Royal Families of Comedy

 Two brothers– comedy greats with two completely different styles. That’s Dick and Jerry Van Dyke. Dick Van Dyke was a song and dance man who worked on Broadway in musicals like Bye Bye Birdie and The Music Man. He was also a gifted physical comedic actor who used those talents on The Dick Van Dyke Show which is still considered one of the greatest television comedies of all time. Dick appeared in classic film musicals as well like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins. On the other side is his little brother, Jerry Van Dyke. Jerry performed in dive bars and strip clubs around the country incorporating his banjo playing into his comedy act. Jerry made appearances on his brother’s TV show, playing Rob’s brother. This showed the differences in their styles. Dick was quick witted, self-assured and had a full head of hair. While Jerry kept a crew cut and created a nervous, stammering, hilarious character. Jerry would go on to play Luther Van Dam, on the hit show Coach that ran for 9 seasons and received 4 Emmy nominations for his work.