Bye Bye, Birdie by Charles Strouse

Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor and comedian. His career has spanned over seven decades in film, television, and stage. Van Dyke is the recipient of a Golden Globe, Tony, Grammy, two Daytime Emmys, and four Primetime Emmys. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012. He was honored with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2013, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2021, and was recognized as a Disney Legend.

Van Dyke began his career as an entertainer on radio and television, in nightclubs, and on the Broadway stage. In 1960, he starred in the original production of Bye Bye Birdie, a role which earned him the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Carl Reiner then cast him as Rob Petrie on the CBS television sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show from 1961 to 1966, which made him a household name. He went on to star in the movie musicals Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Mary Poppins (1964), and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), and he starred in the comedy-drama The Comic (1969).

Van Dyke also made guest appearances on television programs Columbo (1974) and The Carol Burnett Show (1977), and he starred in The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971–74), Diagnosis: Murder (1993–2001), and Murder 101 (2006–08). Van Dyke has also made appearances in the films Dick Tracy (1990), Curious George (2006), Night at the Museum (2006), its 2014 sequel, and Mary Poppins Returns (2018).