By Annabella Ramirez
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. His work spans screen and stage, and his awards include six Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993, and has been honored with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2013, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2020, and was recognized as a Disney Legend in 1998.
Van Dyke began his career as an entertainer on radio, television and in nightclubs. He made his Broadway debut in the musical revue 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, he became a household name portraying Rob Petrie in the CBS sitcom The Dick Van Dyke 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 he starred in The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971–1974), Diagnosis: Murder (1993–2001), and Murder 101 (2006–2008).
He starred 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 is also known for starring 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 Dyke 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).
Richard Wayne Van Dyke was born on December 13, 1925, in West Plains, Missouri to Hazel Victoria (née McCord), a stenographer, and Loren Wayne “Cookie” Van Dyke, a salesman. He grew up in Danville, Illinois. He is the older brother of actor Jerry Van Dyke, who appeared as his brother in The Dick Van Dyke Show. Van Dyke is a Dutch surname, although he also has English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry. His family line traces back to Mayflower passenger John Alden.
Van Dyke attended Danville High School in 1944, where he participated in the a cappella choir and dramatic club. His involvement in the drama program convinced him to become a professional entertainer, although he also considered a career in the ministry.
Van Dyke left high school during his senior year to join the United States Army Air Forces for pilot training during World War II. Denied enlistment several times for being underweight, he was eventually accepted for service as a radio announcer before transferring to the Special Services and entertaining troops in the continental United States. He was discharged in 1946. Van Dyke received his high school diploma in 2004.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
St. Lucia (also called Lucy) was a fourth-century Italian martyr. Her name is derived from the Latin lux, meaning “light,” and thus she is associated with festivals of light. Before the Gregorian calendar reform in 1582 (adopted in Great Britain and the American colonies in 1752), her feast day occurred on the shortest day of the year (hence the saying “Lucy light, Lucy light; Shortest day and longest night”). St. Lucia’s Day is celebrated especially in Italy and in Sweden, where the oldest (or sometimes youngest) daughter dons a crown of burning candles and wakes the family with coffee and St. Lucia buns (sweet rolls seasoned with saffron).
There is no year without one Friday the 13th, and no year with more than three. This day is considered the unluckiest of days in many superstitions, unless you were born on Friday the 13th, in which case it is your lucky day. “Friggatriskaidekaphobia” is the fear of Friday the 13th. Some people don’t like the number 13, whether it’s a Friday or not. The fear of the number 13 is called “triskaidekaphobia.” Quite a few skyscrapers and hotels do not have a 13th floor (or a room 13, for that matter), and many buildings substitute 12 1/2 for 13 in their addresses. Winston Churchill wouldn’t travel on Friday the 13th, considering it too unlucky.” Discover more fun and freaky facts about Friday the 13th!
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Died
- Samuel Johnson (writer) –
- Grandma Moses (artist) –
Born
- Mary Todd Lincoln (U.S. First Lady) –
- Anthony B. Heinsbergen (muralist) –
- Archie Moore (boxer) –
- Dick Van Dyke (actor) –
- Christopher Plummer (Canadian actor) –
- Ted Nugent (musician) –
- Steve Buscemi (actor) –
- Jamie Foxx (actor) –
- Amy Lee (singer) –
- Taylor Swift (singer/songwriter) –
Events
- New Zealand was discovered by Dutch navigator Abel Tasman –
- Reverend Eleazar Wheelock founded Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., with a royal charter. His intention was to provide education and instruction of Youth and of the Indian Tribes in this Land … and also of English Youth and any others. –
- The San Diego city council hired moisture accelerator Charles Hatfield to bring rain to the city’s nearly empty reservoirs. He did his job so well that by the end of January, 28 inches of rain had fallen, causing major flooding. The council refused to pay him and he fled town with his secret formula. –
- Woodrow Wilson became the first US President to visit European countries while in office, arriving France to attend the Versailles Conference. –
- The Philadelphia Mint began stamping the Susan B. Anthony dollar –
- Highest scoring game in NBA history. Detroit Pistons 186 – Denver Nuggets 184, triple OT. –
Weather
- Tampa, Florida, experienced a severe freeze with a temperature of 18 degrees F –
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