Welcome to a new Wildcard Wednesday! This week, I’m celebrating the great Dick Van Dyke, who officially celebrated his 100th birthday on December 13, 2025. Van Dyke not only starred in one of my favorite sitcoms — the best of the 1960s — he also made his mark on both stage and screen, appearing in the hilarious Bye Bye Birdie (1960) and one of my favorite films of all time, Disney’s joyful and practically perfect Mary Poppins (1964). As one of the 20th century’s greatest entertainers, it’s a blessing that he’s still here to be honored on his centennial.
I recently rewatched all of The Dick Van Dyke Show this year, and while I don’t have anything to share about that process yet, this post is nevertheless the perfect moment to plug my prior look at the series — a piece from 2020 about this formative and influential situation comedy, along with how it sits within the 1960s. Check it out (or revisit it) here: https://jacksonupperco.com/2020/05/13/a-true-60s-sitcom-another-look-at-the-dick-van-dyke-show/
I also want to re-share some of the cool Dick Van Dyke artifacts offered here before:
- The first draft script of Dick Van Dyke’s classic “My Blonde-Haired Brunette”
- Clippings of Variety‘s reviews for each Dick Van Dyke Show season premiere
- The 1969 TV special (with Mary Tyler Moore) Dick Van Dyke And The Other Woman
- The entire first season of his 1970s sitcom The New Dick Van Dyke Show
- An audio of Van Dyke in the 1980 Broadway revival of The Music Man
You can find them all at this link for the next week. The password is MoreyAmsterdam
Lastly, here’s 25 minutes of bloopers and outtakes from The Dick Van Dyke Show. What laughter and joy this show — and its talented star — have given the world! God bless Dick Van Dyke.
Come back next week for a new Wildcard! And stay tuned Tuesday for more Big Bang!