I recently saw an interview of Dick Van Dyke (DVD) on some 30 minute show where they interviewed two comedic people, with the interviews of the two intertwined. DVD shared his time with Julia Louie Dreyfuss. Maybe someone knows what the show is, too lazy to look up.

DVD is really down to earth. What I mean by that is that he does not come off as a celebrity at all. He is very friendly and very "down home". What I mean to put a finger of what I am trying to say is that he is so Midwestern, so fatherly and someone who just speaks as an everyday guy instead of a celebrity for the past 50 years. He spoke a lot like my Iowa father. Not pretentious, nice, loves to tell stories, a people friendly kind of guy. He speaks like he was never a star, and just some old retired Midwestern guy. Does that make sense?

He seems like someone that if in a good mood, would love to chat up some random fan who came up and talked to him for a bit. He just comes across as an everyday person. Of course, I would be the one who made him mad when I asked why Robert Petrie slept in a different bed than a 25 year old Mary Tyler Moore!

DVD comes across as a very unpretentious person, who sees himself as an Everyman, even though he is very wealthy and has been a success in films and television for a half century. A nice man. Our father and grandfather.

One more question, his son Barry is built like a linebacker. How did a skinny guy like DVD have such a buff son?

I think the qualities you expressed about DVD really show through in his performances. Certainly his performance as Rob Petrie display these qualities. Also his movie performances. Especially his brilliant performance in "The Comic" where he portrayed the life story of a silent movie comic. the qualities you mentioned gave that character real heart and sympathy.