Jerry Van Dyke - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

August West · 03-15-2009, 07:14 AM

Is it just me or does anyone else find Jerry somewhat annoying? I suppose he did have a talent of some kind but he always had me going for the remote.

gilligan fanatic · 03-15-2009, 10:18 AM

I always had a hard time hearing him sing when he played the banjo for some reason. Either way he isn't that bad. There is a Gomer episode that is very similar to some of the ones he is in on Dick Van Dyke. CBS really tried to get him to be a star in the 60's. He could have been Gilligan after all.

JudgeGarth · 03-15-2009, 11:56 AM

In 'The Sleeping Brother' I think his singing is funnier when he's "awake" and playing the nerd than when he's "sleepwalking" and playing the "cool" guy.

MickeyMac · 03-15-2009, 02:37 PM

I liked Jerry on his brothers show, but i have to admit I cant stand My Mother The Car its one of the few shows from the 1960's that I hate.

Marvo301 · 05-01-2009, 10:43 PM

I thoroughly enjoyed Jerry's appearances on DVD. I think it took Jerry a long time to find the right role to showcase his amazing talents. But boy did he ever find it in the role of Luther Van Dam on Coach. I think that may have been the most perfect marriage of actor and role in the history of the medium!

Marvo301 · 02-11-2010, 11:55 PM

Jerry was also hilarious in the recurring role of Big Jimmy on "Yes Dear".

catlover79 · 02-12-2010, 12:42 AM

He was priceless as Luther on Coach. Not for nothing did he earn 4 Emmy nominations for the role.

jehobden · 02-12-2010, 01:09 AM

I found him annoying as Luther Van Dam too. I don't have much tolerance for doltish characters. I didn't see him in MMtC until it was on Trio a few years ago. Funny first thing I remember seeing him in was on the Wayne Rogers/Lynn Redgrave sitcom House Calls, who was looking to play the ultimate prank on Rogers' character by dying on the operating table while Rogers' character, a doctor, was operating on him. He seems somewhat sophisticated that time. This was years before he was on Coach. I was upset when he replaced Maureen McCormick on Teen Angel too. What a lousy tradeoff that was!

TV Knowledge Fan · 02-12-2010, 01:42 AM

...Jerry's unsold 1964 pilot for Filmways (which finally aired on CBS in the summer of 1967, on "VACATION PLAYHOUSE"), "MY BOY GOGGLE", in which he played a perplexed father with a "off-kilter" son. He was good, but I can see why Jim Aubrey {"The Smiling Cobra"}, CBS president, passed on it- it was too "unconventional" for him, as he wanted "simple", rural-based (or "mass audience") comedies that didn't demand too much from viewers, and made them feel more "comfortable" than amused [although "THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES" was funny as hell, and "THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW" was a comedy classic]- that's one reason why he didn't care for "THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW". "Too 'inside'", he judged before the series began, "Nobody's gonna relate to a New York TV comedy writer- couldn't you make Van Dyke a Midwestern insurance salesman, like Robert Young?" Fortunately, Carl Reiner and Sheldon Leonard refused to listen to his suggestions; that's why he tried to sabotage the show in its first season by deliberately scheduling it in "lousy" time periods- he tried to cancel it at the end of season one, but primary sponsor Procter & Gamble insisted Aubrey leave the show where it was, in "their" time period on Wednesdays, or risk losing all their advertising, and their daytime "soaps", to other networks. And since P&G was CBS' #1 advertiser, Aubrey had to back down (and he hated dealing with sponsors, agents and "program packagers", preferring to make his own immediate programming decisions). Yet, because he and his West Coast "lieutenant", Hunt Stromberg Jr., saw possibilities in Jerry on his two-part "VAN DYKE" show in early '62, they gave him a contract to develop his own series. Only they didn't know what to do with him....by 1963, he ended up hosting a summer game show, "PICTURE THIS"; as regular "comedy relief" on "THE JUDY GARLAND SHOW"; the missed opportunity on "GILLIGAN'S ISLAND" {which Aubrey also loathed, yet it stayed on the network while HE departed in February 1965}, and the "MY BOY GOGGLE" pilot. By the time Aubrey was gone from CBS, so was Jerry. Just in time to be cast on "MY MOTHER, THE CAR". It wasn't a "bad" series; let's just say it was less believable than seeing Barbara Eden in a harem outfit every Saturday night.....

treky · 02-14-2010, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

He was priceless as Luther on Coach. Not for nothing did he earn 4 Emmy nominations for the role.

I liked it when Dick made a cameo appearence on "COACH" once.
It was in an episode where Luther went to a family reunion, and since he didn't know anyone he talked Hayden into coming along. The two of them were talking and Luther was saying "What if we're at the wrong place? I mean, none of these people even look like me"! Just then, Dick walked in front of them.

catlover79 · 02-14-2010, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by treky

I liked it when Dick made a cameo appearence on "COACH" once.
It was in an episode where Luther went to a family reunion, and since he didn't know anyone he talked Hayden into coming along. The two of them were talking and Luther was saying "What if we're at the wrong place? I mean, none of these people even look like me"! Just then, Dick walked in front of them.

That was one of the funniest moments in the history of Coach. The audience went crazy and so did I!

03-15-2009, 10:18 AM	#2
gilligan fanatic Born to Be Bad Forum Fanatic Join Date: May 06, 2001 Location: down by the Lagoon Posts: 9,954	I always had a hard time hearing him sing when he played the banjo for some reason. Either way he isn't that bad. There is a Gomer episode that is very similar to some of the ones he is in on Dick Van Dyke. CBS really tried to get him to be a star in the 60's. He could have been Gilligan after all.
	__________________ Matt Filmaf ~ Twitter ~ Last.FM

05-01-2009, 10:43 PM	#5
Marvo301 I'm NOT a Blockhead! Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 17, 2002 Location: The Great White North Posts: 21,460	I thoroughly enjoyed Jerry's appearances on DVD. I think it took Jerry a long time to find the right role to showcase his amazing talents. But boy did he ever find it in the role of Luther Van Dam on Coach. I think that may have been the most perfect marriage of actor and role in the history of the medium!
	__________________ Only a life lived for others is worth living. Albert Einstein A life isn't worth living unless it has impact on other lives. Jackie Robinson Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin

02-12-2010, 12:42 AM	#7
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	He was priceless as Luther on Coach. Not for nothing did he earn 4 Emmy nominations for the role.
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

02-12-2010, 01:42 AM	#9
TV Knowledge Fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 29, 2006 Location: Long Branch, N.J. Posts: 2,577	I've seen.... ...Jerry's unsold 1964 pilot for Filmways (which finally aired on CBS in the summer of 1967, on "VACATION PLAYHOUSE"), "MY BOY GOGGLE", in which he played a perplexed father with a "off-kilter" son. He was good, but I can see why Jim Aubrey {"The Smiling Cobra"}, CBS president, passed on it- it was too "unconventional" for him, as he wanted "simple", rural-based (or "mass audience") comedies that didn't demand too much from viewers, and made them feel more "comfortable" than amused [although "THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES" was funny as hell, and "THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW" was a comedy classic]- that's one reason why he didn't care for "THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW". "Too 'inside'", he judged before the series began, "Nobody's gonna relate to a New York TV comedy writer- couldn't you make Van Dyke a Midwestern insurance salesman, like Robert Young?" Fortunately, Carl Reiner and Sheldon Leonard refused to listen to his suggestions; that's why he tried to sabotage the show in its first season by deliberately scheduling it in "lousy" time periods- he tried to cancel it at the end of season one, but primary sponsor Procter & Gamble insisted Aubrey leave the show where it was, in "their" time period on Wednesdays, or risk losing all their advertising, and their daytime "soaps", to other networks. And since P&G was CBS' #1 advertiser, Aubrey had to back down (and he hated dealing with sponsors, agents and "program packagers", preferring to make his own immediate programming decisions). Yet, because he and his West Coast "lieutenant", Hunt Stromberg Jr., saw possibilities in Jerry on his two-part "VAN DYKE" show in early '62, they gave him a contract to develop his own series. Only they didn't know what to do with him....by 1963, he ended up hosting a summer game show, "PICTURE THIS"; as regular "comedy relief" on "THE JUDY GARLAND SHOW"; the missed opportunity on "GILLIGAN'S ISLAND" {which Aubrey also loathed, yet it stayed on the network while HE departed in February 1965}, and the "MY BOY GOGGLE" pilot. By the time Aubrey was gone from CBS, so was Jerry. Just in time to be cast on "MY MOTHER, THE CAR". It wasn't a "bad" series; let's just say it was less believable than seeing Barbara Eden in a harem outfit every Saturday night.....

03-15-2009, 07:14 AM	#1
August West Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jan 29, 2009 Location: Pittsburgh Pa. Posts: 5	Jerry Van Dyke Is it just me or does anyone else find Jerry somewhat annoying? I suppose he did have a talent of some kind but he always had me going for the remote.

03-15-2009, 11:56 AM	#3
JudgeGarth Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Apr 07, 2004 Location: Wheaton, IL Posts: 443	In 'The Sleeping Brother' I think his singing is funnier when he's "awake" and playing the nerd than when he's "sleepwalking" and playing the "cool" guy.

03-15-2009, 02:37 PM	#4
MickeyMac Member Forum Star Join Date: Jun 18, 2008 Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan Posts: 19,008	I liked Jerry on his brothers show, but i have to admit I cant stand My Mother The Car its one of the few shows from the 1960's that I hate.

02-11-2010, 11:55 PM	#6
Marvo301 I'm NOT a Blockhead! Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 17, 2002 Location: The Great White North Posts: 21,460	Jerry was also hilarious in the recurring role of Big Jimmy on "Yes Dear".

02-12-2010, 01:09 AM	#8
jehobden Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 06, 2002 Location: DFW Area, TX Posts: 2,005	I found him annoying as Luther Van Dam too. I don't have much tolerance for doltish characters. I didn't see him in MMtC until it was on Trio a few years ago. Funny first thing I remember seeing him in was on the Wayne Rogers/Lynn Redgrave sitcom House Calls, who was looking to play the ultimate prank on Rogers' character by dying on the operating table while Rogers' character, a doctor, was operating on him. He seems somewhat sophisticated that time. This was years before he was on Coach. I was upset when he replaced Maureen McCormick on Teen Angel too. What a lousy tradeoff that was!