Remembering the Dick Van Dyke Show
Before SNL, The Alan Brady Show gave a different look at the writers’ room of a TV show.
Like many of us who write for or read Medium, I wanted to be a writer. I loved the concept of writing for a TV sitcom. Even as a kid I thought the writers’ room of the Alan Brady s Show as depicted on The Dick Van Dyke Show looked like a great place to work.
It seemed like the writers made decent money and enjoyed their work. Over the years, the idea of writing for a TV sitcom seems less desirable than it did years ago. The idea of writing humor, however, is still enjoyable. Now, on to things you might not have known about “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”
1: At first Dick Van Dyke didn’t want Mary Tyler Moore to play the role of Laura Petrie because in real life she is 11 years younger than him.
Van Dyke eventually got over the aversion to marrying a younger woman. His current wife is 46 years younger than he is. A case of life imitating art.
2: Johnny Carson was a finalist for the role of Rob Petrie.
Somehow the show wouldn’t have been the same if Laura would have said, “Here’s Johnny,” every time her husband came home. Plus, what would Ed McMahon have done?
