Series summary from The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946-Present

Did You Know?

Johnny Carson was a runner-up for the role of Rob Petrie.

The running gag about Alan Brady's toupee was based on Max Liebman, the producer of "Your Show of Shows" (1950) , who also wore a toupee.

The production company for "The Dick Van Dyke Show" was called Calvada Productions. The name comes from the names of all of the key persons involved in production: Carl Reiner, Sheldon Leonard, Dick Van Dyke and Danny Thomas. In one episode, co-producer Sheldon Leonard played a character called "Big Max" Calvada.

The character of Sally Rogers was inspired by Lucille Kallen (who wrote for "Your Show of Shows" (1950)), and Selma Diamond (who wrote for "Caesar's Hour" (1954)).

Richie's middle name "Rosebud" is an acronym for Robert, Oscar, Sam, Edward, Benjamin and Ulysses David.

Entitled "Head of the Family", the original pilot starred series creator Carl Reiner.

Sally Rogers' cat is named Mr. Henderson.

Filming of the first episode started on January 20, 1961, the same day that John F. Kennedy was sworn in as President of the United States.

Inspired the later series "Mad About You" (1992). In 1995, series creator and occasional guest star Carl Reiner reprised the role of Alan Brady for an episode of "Mad About You."

Frank Adamo, who appeared in many of the episodes as a waiter, delivery man, walk-on, or just a face in the crowd, was Dick Van Dyke's personal assistant and stand-in.

CBS canceled the show after one season, then renewed it. When the show finally did go off the air, it was because the cast and producers wanted to quit while they were still proud of it. In addition, Carl Reiner said at the very beginning that the show would not run for more than five years.

The show's pilot was created by Carl Reiner and was highly autobiographical. CBS executives decided that the main character was too Jewish, too intellectual and too New York and cast Dick Van Dyke instead of Reiner.

The writers' office where Rob works is a recreation of the writers' bullpen from "Your Show of Shows" (1959), where Carl Reiner worked as a screenwriter. The character Rob is based on Reiner and the character Buddy Sorrell is based on then-television comedy writer 'Mel Brooks' .

For the first few years of the show, Alan Brady's face was never shown, but his voice was heard, because Carl Reiner wanted to get a big star to play Alan. Reiner eventually decided to take on the role himself as the egotistical star.

According to Morey Amsterdam, the show was scheduled to return for the 1966-1967 season and was going to be seen in color for the first time. However, the plan was scrapped when Van Dyke decided he had enough.

Another episode that was filmed without an audience was the Christmas episode "The Allen Brady Show Presents" due to the fact that it had several complicated scene and costume changes.

The first episode filmed without a live audience was season 1, episode 28, "The Bad Old Days" which aired on 4 April 1962. It used speeded-up filmed inserts during Rob's dream of a 1920s lifestyle, which made shooting in front of an audience impractical.

A small controversy occurred because of Mary Tyler Moore wearing Capri pants on the show. Up until the show's premiere, most housewives were seen in dresses, but Moore's explanation was that most of the housewives she knew wore pants. Because of Moore, Capri pants became a huge fashion craze in the early 1960s.

In the 1959 television pilot "Head of the Family" which eventually became the basis for the show, Carl Reiner played the Rob Petrie, Barbara Britton played Laura Petrie, and Sylvia Miles played Sally Rogers.

Rob originally was from Danville, Illinois.

Did You Know Facts from the Internet Movie Database

The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946-Present by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh

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Videos:

The Dick Van Dyke Show (1 tape)

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Dick Van Dyke Show, The: V. 1 (1961)

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4 episodes tape

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Roof Fell In/Teeth/Give Me You

These are a couple of the best episodes of one of the greatest television shows of all time. In "The Night the Roof Fell In," Rob and Laura have a horrible fight, that ends in Rob storming out of the house and sleeping in the garage. Okay, so that's not so pleasant. Well, then, as they each retell the story to their friends, we see it reenacted the way each told it--in Laura's version, Rob is a grumbling maniac, while she's June Cleaver on Prozac. And in Rob's he's a charming, dancing Fred Astaire, while she's the one who's grumbling. Great comedy as they both get to let loose and be their funniest, most charming, and most dismal selves. In "Give Me Your Walls," Rob and Laura hire a painter who turns out to be a lot better at telling stories, making meals, and charging by the hour than he is at getting paint on the walls. Funny stuff from some funny people.

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Dick Van Dyke Show (Timeless Television)

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Never Name a Duck/Bank Book

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Music:

Dick Van Dyke's Dance Party

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Television's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1

Includes The Dick Van Dyke Show theme song - 65 total tv themes

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Message Board:

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Links:

The Dick Van Dyke Show - The Official Site

The Dick Van Dyke Show episode guide (TV.com)

The Dick Van Dyke Show episode list (epguides.com)

The Dick Van Dyke Show Episode Guide (Classic Sitcoms)

The Dick Van Dyke Show episode guide (The Classic TV Archive)

The Dick Van Dyke Show site (TV Land)

The Dick Van Dyke Show (dickvandyke@home.com)

The Dick Van Dyke Show (Mark Rowland)

The Dick Van Dyke Show (Teri Zuckerman)

The Walnut Times - A Dick Van Dyke Show Newsletter

The Petrie Page

The Dick Van Dyke Show (Tim's TV Showcase)

The Dick Van Dyke Show (Take Me to TV Land)

The Dick Van Dyke Show (ClassicTVHits.com)

Yahoo links for The Dick Van Dyke Show

Internet Movie Database entry for The Dick Van Dyke Show

Wikipedia entry for The Dick Van Dyke Show

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