12/13/2025
Class act.
Happy 100th birthday to Richard Wayne Van D**e (born December 13, 1925). He is an American actor and comedian. His work spans screen and stage, and his awards include six Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and a Tony Award. He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993, and then the Television Hall of Fame in 1995. He was recognized as a Disney Legend in 1998. He has been honored with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2013, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2020.
Van D**e began his career as an entertainer on radio, television and in nightclubs. He made his Broadway debut in the musical r***e The Girls Against the Boys (1959). The following year he starred as Albert F. Peterson in the original production of Bye Bye Birdie (1960), a role which earned him the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He returned to Broadway playing Harold Hill in a revival of The Music Man (1980).
On television, Van D**e became a household name in the United States and Canada portraying Rob Petrie in the CBS sitcom The Dick Van D**e Show (1961–1966), which also earned him three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. He guest-starred on shows such as Columbo (1974) and The Carol Burnett Show (1977), and starred in The New Dick Van D**e Show (1971–1974), Diagnosis: Murder (1993–2001), and Murder 101 (2006–2008).
Van D**e is also known for his role as Bert, the cockney chimney sweep in the Disney movie musical Mary Poppins (1964), for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. He starred in the movie musicals Bye Bye Birdie (1963) and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), as well as the comedy-drama The Comic (1969). In his later years, Van D**e has taken supporting roles in films such as Dick Tracy (1990), Curious George (2006), Night at the Museum (2006), its 2014 sequel, and Mary Poppins Returns (2018).
