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Everything about your favorite sitcoms feel as though they were fated to be. 60 actors auditioned for the role of Laura Petrie on "The Dick Van Dyke Show," but Van Dyke, creator Carl Reiner and the casting director couldn't have known at the time that they were waiting for pool shark Mary Tyler Moore to show up and blow them away. Fortunately, the universe interceded. The cosmos also ensured that "Cheers" would not only survive two major cast departures, but launch the replacement actors (Woody Harrelson and Kirstie Alley) to full-fledged stardom. And when you upset the karmic whims of the television firmament, you get Danny Cooksey in "Diff'rent Strokes."

Piecing together a successful sitcom is tricky business, so it's best not to be rash in your decision making. Obviously, you need to give yourself space to try things because you're creating a universe and characters that are meant to enchant for the long haul (i.

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For 12 seasons and years on "The Big Bang Theory," the show's lead character Sheldon Cooper — played by Jim Parsons, whose departure from the show ultimately ended the entire series — defined the series, for better and for worse. Sheldon is a uniquely drawn character, created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady (who crafted the show together) and performed perfectly by Parsons. He even won multiple Emmys for the role and the character was popular enough to get his own spin-off, "Young Sheldon," which ran for 7 seasons from 2017 to 2024. At the same time, Sheldon can be frustrating, especially when it comes to the way he treats his friends Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) and Penny (Kaley Cuoco), just to name a few ... although in the end, they do always accept him for the stubborn yet brilliant person he is.

Also, he was almost named Kenny.

From ‘I Love Lucy’ to ‘Cheers,’ this streamer is a goldmine for classic TV fans.

I love comedy—and sitcoms in particular. There’s something about the canned laughter that somehow makes everything funnier. Or maybe it’s the predictable “set-up, set-up, joke” rhythms of the writing. Or maybe, in a world that seems more complicated every day, it’s just nice to wrap up all your problems in 22 minutes. Whether you grew up watching them on a boxy TV or you’re discovering them for the first time, classic sitcoms are the ultimate comfort watch. And if you’re looking for the best streamer to watch them all, in my opinion, there’s one clear winner: Pluto TV. Let’s get into why it’s the best place to stream classic sitcoms from the golden age of TV comedy.

Watch Now Free Pluto.TV Everything you need to know about...

The “it was all just a dream!” episode can be a lazy comedy writer’s best pal. Why bother with all of that “story logic” and “continuity” when you can just write whatever you want with no consequences? Want to put the King of Queens gang into an episode of The Honeymooners? It’s all a dream! What if Gilligan was on trial in old-timey London? A dream! I won’t give away WandaVision if you haven’t seen it, but fond memories of sitcom dreams drive a lot of the action.

Call ‘em lazy if you want to — heck, I just did at the beginning of this story — but sitcom dream episodes can be a lot of fun. Don’t sleep on these five examples of dream work making the comedy team work…

1 The Dick Van Dyke Show

What a nightmare — Rob Petrie dreams that he’s lost both...

The live-action comedy series, led by “Gilmore Girls” star Graham, is Tubi’s first in-house series.

Out with the old and in with the new— for now. When a major blunder knocks an ad agency’s C-Suite executives off their top ladder rungs, the company’s rising Gen-z employees take the reins, testing both generations’ skills, patience, and competitiveness to be in charge. “Gilmore Girls” star Lauren Graham returns to TV as the star of “The Z-Suite,” Tubi’s first in-house live-action comedy series. The eight-episode series will premiere its first two episodes this Thursday, Feb. 6, with a new episode available every Thursday, available only with a subscription to Tubi!

How to Watch ‘The Z-Suite’ When: Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025 at 12:01 a.m. Et Where: Tubi Stream: Watch with a subscription to Tubi. From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a Vpn. Everything you need to know to watch ‘The Z-Suite...

We’re just a few months away from the release of Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, which is supposedly the last installment in the film series that began as a spy thriller about stealing floppy discs, then somehow morphed into Tom Cruise’s big budget take on Jackass.

But we would have never gotten any joy out of seeing Cruise routinely endanger his life for our amusement if not for the actions of one of the most famous comedic performers of all-time: Lucille Ball.

Ball’s production company Desilu produced a number of famous TV shows, including Star Trek and the original Mission: Impossible series. And Ball didn’t simply greenlight the pitch and walk away either. As one of the show’s stars, Barbara Bain, revealed in an interview, Lucy had the “final word on the casting.”

Bain had to meet with Ball after others became “concerned” about...

Carl Reiner's 1961 sitcom "The Dick Van Dyke Show" was immensely popular over its five seasons, and won 15 Emmys in its lifetime. Like several sitcoms of its ilk, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" was a metanarrative autobiography about a character named Rob Petrie (Van Dyke) who was a comedy writer for an in-universe variety show called "The Alan Brady Show." Petrie, from appearances, is an amalgam of Van Dyke and Reiner. Indeed, in the show's original pilot -- back when it was going to be called "Head of the Family" -- Reiner played Rob Petrie himself. The show was more or less a common domestic drama beyond that, with many stories springing from Rob's relationship with his wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), or their son Richard Robert Oscar Sam Edward Benjamin Ulysses David "Ritchie" Petrie (Larry Mathews). The show featured wacky buddies, obsequious bosses, and other broad character types that,...

Mary Tyler Moore “had gone from being the most popular woman in America to being a has-been in three, four years,” according to Dick Van Dyke Show producer Bill Persky in the documentary Being Mary Tyler Moore. After the sitcom’s cancellation in 1966, Moore couldn’t find a successful vehicle for her talents, in part because she was stuck in the collective consciousness as Laura Petrie.

Stage and film projects were unsuccessful. And “when the show was over, I could tell the network just saw her as the wife who supported,” said Dick Van Dyke this week on Ted Danson’s Where Everyone Knows Your Name podcast. “She wasn’t getting anything from the network.”

But Van Dyke still had a deal with CBS for a series of one-hour specials. Persky pitched the comic actor on a reunion show, both for ratings and “because I think Mary could use it.

Who doesn’t love Dick Van Dyke? After all, the 99-year-old star of Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang helped to make all of our childhoods magical/creepy.

Van Dyke has appeared in countless movies, TV shows and stage productions, but for a lot of fans, he will always be Rob Petrie from The Dick Van Dyke Show, the sitcom that did for the ottoman what And Just Like That… did for the Peloton.

Despite being a hit with audiences, The Dick Van Dyke Show lasted for just five seasons before going off the air forever. Although, to be fair, it did briefly return for a 2004 Ray Romano-hosted special in which Rob gets to dance with his own CGI avatar.

But if it was up to Van Dyke, the show would have gone on for a lot longer than that.

When The Dick Van Dyke wrapped up in...

Legendary actor Dick Van Dyke has recently reflected on his recent escape from the Malibu wildfires. Through various outlets, the famous actor alluded to what helped him escape to safety. During the ordeal, he also shared that one of his pets had escaped, giving fans updates of the story.

The Incident Took Place Right Around Dick Van Dyke’s 99th Birthday

On television, Van Dyke is best known for playing Rob Petrie in his namesake series, The Dick Van Dyke Show. In films, he is also known for appearing in Mary Poppins, Bye Bye Birdie, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Van Dyke was recently forced to evacuate his home thanks to recent wildfires in Malibu. Notably, the incident took place around the actor’s 99th birthday, which fell on December 13.

The actor recently shared the trouble he had getting to safety during the ordeal with news outlets and on social media.

Coldplay have revealed a new video for their song “All My Love” directed by Spike Jonze and Mary Wigmore and starring the legendary actor Dick Van Dyke.

The official video arrives today, December 13th — Van Dyke’s 99th(!) birthday — but a special extended directors’ cut of the video premiered last Friday, December 6th. The directors’ cut features special documentary footage of Van Dyke at his Malibu home surrounded by friends and family, as well as archival footage of Van Dyke’s various Hollywood projects, like Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and more.

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Throughout, Van Dyke dances barefoot, embraces his family, and reflects on his mortality: “I’m acutely aware that I could go any day now, but I don’t know why it doesn’t concern me,” Van Dyke says. “I’m not afraid of it. I have that feeling,...

On December 13, 1925, one of the world’s greatest comic actors was born. Dick Van Dyke‘s Missouri family was of modest means, but the young man decided early to carve out a career on show business as a comedian. During his senior year, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force, where he met a colleague who worked at CBS, who recommended him to the network, which was so pleased with the young comic that they signed him to a seven-year contract.

But Van Dyke’s first love was performing on stage, and he got his big break as songwriter Albert Peterson in the new musical “Bye Bye Birdie,” for which he won the Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Shortly thereafter, CBS put into development with Carl Reiner what was to become “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” which premiered in 1961 and went on to become...

On December 13, 1925, one of the world’s greatest comic actors was born. Dick Van Dyke‘s Missouri family was of modest means, but the young man decided early to carve out a career on show business as a comedian. During his senior year, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force, where he met a colleague who worked at CBS, who recommended him to the network, which was so pleased with the young comic that they signed him to a seven-year contract.

But Van Dyke’s first love was performing on stage, and he got his big break as songwriter Albert Peterson in the new musical “Bye Bye Birdie,” for which he won the Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Shortly thereafter, CBS put into development with Carl Reiner what was to become “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” which premiered in 1961 and went on to become...

Even at 98 (with his 99th birthday next week), Dick Van Dyke is embodying “viva la vida” – that is, he is living his life like no other. And he has been demonstrating this quite a bit as of late, most recently doing so in a new Coldplay music video. But before you take any easy shots at Coldplay, remember just how much appreciation they have for our living legends. And you may as well get some tissues ready because this one goes for the heart.

Shot at Dick Van Dyke’s Malibu home in October, we first see the actor moseying to the backyard where Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin awaits. As the new song, “All My Love”, plays, we’re guided through a nostalgic tour through the history of pretty much everything we love about Dick Van Dyke, with footage that shows various photos, pieces of memorabilia and awards throughout his life and career.

In a charming new Coldplay video for the band’s song “All My Love,” comedy legend Dick Van Dyke takes center stage – on his Malibu patio – and shares his thoughts on his long life (he turns 99 on December 13) and mortality.

“I’m acutely aware that I, you know, could go any day now,” Van Dyke says in the video directed by Spike Jonze & Mary Wigmore, “but I don’t know why it doesn’t concern me. I’m not afraid of it. I have that feeling, totally against anything intellectual that I’m gonna be alright.”

Watch the music video above.

In addition to recent footage of Van Dyke chatting with the piano-playing Coldplay singer Chris Martin – it was shot in October – the “All My Love” video makes copious use of brief clips from throughout the comic’s career, with quick glimpses of his classic ’60s sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show,...

One of John Candy’s 80s classics from director Carl Reiner, Summer Rental, was pretty elusive on physical media. Fans of this comedy don’t have to wait any longer as the boutique label Kino Lorber will now be releasing a new 4K restoration Blu-ray transfer of the film at the start of the new year. Blu-ray.com is reporting that Summer Rental, which was previously scheduled to hit retailers this year, will now have its physical media release on January 21, 2025.

The 1985 comedy stars John Candy, Karen Austin, Kerri Green, Joey Lawrence, and Aubrey Jene and is directed by Dick Van Dyke Show alum and Ocean’s Eleven star, Carl Reiner, who would direct another summer-themed comedy with Mark Harmon, Summer School, just a couple years later.

The description reads, “Comedy legend Carl Reiner (Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid) directed this tale of a family man who takes a vacation from...

Few shows have had the staying power of The Dick Van Dyke Show. Premiering on October 3, 1961, and wrapping up in ‘66, unlike most shows that end due to low ratings, this one simply concluded because the cast was ready to move on to fresher pastures.

A still from The Dick Van Dyke Show | Credits: FilmRise Television, Youtube

With such a talented team, it made sense to spread the creativity around. Even 10-year-old Larry Mathews, who played Ritchie, was already looking ahead to his next big break. There were no big speeches or tearful goodbyes on the final day of filming. Instead, the cast spent their last moments together cracking jokes, recording tracks, and trading one-liners.

Created by comedy legend Carl Reiner, the series saw the incomparable Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore bring performances to life that won the show 15 Emmy Awards in a five-season run. But what happened to...

Although most of today's viewing audiences weren't watching 1960s television live, it speaks to the quality and relatability of shows from that decade that many of its shows are cemented in popular culture. If they're not being rerun on cable or made available on several different streaming apps, they're being transformed for modern viewers with feature-length homages, for better or worse.

From spy dramas and family sitcoms to science fiction adventures and dark gothic soap operas, the 1960s had a little something for everyone. When we look back on the decade's television, we see a rapidly changing landscape, one where shows nostalgic for a simper time screen opposite imaginative, forward-thinking programs. Although many 1960s shows feel very much of their time, there's a stylish charm that makes them still enjoyable to watch today.

Here are some of the best TV shows that the 1960s has to offer -- take a...

Spanning seven decades, Dick Van Dyke’s career has captivated audiences across generations. From his early days in vaudeville and radio to his roles on Broadway, film, and television, he has consistently charmed viewers. His remarkable talent has been recognized with a Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award, solidifying his status as one of the most beloved and legendary stars in entertainment.

Born Richard Wayne Van Dyke in West Plains, Missouri in 1925, his career began unexpectedly. Denied entry into the Air Force due to his weight, he served in World War II as a radio announcer. Post-war, he continued his radio career, working as a DJ and comedian emcee and appearing on Wdsu-tv New Orleans Channel 6 between 1947 to 1954.

His television debut came in 1954 on Chance of a Lifetime, followed by a series of bit parts. He then transitioned to Broadway, making his debut in The Girls Against the Boys. This led...

The second season of Taylor Sheridan’s Tulsa King is yet to find its groove, and with two more episodes to go, things aren’t looking any brighter. While many aspects of this season have been underwhelming, compared to its predecessor, excluding Sylvester Stallone’s Dwight, the character of Jay Will’s Tyson is arguably one of the series’ biggest disappointments so far.

Jay Will as Tyson in Tulsa King | Credit: Paramount Plus

Despite showing promise in the beginning, Tyson has proven to be very incompetent in the criminal landscape, and fans aren’t happy that he is getting off the hook without any major ramifications.

There Seems To Be No Ramifications for Tyson’s Reckless Actions Tulsa King | Credit: Paramount Plus

While the war between Kansan City and Dwight’s crew is inevitable, it doesn’t justify Tyson’s stupidity that escalated the situation. Despite Dwight’s warning, Tyson...

Television legend Dick Van Dyke endorsed Kamala Harris for president by reading a speech he delivered at a 1964 civil rights event alongside Martin Luther King.

In a video titled “Vote!! @KamalaHarris,” posted Monday, the 98-year-old star of “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Mary Poppins” and “Bye Bye Birdie” recalled reading the remarks, written by “Twilight Zone” creator Rod Serling, to “some 60,000 people in the Coliseum in L.A.”

“Hatred is not the norm. Prejudice is not the norm. Suspicion, dislike, jealousy, scapegoating, none of those are the transcendent facet of the human personality. They’re diseases. They are. They cancers of the soul,” Van Dyke read, in part.

He went on, “There will be moments of violence and expressions of hatred and [an] ugly echo of intolerance, but these are the clinging vestiges of a decayed past, not the harbingers of the better, cleaner future. To those who tell us the...

Sling and Pluto both offer a content mix that older viewers will enjoy, combined with an interface they’ll find familiar.

The sheer volume of content available in the streaming world can be downright overwhelming. It can be hard to know which service has which shows, and even harder to avoid titles with sex, violence, bad language and other objectionable content. There are some excellent streaming services available that allow viewers to avoid these pitfalls, however, and I’ll walk through what I think are the best two streaming services for older viewers below.

Which Streaming Services Are Best For Older Viewers?

Stream Top Cable News and Sports Channels with Sling TV

Watch TV Classics Free with Pluto TV

Final Thoughts

Stream Top Cable News and Sports Channels with Sling TV

If you’re looking to get traditional cable channels with your next streaming subscription, you should check out Sling TV.

"Gilligan's Island" was as rigidly formulaic a sitcom as ever existed, and this was very much by design. When Sherwood Schwartz wrote the pilot (in debilitating pain), he envisioned a series that could be enjoyed by all members of the family, provided they weren't too demanding. The continuing misadventures of the S.S. Minnow's seven castaways were mostly centered on getting off that confounded island in the Pacific Ocean, but sometimes Schwartz and his writers zagged, concocting a story that finds Gilligan and the gang facing some unexpected danger.

The most memorable of these episodes often involved dream sequences, a secret weapon for the show that allowed it to break up the tedium of the island-all-the-time setting. Sometimes they'd wind up in the Old West or some other long-ago, far-flung destination. One such instance found the cast traveling to Jolly Old England in the 1800s to try Gilligan for literally monstrous...

We generally don’t expect sitcom cast members to be involved in global political controversies, hence why stories about the Cuban Missile Crisis featured zero references to Rob and Laura Petrie from The Dick Van Dyke Show. But earlier this year, it was reported that an alleged Russian disinformation campaign targeting the former Soviet republic of Moldova enlisted the help of Dunder Mifflin’s resident accountant/chili handler Kevin Malone, aka actor Brian Baumgartner.

This week, Moldova held a national referendum and ultimately voted to pursue membership in the European Union. The “Yes” vote passed by “the slimmest of margins” — just 50.39 percent. Meanwhile, Moldova’s President Maia Sandu won the first round in the presidential election, but didn’t meet the “50 percent margin needed to avoid a runoff.” The “pro-Western” leader blamed the poor numbers on “unprecedented assault on our country’s freedom and democracy” by “foreign forces.” And at...

Actor Dick Van Dyke has been seen in public for the first time since he recently canceled an upcoming appearance. However, Van Dyke has been appearing at a few events in recent years. Added to that, the beloved actor’s 99th birthday, which he discussed in a statement is coming up.

Van Dyke Was Expected To Appear At A Three-Day Event

On television, Van Dyke’s biggest claim to fame was playing Rob Petrie on his namesake CBS sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke Show. He’s also known for his various movie roles, such as Bye Bye Birdie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Mary Poppins. With the Disney live-action/animated hybrid serving as one of his most famous films, he notably appeared in the 2018 sequel, Mary Poppins Returns.

The actor was seen running errands in Malibu. He was seen wearing a plae blue shirt, joggers, and a leopard-print walking stick.

With an ever-growing collection of content, keep reading to see if you should add FilmRise to your streaming library.

There are plenty of free streamers out there that don’t get a lot of attention when they’re up against the big names in Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, etc. But that doesn’t mean they’re not worth checking out. One of those is FilmRise, a free ad-supported streaming platform that’s great for fans of classic TV shows and British hits. With an ever-growing collection of content, keep reading to see if you should add FilmRise to your streaming library.

Learn More Free filmrise-streaming.com Everything You Need to Know About FilmRise:

What Is FilmRise?

How Much Does FilmRise Cost?

What Hit Movies And TV Shows Can You Watch on FilmRise?

What Platforms Can You Watch FilmRise With?

What Is FilmRise?

FilmRise is one of the top free, ad-supported...

Turns out, the "Mare of Easttown" parody that's already become synonymous with Marvel's new show "Agatha All Along" was originally intended for its parent series, "WandaVision." As showrunner Jac Schaeffer explained to The Wrap, the whole thing actually originated as a "CSI" homage episode of "WandaVision" that ended up falling by the wayside after the show's writers honed in on the sitcom format. As a result, she kept the idea tucked away and ended up using it for the "Agatha" series premiere instead.

"It was always the design that ['Agatha'] would start with this true crime episode," Schaeffer told the outlet while discussing the first two episodes of the "WandaVision" spinoff. "That was an idea that I had when I pitched 'WandaVision,'" she continued. "It was going to be the eighth episode of 'WandaVision,' that was going to be like a 'CSI' episode,...

When Emmy presenter Catherine O’Hara announced “Hacks” as the winner of Best Comedy Series at Sunday’s Primetime ceremony, awards pundits everywhere had to pick their jaws up off the floor. “The Bear” was the overwhelming front-runner to claim its second victory in that top category, especially after setting a new comedy record in 2024 for 11 wins in the same season. But “Hacks” prevailed, and in doing so it became only the third show in history to win Best Comedy Series for Season 3 after losing its first two bids.

The other two laffers to accomplish this rare Emmy feat are “Get Smart” in 1968 and “Sex and the City” in 2001, which means “Hacks” now finds itself in rare company indeed. For the record, “Get Smart” lost for Season 1 in 1966 to “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and lost for Season 2 in 1967 to “The Monkees”; “Sex and the City” lost for Season 1 in 1999 to...

From The Red Skelton Show and I Love Lucy to Get Smart and All in the Family through Taxi, Cheers and Murphy Brown to Frasier, Seinfeld and 30 Rock to Modern Family, Veep and Ted Lasso, the Emmy Awards have been laughing at TV best comedies for more than 70 years. Here is a gallery of all the shows to win the golden statuette since 1952; click on the image above to launch it.

The category itself has gone by various names, starting with Best Comedy Show and rolling through Best Comedy Series, Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Humor, Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Comedy to the current Outstanding Comedy Series. But the yuks have remained constant, whether it’s Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance trying to keep up with the conveyor belt at the chocolate factory or Jason Sudeikis Yank-coaching an English football club.

Our gallery lists all of the winners,...

Ahead of ABC’s broadcast of “The 76th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards” on Sunday, September 15, the network and the Television Academy have announced a diverse lineup of talent who will serve as presenters, including Matt Bomer (“Guiding Light”) and Dick Van Dyke.

According to the network, this year’s presenters represent critically acclaimed television series, Emmy-nominated programs across many viewing platforms and genres, and Emmy nominees — all tapped to celebrate television excellence on the esteemed awards show, which this year is being hosted by father and son acting duo Eugene Levy and Dan Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”).

Talent set to present includes Kathy Bates, Meredith Baxter, Candice Bergen, Gael Garcia Bernal, Zach Braff, Connie Britton, Nicola Coughlan, Billy Crystal, Viola Davis, Giancarlo Esposito, Colin Farrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Dulé Hill, Ron Howard, Brendan Hunt, Joshua Jackson, Allison Janney, Don Johnson, Mindy Kaling, Padma Lakshmi, John Leguizamo, George Lopez, Diego Luna, Reba McEntire,...

Ever since his Emmy-winning stint on HBO’s “The Sopranos,” Terence Winter has had a reputation as a great writer of crime stories, whether it be as the creator of HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire,” the screenwriter of “Get Rich or Die Tryin'” and “The Wolf of Wall Street,” or head writer on his current show, the Paramount+ gangster comedy “Tulsa King.” The source of Winter’s initial interest in the subject, however, is a little surprising.

“When I was a little kid, I watched ‘Oliver,’ the musical, and I wanted to be a part of that,” Winter told IndieWire. “I wanted to be the Artful Dodger.” Winter’s preoccupation with criminal endeavors was further stoked by movies like “The Sting” and Warner Bros. gangster classics he watched on local television in New York, and as a young man, he acquired first-hand knowledge of the lifestyle growing up in Brooklyn.

“When I was a teenager,...

Dick Van Dyke is a living legend, and there aren’t enough awards in the world to properly honor the icon of screens big and small. But unfortunately, despite reports to the contrary over the weekend, a Primetime Emmy in 2024 won’t be one of them.

Van Dyke did not personally win an Emmy at the Creative Arts awards this weekend, which means he didn’t break any records as the oldest Primetime Emmy winner ever. The confusion comes from the fact that a special about Van Dyke — CBS’ “Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic,” did win an Emmy. And photos from the ceremony showed Van Dyke holding a statue. But it wasn’t his.

“Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic” won the Emmy for outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) at this weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys. But here’s the technicality: Van Dyke was not credited as a producer on the special,...

Throughout the entertainment industry, there have been multiple respectably long relationships and considerably short ones as well, with each love story having a twist of its own. For Dick Van Dyke, the same was the case as his love life constantly changed, evolved, and developed with the passage of time, starting with a 36-year-long marriage with his late wife Margie Willet.

Dick Van Dyke. | Credits: Gage Skidmore/Cca-By-sa-2.0/Wikimedia Commons.

But as commendable as celebrated as this couple was for staying together for so long, the 98-year-old actor found his love life getting messed up with an extra-marital affair outside of his marriage that led to his divorce from Willet: His romantic fling with Michelle Triola during his marriage that even Van Dyke couldn’t help but admit felt “unbelievable” to him.

Dick Van Dyke’s “Unbelievable” Affair With Michelle Triola

Decades ago, in his early 20s, actor cum...

Legendary actor and comedian Dick Van Dyke was recognized for his decades-long career at the 2024 Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Van Dyke, now 98 years old, received the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special for “Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic.” The CBS special celebrated Van Dyke’s illustrious 75-year career in show business. With this latest Emmy win, Van Dyke has made history as the oldest winner of a Creative Arts Emmy Award.

When accepting his Emmy award, Van Dyke playfully reminded viewers that he will turn 99 years old next month. “Thank you, that reception, I cannot tell you what it means,” Van Dyke said in his acceptance speech. “I’m 99 next month.” The two-hour CBS special, available on Paramount+, features archival footage and live performances from across Van Dyke’s prolific and varied career.

This is not the first time Van Dyke has broken records at award ceremonies. Last June, he...

Dick Van Dyke was celebrating his big win tonight at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards for Outstanding Variety Series for Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic when he broke into dance on stage just three months shy of his 99th birthday.

The CBS special, which celebrated his legendary career, was released in December. The project is currently available to stream via Paramount+.

“For laughter; for making people laugh for 75 years. I’ve been in the business for 75 years,” shared Van Dyke while backstage at the awards regarding how he hopes he’ll be remembered. “I can’t believe that I’m still here and performing. I’m looking for work if anybody is asking,” Van Dyke joked.

Across his lengthy career, Van Dyke has starred in a variety of projects on the stage and screen. They most notably include Mary Poppins (1964), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), Bye, Bye Birdie (1963) and his favorite,...

What is your favorite Sherman Brothers song from the endearing 1964 Walt Disney musical fantasy “Mary Poppins”? Perhaps it’s Robert B. and Richard M’s peppy “Spoonful of Sugar.” Or the Oscar-winning “Chim Chim Cher-ee” and tongue-twisting “”Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” It’s no secret that Disney himself loved the haunting “Feed the Birds.” Disney would often summon Richard M. to his office to play the ballad. “It’s about a lot more than birdseed for birds,” Sherman told me in a 2018 L.A. Times interview. “The song is about the simple act of giving. He’d just say, ‘Play it for me.’ And I’d sing and play it for him, and he’d say ‘Yep, that’s what it’s all about.”’

And it seems that even decades after his death in 1966, it was still what it was all about for Disney. Back in 2015, the studio unveiled the restoration of Disney’s office on the Burbank lot.

Eric Gilliland, a television producer and writer known for his work on the hit sitcom “Roseanne,” died of colon cancer on Sunday, his sister Lisa confirmed to Variety. He was 62.

Gilliland served as a producer and writer on the ABC series “Roseanne” from 1992 to 1996. He received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for the show’s 1992 episode, “The Dark Ages.”

Gilliland went on to work as a consulting producer for two episodes of the “Roseanne” spinoff series “The Conners” in 2019.

After his time on “Roseanne,” Gilliland worked as a consulting producer on “That ’70s Show” from 1998 to 1999, as well as wrote the first season’s third episode, titled “Streaking.” In the episode, Eric (Topher Grace), Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), Hyde (Danny Masterson) and Fez (Wilmer Valderrama) plan on running naked in front of President Gerald R. Ford during his visit to Point Place, Wis.

Gilliland also worked as a producer...

Network TV censors were pretty tough back in the 1950s and 1960s, and rarely cut sitcoms much slack. That’s why Rob and Laura Petrie were forced to sleep in separate beds on The Dick Van Dyke Show. And also, presumably, why Rob never dropped any F-bombs while nearly killing himself on that damn ottoman week after week.

Somewhat shockingly, even the squeaky clean family program Leave It to Beaver once did battle with network censors, too. And somehow the dispute had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Ward and June Cleaver named their son “Beaver.”

In what was originally supposed to be the very first episode of the show, “Captain Jack” found Beaver and Wally trying to order a pet alligator from the back pages of a comic book. When that plan fails, they instead opt to obtain a gator from some sketchy local dirtbag, which apparently...

Peter Marshall, the multiple Emmy Award-winning host of classic game show “Hollywood Squares,” died Thursday of kidney failure, his publicist Harlan Boll told TheWrap.

Best known for hosting more than 5,000 episodes of the original version of the game show for more than 15 years, he enjoyed an eight-decade career as a singer, actor and emcee. Marshall even quipped that he wanted his official cause of death to be reported as “boredom.”

According to his wife of 35 years, Laurie, he died at his home in Encino, surrounded by loved ones.

Marshall was tapped to host “Hollywood Squares” in 1966: The game show featured celebrities such as Paul Lynde, Joan Rivers, Rich Little, George Gobel and Wally Cox in “squares” that could be won like tic-tac-toe by contestants.

He began his showbiz career while still in his teens after seeing his sister, “Red River” star Joanne Dru, get into modeling. He landed a...

Sci-fi legend Jack Arnold directed a majority of "Gilligan's Island," with plenty of prolific names like John Rich, Leslie Goodwins, and even "Superman" director Richard Donner all steering multiple episodes.

The origin of "Gilligan's Island" is a fascinating story already, with creator Sherwood Schwartz allegedly singing the theme song to a gas station attendant to see if the show sounded like something the average person would watch, but just as interesting is how groundbreaking the show was behind the camera. 

Namely, by inviting decorated actress and history-making director Ida Lupino to helm a few episodes.

Although Rod Amateau is credited as directing the pilot for the series, CBS comedy show supervisor Sol Saks was quoted as claiming in William Donati's "Ida Lupino: A Biography," that Lupino had been brought in to help shape a struggling show. "It was 'Gilligan's Island,'" Saks said. "It wasn't even on the air yet.

Mitzi McCall, the delightful actress and sitcom writer who partnered with her husband, Charlie Brill, in a sketch comedy act that famously floundered between sets by The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, has died. She was 93.

McCall died Thursday at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, her family announced.

The pint-sized Pittsburgh native also played the dry cleaner’s wife who wears a fur coat owned by Jerry’s mom on the 1994 Seinfeld episode “The Secretary,” and she was the mother of Carol Leifer’s optometrist character on the 1997-98 WB sitcom Alright Already.

McCall had a thriving career as a voiceover artist; she played Mother Goose on Mother Goose and Grimm and worked on other animated projects including The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show, Paw Paws, Darkwing Duck, Yo Yogi! and Ice Age (2002).

And she wrote for shows including 13 Queens Boulevard, Eight Is Enough, One Day at a Time,...

Some actors are so good they can consistently draw attention without even trying. But Carol Burnett might be the only living legend who can literally steal scenes in her sleep. The 91-year-old actor just received her 23rd Primetime Emmy nomination for her supporting work in the satirical comedy “Palm Royale” — for playing a character who spends a good part of the season in a coma.

Created by Abe Sylvia and set in 1969, “Palm Royale” casts Burnett as Norma Dellacorte, a beloved and feared grand dame of Florida society who has been bedridden since a pulmonary episode. Her caretaker becomes Maxine Simmons-Dellacorte (played by fellow Emmy nominee Kristen Wiig), the wife of Norma’s nephew, but can only communicate her disdain through a series or groans and gibberish. Yet Burnett makes her limited capacities a master class in acting.

While that might sound difficult, Burnett dismisses such ideas. “It wasn’t a challenge at all,...

If the 1950s and '60s were the golden age of the television sitcom, the 1970s were its in-the-pocket prime. And when risk-averse TV execs saw the astronomical ratings of hit sitcoms like "All in the Family," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and "M*A*S*H," they exploited this ratings-rich phenomenon by diving into the same-but-different world of spinoffs.

Norman Lear's "All in the Family" was the '70s spinoff king with seven total offshoots, but James L. Brooks and Allan Burns' "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" proved plenty durable by spawning "Rhoda," "Phyllis," and "Lou Grant." Of these, "Rhoda" was by far the biggest hit. Valerie Harper's four seasons as Mary Richards' lovably vivacious neighbor more than confirmed she could carry a series of her own. So, Brooks and Allan sent Rhoda back to her hometown of New York City, where she immediately found love (her...

Dick Van Dyke, our guest on this episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, is a truly legendary screen actor. An Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner who was a 1995 inductee into the Television Hall of Fame, a 2012 recipient of the SAG life achievement award and a 2021 honoree at the Kennedy Center Honors, he has been described by the New York Times as a “one-man bundle of talents,” by the Los Angeles Times as “among the most likable stars ever,” and by Carl Reiner as the “most talented human being ever put on earth.”

Van Dyke, of course, was the namesake and star of one of the most acclaimed, influential and beloved TV series of all time, The Dick Van Dyke Show, which ran on CBS from 1961 to 1966, and also starred in numerous classic family films, most notably 1964’s Mary Poppins, but also 1963’s Bye Bye Birdie, 1968’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,...

Dick Van Dyke breaks a major record at 98, having become the oldest Daytime Emmy winner in history for his work on Days of Our Lives. Van Dyke's career milestone comes after winning for the Guest Performance in a Drama Emmy, defeating notable nominees. A grateful Van Dyke reflects on his years in the industry and celebrates 80 years of acting.

Thanks to a guest appearance on Days of Our Lives, Dick Van Dyke broke a major record at the Emmy Awards. The 98-year-old actor has been performing since the '40s and made his network TV debut in 1954. Since then, he has been a prominent actor and comedian as part of The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Poppins, and Night at the Museum. Even beyond those notable works, Van Dyke appeared in numerous other movies and shows. He recently featured in Days of Our Lives as Timothy Robicheaux, and it led...

The 2024 Daytime Emmys honored the best of morning and afternoon television — according to the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, at least. As you’ll see below, some fans quibbled with some of this year’s winners. That said, we haven’t seen anyone argue with Dick Van Dyke becoming the oldest Daytime Emmy winner in the ceremony’s history for his role on Days of Our Lives. “I feel like a spy from nighttime television!” the Dick Van Dyke Show alum said from the stage during his acceptance speech. Check out X users’ reactions to Friday night’s festivities — including some General Hospital shade. Days of Our Lives’ Dick Van Dyke wins Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama Series #DaytimeEmmys Award for Outstanding Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama Series goes to Dick Van Dyke as Mystery Man/Timothy Robicheaux @iammrvandy @DaysPeacock pic.twitter.com/0n7nETTUoX — Daytime...

Dick Van Dyke just made TV history. On June 7, the 98-year-old actor became the oldest person ever to win a Daytime Emmy when he took home a trophy for his guest star role on Days of Our Lives.

Dick Van Dyke wins Daytime Emmy for ‘Days of Our Lives’ role Dick Van Dyke at the 51st annual Daytime Emmys Awards at The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in Los Angeles on June 7 | Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

Van Dyke was nominated for playing Mystery Man/Timothy Robicheaux in four episodes of the Peacock soap that aired in September 2023. Robicheaux was an amnesiac who recovered his memory thanks to some help from some other Days characters.

The other nominees in the Guest Performance in a Drama category were Linden Ashby as Cameron Kirsten on The Young and the Restless, Ashley Jones as Dr. Bridget Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful, Alley Mills...

Legendary actor and comedian Dick Van Dyke has made history, winning the 2024 Daytime Emmy award for guest performer in a daytime drama series — via his spot on Peacock’s “Days of Our Lives.” At 98, that makes Van Dyke the oldest actor to receive a Daytime Emmy win.

Van Dyke came into Friday’s 51st Daytime Emmy Awards already making a mark as the oldest Daytime Emmys nominee ever. Night one of the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards took place live on CBS on Friday, June 7, from the Westin Bonaventure hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.

“I feel like a spy from nighttime television,” Van Dyke joked. “I’m the oldest nominee in history. I can’t believe it. I was playing old men all my life. If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself!”

Van Dyke said he had a “wonderful time” on “Days,...

Legendary entertainer Dick Van Dyke was as surprised as anybody when he arrived to record the CBS special “Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic.” For our recent webchat he reveals, “I hadn’t seen anything until I got there, and they had built the old living room from the show. Behind us was the set from “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from “Mary Poppins.”

CBS had assembled an all-star musical tribute for the Emmy, Tony and Grammy Award winner’s to celebrate his 98th birthday last December. Van Dyke and viewers enjoyed big productions featuring songs from “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Mary Poppins, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and “Bye Bye Birdie.” Performers included Jason Alexander, Zachary Levi, Skylar Astin, Amanda Kloots, Amber Riley, Rita Ora, Beth Behrs, Tichina Arnold, Jojo Siwa, Weird Al Yankovic and Rufus Wainwright. In person tributes were offered by Rob Reiner, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Roma Downey,...

Prior to 1964 -- the year "Gilligan's Island" debuted, comedian and actor Jerry Van Dyke already had an expanding showbiz career. In 1963 alone, he appeared in the films "The Courtship of Eddie's Father," "Palm Springs Weekend," and "McClintock!" He also had a few guest appearances on his brother's sitcom "The Dick Van Dyke Show," and regularly turned up on talk shows to perform and converse.

It was in 1964 that Van Dyke was offered the title role in Sherwood Schwartz's "Gilligan's Island," still in development at the time. Van Dyke couldn't have predicted that "Gilligan's Island" would last for 98 episodes and become one of the most widely recognized sitcoms in TV history, so turning it down didn't seem like much of an event. As the public now knows, the title role in "Gilligan's Island" went to comedian Bob Denver, star of "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." 

Van Dyke would subsequently...