Dick Van Dyke’s memoir reveals what it was really like to work with Walt

Jim Hill

14 years ago

So how exactly did Dick Van Dyke wind up playing Bert in “Mary Poppins” ? According to his just-released memoir, “My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business” (Crown Archetype, May 2011), Dick landed his role in that Disney
classic because an earlier film of his – 1964’s “What a Way to Go!” – hadn’t
gone quite according to plan.

As Van Dyke explained, that Shirley MacLaine movie’s script …

… had been a pleasure to read, but the final version (of “What
a Way to Go”) included some colorful ad-libbing that made it significantly
different, more adult in tone, and had I known that initially I would have
turned it down.

I met my agent, Sol Leon, for lunch at the (studio)
commissary, and talked through my concerns. He asked the obvious questions.
What kind of films did I want to make? Where did I see myself going in terms of
movies? What sort of scripts should he look for?

“I’ve thought about this,” I said, “and I’m pretty clear on
it. I only want to make movies that my kids can see.”

“Only kids’ movies?,” he asked.

(L to R) Dick Van Dyke, his son Barry and his grandson Shane on the set of “Murder 101”

“Not kids’ movies,” I clarified. “I want to make movies that
I can see with my kids and not feel uncomfortable.”

So where does Disney enter this equation? Well, as Dick
recalls, Walt …

… read an interview in which I stated my intention to stick to
family movies. He liked that. He thought it made me perfect for his type of
Disney movies – and specifically for the one he was about to start working on,
Mary Poppins.

So how did Walt woo Dick to come play Bert the chimney
sweep? As Van Dyke recounts in this frank but fun show business memoir,
there wasn’t any wooing at all.

There have only been two times in my career where I have
known that I had a chance to be involved in something special. The first was The Dick Van Dyke Show, and the second was when I read the script for Poppins.
I will never forget putting it down, turning to (my then-wife) Margie, and
telling her that (Mary Poppins’ script) was sensational.

Though “My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business” covers
the length and breadth of Dick Van Dyke’s fabulous career, its highs (i.e. his
multiple Emmy wins for playing Rob Petrie) as well as its lowest (i.e. Van Dyke’s
struggles with alcoholism), the reason that Disneyana fans will immediately want
to run out and buy a copy of this 304-page hardcover is Dick’s
up-close-and-personal take on Walt.

Walt Disney with the composers of “Mary Poppins” score, Robert B. Sherman (L) and
Richard M. Sherman (center). Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

He impressed me as a nice man, really an old shoe. I later
heard that he was a tough taskmaster, but I only saw his easygoing side, the
side that led others to refer to him as Uncle Walt.

Mind you, not all of Van Dyke’s memories of “Mary Poppins”
are fond. The dance rehearsals for that film’s “Step in Time” number sound particularly
brutal.

We practiced on Disney’s back lot for six weeks if not
longer during a heat wave that would have made Moyave feel cool.

“I Love to Laugh”
sounds like a difficult number to have worked on as well. But not for the reasons
that you might think. Dick found this number in “Mary Poppins” strenuous to do
because …

… my diaphragm ached from laughing all day. I (actually)
wondered if it might be possible to hurt your diaphragm from too much laughing.
I guessed so. There was also a lot of hanging around in the air on high wires
as lights were adjusted, cameras changed, and retakes done while we were
supposed to be floating high above the floor.

Poor Ed (Wynn), who was in (his) eighties and not well, was
absolutely wonderful and worth the price of admission just to see him going
through various acrobatics …

A couple of times we broke for lunch and the crew started to
leave, forgetting Julie, the kids, Ed and I were all strapped into wires and
hanging thirty feet above the ground. I yelled, “Guys, don’t forget about us.”

There’s a lot of these sorts of stories in “My Lucky Life In
and Out of Show Business.” Which talk about how – through hard work and a lot
of lucky breaks – a kid from Danville, Illinois got the chances to go to Hollywood
and make some truly memorable movies & TV shows. Not to mention meeting many of his screen idols like Cary Grant, Stan Laurel and Buster Keaton.

But you want to know the best part of Dick Van Dyke’s
memoir? Its lack of pretense. Take – for example – the section that talks about
the big budget musical that he made after shooting Disney’s “Never a Dull Moment.”

From there, I went straight into Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a
movie I repeatedly turned down. Based on Ian Fleming‘s only children’s novel,
it’s the story of an eccentric inventor whose magical automobile is coveted by foreigners
with nefarious intentions. The film’s producer, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, known
for his tight-fisted control of the James Bond movie franchise, desperately
wanted to re-team Julie Andrews and me.

I can’t speak for Julie’s reasons, but both of us turned him
down. I thought the script had too many holes and unanswered questions.
However, each time I said no, Cubby came back with more money. I’m talking
serious money – more than seven figures, which in those days was mind-boggling,
plus a percentage of the back end, which I never counted on.

I still wanted to say no, but my manager reminded me that
not too many years earlier I was scrambling to win two hundred dollars on
Pantomime Quiz. Although I was in a different position now, I understood – and just
in case I didn’t, he left me know that if I turned down this much money I was
basically declaring myself officially crazy.

After one more round, I finally agreed (to do Chitty).

And you’re a Disneyana fan and/or an entertainment history
buff … Well, you’d have to be officially crazy to pass up the chance to read
Dick Van Dyke’s memoir, “My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business.” So don’t
press your luck. Go out and buy a copy today.

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