Dick Van Dyke turns 100 years old December 13 and what better way to mark the occasion than with not one, but two Van Dyke documentaries! In addition to the previously announced Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration, from Fathom Entertainment film, there is another documentary being released by PBS. American Masters – Starring Dick Van Dyke will air on PBS beginning December 12 at 9 PM ET, and, and will stream for free on PBS.org and the PBS App. Watch the trailer below.
This documentary will feature footage from the legend's 80-year career, and new interviews with friends and fans Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, Jim Carrey, Ted Danson, Steve Martin, Conan O’Brien, Martin Short, and more. The documentary will also include archival interviews with Van Dyke’s former costars and colleagues, including Walter Cronkite, Sheldon Leonard, Rose Marie, Mary Tyler Moore, and Carl Reiner.
The filmmaker behind Starring Dick Van Dyke is John Scheinfeld, whose previous work includes writing, producing and directing the American Masters film This Is...Bob Hope, as well as theatrical documentaries The U.S. vs. John Lennon, Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary, The Happy Days of Garry Marshall and What The Hell Happened To Blood, Sweat & Tears?.
“Dick Van Dyke is a national treasure,” said filmmaker John Scheinfeld in a statement. “It’s been an absolute joy to come to work every day on a documentary that can be seen for free on PBS across the entire country in advance of his 100th birthday. Dick is unique in entertainment history, and so is this film.”
A true triple threat, Van Dyke may be known to generations of filmgoers as the dancing chimney sweep Bert in the 1964 film Mary Poppins (costarring Julie Andrews). His stage and screen career has earned him six Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and a Tony Award. He was also a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2020.
He won a Tony Award for playing Albert F. Peterson in the original 1960 production of Bye Bye Birdie. His other Broadway credits include playing Harold Hill in the 1980 revival of The Music Man.
His screen credits include the movie musicals Bye Bye Birdie and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In 1961, he landed his own sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke Show, which also starred comedy legend Mary Tyler Moore and earned him three Emmy Awards.
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