Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic

[tvguy]

I had to do a double take when Rob Reiner first walked out. He's lost a lot of weight.

In many tribute shows, the people performing don't have any relation to the guest of honor. In the case of Cedric the Performer, Tichina Arnold and Beth Behrs, it could have been that CBS was trying to promote The Neighborhood. I'm not sure what the relationship is with JoJo Siwa, but she was one of the few performers that sat next to them on the sofa. When Rita Ora was introduced, DVD repeated her name. I'm not sure if that was because he is familiar with her or not.

Who else did you not know?

Too many to list. And a number of the one's I did know, like I keep saying, it would be nice to know what, if any connection they had to Dick Van Dyke. I suspected they were promoting something on CBS. Lost on me because I have never heard of The Neighborhood. Fox was the first to really get into the "promote the heck out of shows" schtick. Fox Sports was the first really with that. World Series, someone hits a home run and they show Homer Simpson in the stands reacting. Joke in our newsroom when Fox Sports did that and Fox still ran Cops was they would show some guy and say "that's the suspect the ran from Memphis Police last week on Cops"
I enjoyed DVD's memoir, but it is clear a lot has changed since that was published in 2011 back when he was only 86! He has a new wife, who was one of the Executive Producers of the special although there were about a half dozen other Executive Producers in the credits, so no idea what say she had. DVD kept commenting that was only expecting this show to be an interview of him, so the performances he did not expect.
I think the BEST part of the whole show to me, was how sharp DVD is. A lot of recent photos show him in a wheelchair, which is understandable at age 98. But mentally he appears to be all there and thus got to enjoy the salute.

 

[CynBeth]

I just finished watching it and thought they did a great job.

 

[goofyernmost]

I just finished watching it and thought they did a great job.

I agree, and Dick's reaction was real and very moving. I felt my eyes water a few times mostly when his looked like they were doing the same. Unfortunately, as life would have it, he will probably not be around a whole lot longer and it was so nice to see that tribute. As an older man myself I felt a lot of the emotion with him and hope he can live a whole lot longer.

 

[EricLaurie]

I thought his reaction to Ted Danson was hysterical “So you still have that bar?”

 

[brockash]

I thought his reaction to Ted Danson was hysterical “So you still have that bar?”

Yeah...he's just so with it. He has definitely aged VERY well.

 

[LKing]

Yeah...he's just so with it. He has definitely aged VERY well.

That's what an hour in the gym, an hour in the pool and an hour nap will do for you. + +

 

[cwvandy]

Beautiful, well, earned tribute on CBS for Dick Van Dyke’s 98th birthday and great career. Huge miss to not mention his son Barry Van Dyke, however, who worked with his dad for 12 years on Diagnosis Murder. This is longer than any entertainer, living or dead, had worked with him. Barry should have been a presenter as he has more insights and knowledge about his dad than anyone who appeared. He and Rob Reiner, both successful sons of entertainment icons, should have done the introduction. And he was not even mentioned. Not by his dad, his wife or a single presenter. There was more than ample opportunity during the banter, interviews, and reminiscing for someone to acknowledge Barry and his role in Diagnosis Murder or even mention that Dick Van Dyke had even ever worked with his son. Instead? Nothing. A miss indeed by Producer/wife Arlene Silver.

 

[cwvandy]

I didn’t find it odd his kids weren’t part or acknowledged. It wasn’t a family event, it was a professional tribute event. His “kids” are in their 60s & 70s. The son who acted with him isn’t well known, the others seem to prefer to be out of the limelight. Some of the participants are friends; some have acted in stage versions of the musicals; some acknowledged him as an inspiration. I’ve seen many tributes to different actors over the years, families are almost never part of the performance. They’re sitting, enjoying the show & tributes to their parent.

Beautiful, well, earned tribute on CBS for Dick Van Dyke’s 98th birthday and great career. Huge miss to not mention his son Barry Van Dyke, however, who worked with his dad for 12 years on Diagnosis Murder. This is longer than any entertainer, living or dead, had worked with him. Barry should have been a presenter as he has more insights and knowledge about his dad than anyone who appeared. He and Rob Reiner, both successful sons of entertainment icons, should have done the introduction. And he was not even mentioned. Not by his dad, his wife or a single presenter. There was more than ample opportunity during the banter, interviews, and reminiscing for someone to acknowledge Barry and his role in Diagnosis Murder or even mention that Dick Van Dyke had even ever worked with his son. Instead? Nothing. A miss indeed by Producer/wife Arlene Silver.

 

[sasywtch]

I just finished watching it. Perhaps these are people Dick VanDyke likes to watch perform but I thought for an entertainer of his stature, there would have been more A listers. JoJo Siwa??? Them sitting on the sofa together, it looked uncomfortable between them. A huge missed production opportunity, why not have Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett on the big screen and show us his reaction to their videos they did? I'm not even sure it was shown there in the studio but just an add in during the production/edit phase. I was underwhelmed. I liked at the end when he said he wished Mary, Rose Marie and Morrey could be there.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

I am slightly triggered every time I see this thread pop up because I think it's an awful announcement until I actually read He's one of our few treasures left.

 

[tvguy]

I just finished watching it. Perhaps these are people Dick VanDyke likes to watch perform but I thought for an entertainer of his stature, there would have been more A listers. JoJo Siwa??? Them sitting on the sofa together, it looked uncomfortable between them. A huge missed production opportunity, why not have Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett on the big screen and show us his reaction to their videos they did? I'm not even sure it was shown there in the studio but just an add in during the production/edit phase. I was underwhelmed. I liked at the end when he said he wished Mary, Rose Marie and Morrey could be there.

I don't know Dick Van Dyke. My knowledge of him is shaped by reading his memoir, which was largely written I suspect while his partner of 33 years Michelle Marvin was still alive. I believe he knew his current partner/wife Arlene, she was not part of his life at that time and is not mentioned in the book. She was one of multiple Executive Producers of the show, but HER perspective of his life and career might be different. I think the show reflected it. So the special was good, but like has been posted, there were some oversights that would have made it better.

 

[LKing]

Weren't his memoirs written long after Willet and Triola's deaths?

DVD was married to Margie Willet. They had four kids together. While still married, DVD had an affair with Michelle Triola. Several years later, in 1984, Willet and DVD divorced. She eventually died in 2007. He never married Triola and she passed away shortly after Willet. DVD met Arlene Silver in 2006. Their relationship was initially professional. She helped him through the death of Triola and their relationship evolved into more. They eventually married in 2012.

From everything I've read, Silver likes to sing and dance and makes DVD happy. He didn't seem to mind who was performing for him at the tribute and he appeared to be enjoying the music. I thought it was entertaining and enjoyed watching him enjoy the performances.

 

[tvguy]

Weren't his memoirs written long after Willet and Triola's deaths?

DVD was married to Margie Willet. They had four kids together. While still married, DVD had an affair with Michelle Triola. Several years later, in 1984, Willet and DVD divorced. She eventually died in 2007. He never married Triola and she passed away shortly after Willet. DVD met Arlene Silver in 2006. Their relationship was initially professional. She helped him through the death of Triola and their relationship evolved into more. They eventually married in 2012.

From everything I've read, Silver likes to sing and dance and makes DVD happy. He didn't seem to mind who was performing for him at the tribute and he appeared to be enjoying the music. I thought it was entertaining and enjoyed watching him enjoy the performances.

Margie passed in 2008. Michelle died in 2009. The publishing date for the memoir is 2011. It does mention Michelle's death, but I suspect the book was in the writing process before she passed. I have no way of knowing for sure. But no mention of Arlene at all.