American actor and comedian (1931?2018)
Jerry Van Dyke
|
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Van Dyke in 1990
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Born
| Jerry McCord Van Dyke
(
1931-07-27
)
July 27, 1931
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Died
| January 5, 2018
(2018-01-05)
(aged 86)
|
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Occupations
| |
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Years active
| 1962?2015
|
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Spouses
| -
Carol Johnson
(
m.
1957;
div.
1974)
-
Shirley Ann Jones
(
m.
1977)
|
---|
Children
| 3, including
Kelly Jean
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Relatives
| |
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Allegiance
|
United States
|
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Service/
branch
| United States Air Force
|
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Unit
| Special Services
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Battles/wars
| Korean War
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|
Jerry McCord Van Dyke
(July 27, 1931 ? January 5, 2018) was an American actor and comedian. He was the younger brother of
Dick Van Dyke
.
[1]
Van Dyke had a long and successful career mostly as a
character actor
in supporting and guest roles on popular television series. He made his television acting debut on
The Dick Van Dyke Show
with several guest appearances as Rob Petrie's brother, Stacey. From 1989 to 1997, he played Luther Van Dam on the popular series
Coach
.
[1]
Early life
[
edit
]
Jerry McCord Van Dyke was born in
Danville, Illinois
, on July 27, 1931, to Hazel Victoria (
nee
McCord), a stenographer, and Loren Wayne "Cookie" Van Dyke, a salesman.
[2]
He was of Dutch, English, Irish, and Scottish descent.
[3]
Career
[
edit
]
Early career
[
edit
]
Van Dyke pursued a
stand-up comedy
career while still in
Danville High School
and was already a veteran of strip joints and nightclubs when he joined the
United States Air Force
Tops In Blue
in 1954 and 1955.
[4]
[5]
[6]
During the mid-1950s, Van Dyke worked at
WTHI-TV
in
Terre Haute, Indiana
.
[7]
The Jerry Van Dyke Show
, which included future
CBS
News
Early Show
news anchor
Joseph Benti
, Nancee South and Ben Falber, was popular fare.
[6]
In the service, he performed at military bases around the world, twice winning the
All Air Force Talent Show
.
[7]
Following his first guest appearances on
The Dick Van Dyke Show
and two others on CBS's
The Ed Sullivan Show
, CBS made him a regular on
The Judy Garland Show
.
[8]
He was also given hosting chores on the 1963 game show
Picture This
.
[6]
In that same year, movie audiences saw him in supporting roles in
McLintock!
,
Palm Springs Weekend
and
The Courtship of Eddie's Father
.
[7]
Television career
[
edit
]
In 1963 Van Dyke was cast on an episode of
GE True
, hosted by
Jack Webb
.
[9]
When
The Judy Garland Show
was unsuccessfully revamped, Van Dyke left the program.
[10]
He turned down the offer to play
Gilligan
on
Gilligan's Island
, a role which instead went to
Bob Denver
.
[9]
He appeared as a guest star in one episode of
The Andy Griffith Show
.
[11]
He also appeared in a 1964 episode of
The Cara Williams Show
.
[
citation needed
]
Van Dyke finally accepted the lead role of attorney David Crabtree in
My Mother the Car
(1965), the misadventures of a man whose deceased mother Gladys (voiced by
Ann Sothern
) is reincarnated as a restored antique car.
[6]
Though the series was a commercial failure, Van Dyke continued to work steadily in supporting television and film roles through the rest of the decade.
[6]
He starred in another short-lived situation comedy
Accidental Family
(1967) as widowed comedian Jerry Webster who buys a farm to raise his son while he is not away on professional tours.
[8]
Well received by critics, Van Dyke was upset when NBC scheduled the show for Fridays at 9:30pm, sandwiched between the poorly-rated
Star Trek
and
filler documentaries
, known as the
Friday night death slot
, leading to the show's failure.
[12]
He was also featured in
Love and Kisses
(1965) and as
Andy Griffith
's co-star in
Angel in My Pocket
(1969).
[9]
During the 1970s, Van Dyke returned to stand-up comedy. He spent much of the decade touring
Playboy Clubs
around the country and headlining venues in
Las Vegas
and
Reno, Nevada
,
Summerfest
in
Milwaukee
, and in
Atlantic City, New Jersey
.
[2]
He returned to television for guest appearances on
Love, American Style
and
Fantasy Island
.
[9]
In 1973 he portrayed Wes Callison, Children's Comedy Writer,
[13]
on the season three episode "But Seriously, Folks" on
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
.
[14]
He also had roles in
The Amazing Cosmic Awareness of Duffy Moon
(1976) and
13 Queens Boulevard
(1979).
[14]
Also in 1989 he appeared as a panelist in the pilot for the revival of
Match Game
, hosted by
Bert Convy
.
In 1988, Van Dyke made a guest appearance on
Scott Baio
's sitcom
Charles in Charge
as Jamie Powell's health teacher Mr. Merkin.
[14]
In 1989, he began portraying beloved, yet befuddled, assistant coach Luther Van Dam on the long-running series
Coach
.
[10]
For this role, Van Dyke received four consecutive
Emmy Award
nominations (1990 through 1993) for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series".
[10]
Later career
[
edit
]
In 1995, Van Dyke appeared in a series of
Hardee's
commercials to promote the
Big Hardee
, then in the late 1990s acted as the spokesperson for
Big Lots
.
[6]
He had a recurring role on
Yes, Dear
as Big Jimmy, the father of Jimmy Hughes.
[8]
He made a guest appearance on a
September 2008 episode
of
My Name Is Earl
and in 2010 he made an appearance on the second-season episode, "A Simple Christmas" of the television series,
The Middle
, playing Frankie's father, Tag Spence.
[14]
[2]
He returned in "Thanksgiving III" in November 2011, "Thanksgiving IV" in November 2012, "From Orson with Love" in May 2013, "Thanksgiving V" in November 2013.
[2]
and "Flirting with disaster" in March 2015. Van Dyke also played the object of Maw Maw's affections on the 18th episode of the first season of
Raising Hope
.
[8]
In a December 2013 episode of
The Millers
he played Bud Miller, father to
Margo Martindale
's character, Carol.
[14]
In his final television role in April 2015, he reprised his role as Frankie's father on
The Middle
, along with real-life brother
Dick Van Dyke
playing his character's brother.
[15]
[16]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Van Dyke was married twice and had three children with first wife Carol: Jerri Lynn,
Kelly Jean
, and Ronald.
[6]
Kelly Jean died by suicide in 1991, following struggles with substance abuse.
[17]
Jerry and his second wife, Shirley, lived on an 800-acre ranch near
Hot Springs, Arkansas
.
[10]
Van Dyke was an avid poker player and announced a number of poker tournaments for
ESPN
in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
[2]
He was also a four-string
banjo
player with several performances on
The Dick Van Dyke Show
to his credit.
[3]
Death
[
edit
]
On January 5, 2018, Van Dyke died at his
Hot Spring County, Arkansas
ranch from heart failure at the age of 86.
[6]
He had been in declining health subsequent to a car accident two years earlier.
[10]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Film
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Nathan Southern (2016).
"Jerry Van Dyke - Biography - Movies & TV"
. Movies & TV Dept.
The New York Times
. Archived from
the original
on March 6, 2016.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Joyce, Kathleen (January 6, 2018).
"Jerry Van Dyke, comedian and actor, dead at age 86"
.
Fox News Channel
.
- ^
a
b
"Biography ? The Official Site of Dick Van Dyke"
.
Officialdickvandyke.com
. Archived from
the original
on August 23, 2016
. Retrieved
January 6,
2018
.
- ^
Tops in Blue Our Story Published by Air Force Entertainment, 2005
- ^
"Jerry Van Dyke Biography"
.
TV Guide Magazine
. Retrieved
February 15,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Slotnik, Daniel E. (January 6, 2018).
"Jerry Van Dyke, 'Coach' Actor and Foil for His Brother, Dick, Dies at 86"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
a
b
c
Kreps, Daniel (January 6, 2018).
"Jerry Van Dyke, 'Coach' Actor and Comedian, Dies at 86"
.
Rolling Stone
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Kaufman, Amy (January 6, 2018).
"Jerry Van Dyke, comic actor known for TV's 'Coach,' dies at 86"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Nyren, Erin (January 6, 2018).
"Jerry Van Dyke, Emmy-Nominated 'Coach' Actor, Dies at 86"
.
Variety
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Jerry Van Dyke Dead at 86"
.
TMZ
. January 6, 2018.
- ^
Clodfelter, Tim (July 9, 2019).
"Ask SAM: Why don't we see the color episodes of 'Andy'?"
.
Winston-Salem Journal
.
- ^
Humphrey, Hal (October 13, 1967).
"Lady Luck Snubs Jerry Van Dyke: Hardly Anybody Sees His Shows"
.
Arizona Daily Star
. Retrieved
December 21,
2020
.
- ^
"Jerry Van Dyke shined in these six memorable TV guest roles - 6. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1972)"
.
MeTV
. January 8, 2018
. Retrieved
February 28,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Romano, Nick (January 6, 2018).
"Jerry Van Dyke, Coach Star and Dick Van Dyke's Brother, Dies at 86"
.
Entertainment Weekly
.
- ^
"The Middle: Two of a Kind Recap ? Season 6 Episode 21"
.
ABC Entertainment
. Archived from
the original
on January 7, 2018.
- ^
King, Susan (April 22, 2015).
"Brothers Dick and Jerry Van Dyke clash in 'The Middle,' bond off-screen"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
- ^
Kyle Smith; Lorenzo Benet (February 10, 1997).
"The Death of Twins Peak actor Jack Nance was as strange as the characters he played"
.
People
.
External links
[
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]
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International
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National
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Artists
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