963 film version of “Bye Bye Birdie” (1963). Van Dyke was reportedly unhappy with the adaptation, which shifted the musical’s focus to attractive newcomer Ann-Margret and made significant changes to the score and choreography. He found greater success and satisfaction with Disney’s “Mary Poppins” (1964), which earned five Academy Awards and spectacular box office returns. It also gave filmgoers a better perspective of Van Dyke’s musical talents (which won him both a Grammy and Golden Globe nomination), despite the negative press garnered by his wobbly Cockey accent. Unfortunately, it would be his last real hit at the movies. “The Art of Love” (1965) was a lightweight farce about a painter (Van Dyke) who fakes his own death to increase the value of his art, while “Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N.” (1966) epitomized the substandard quality of Disney’s live-action features.

That same year, “The Dick Van Dyke Show” ended its network run. Reiner wanted to bring the series to a close when the show’s quality was still at its peak, and Van Dyke and the other cast members were eager to explore other projects, so this all worked out. Unfortunately, Hollywood was unable to place him in a feature that matched his talents, and for the remainder of the 1960s, Van Dyke was stranded in insignificant films like “Fitzwilly” (1968) and “Never a Dull Moment” (1968) – though the musical “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” (1968) eventually found a devoted youth audience through television broadcasts. Van Dyke also made a rare foray into drama with “The Comic” (1969), a Carl Reiner-penned feature about the difficult life of a silent film comedian that was inspired in part by Van Dyke’s hero, Stan Laurel. Sadly, Van Dyke’s own life drew parallels with that of the film’s character, Billy Bright, as he was developing a problem with alcohol that had begun while working on “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” He sought treatment for the problem in the early 1970s – something few stars would consider then, let alone admit – and found considerable comfort in the Presbyterian Church, for which he became an elder. The experience of his recovery moved him to publish a book, Faith, Hope and Hilarity: A Child’s Eye View of Religion in 1970.

Television seemed to be the place where Van Dyke’s star could shine brightest, and he began making inroads back to TV in the early seventies. He co-hosted a TV special with another versatile and well-liked comic, Bill Cosby in 1970 (“Dick Van Dyke Meets Bill Cosby”) prior