MovieChat Forums > The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961) Discussion > Dick van Dyke-Ever Youthful

Dick van Dyke-Ever Youthful

posted 7 years ago by [email protected] (5871)
6 replies | jump to latest

Dick van Dyke was worried at first about the age gap between himself and MTM. He was eleven years older. But I never would've guessed it.

Rose Marie was only two years older than van Dyke. But somehow he seemed a lot younger than her. He had that slender build and boyish face.

The oddest age gap was when Denver Pyle was cast in the "Uncle George" episode. Rob reminisces about the fun he had as a child when he went to visit Uncle George and Aunt Sarah.

They must've married VERY young because Denver Pyle was only five years older than Dick van Dyke!

Dick van Dyke had those boyish good looks.

[–] godewey (16472) 7 years ago

I realized the age difference between DvD and MTM. You are correct you never even think about it.

What surprises me is the fact that Rose Marie and Denver Pyle were around the same age as DvD.
I never would have guessed that in a million years. It seemed Sally had about 10 years on Rob and Uncle
George had at least 20 years on him.

[–] GlenEllyn (21526) 7 years ago

I knew there was a bit of an age gap between Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore, but it wasn't particularly noticeable. I guess I don't really pay any attention to the actual age of an actor in any role unless he/she looks much older or younger than the character's age. The one that sticks out in my mind is William Holden in Picnic - he was 37, looked a bit older than that, and was playing the part of someone at least a decade younger. The fact that his co-stars looked more age-appropriate to their roles made the age difference hard to overlook.

[–] MissMargoChanning (6630) 7 years ago

" The one that sticks out in my mind is William Holden in Picnic - he was 37, looked a bit older than that, and was playing the part of someone at least a decade younger. The fact that his co-stars looked more age-appropriate to their roles made the age difference hard to overlook."

No kidding! As much as I love that movie/play, and as much as I admire William Holden as an actor, i feel that he was way too old for that part.

As for Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore, they looked great together. They had great chemistry. You could believe them as a married couple.

[–] GlenEllyn (21526) 7 years ago

I seem to remember reading somewhere that Holden thought he was too old for the part, too. Picnic is a favorite of mine as well, and I think he did as well as one could expect in that role. I may have to queue it up this Labor Day weekend to bid farewell to summer.

[–] MissMargoChanning (6630) 7 years ago

It's a tradition with me. I always watch it sometime during Labor Day weekend.

[–] liscarkat (18410) 3 years ago

Holden was good in "Picnic", but yes, his age, or apparent age, didn't work to his advantage. It made the character seem more like a loser than he would have been if he was only in his late twenties. Cliff Robertson, who played Holden's old friend, should have had the main role instead.