It was 65 years ago this fall that The Dick Van Dyke Show premiered on CBS.
The half hour sitcom was not an instant hit, struggling in the ratings hammocked between Marshal Dillon and Bachelor Father and was canceled at the end of its first season. Executive producer Sheldon Leonard refused to give up on the series, created by Carl Reiner, and went to New York to shop for another sponsor. He found a cigarette company that absorbed the cost of half the series and made a second season possible.
A move to Wednesdays at 9:30 following the No. 1 hit The Beverly Hillbillies vaulted Van Dyke into the Top 10. After five years and 158 episodes — And despite overtures from the network to continue — the series ended its original run in 1966.
On this episode of brioux.tv: the podcast, TV historian David Van Deusen celebrates the shows’ 65th anniversary with a new digital book loaded with links to cast interviews as well as a documentary. He also talks about this month’s special episode of his podcast, “Tripping over the Ottoman,” featuring Larry Mathews. Little Ritchie is now 71!
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