Why Dick Van Dyke Embodied Everything About Rob Petrie

We're taking a few days off for the holidays, but we'll be back with brand new editions of TV Confidential in the new year. In the meantime (and in light of Dick Van Dyke's 99th birthday last week), please enjoy this Blast from the Past featuring an excerpt from our September 2016 conversation with Vince Waldron, author of The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book. In this segment Vince talks about why Reiner and Sheldon Leonard cast Dick Van Dyke because he embodied all three aspects of the Rob Petrie character: the introverted writer, the devoted husband and caring father, and the ability to break out and perform sketches when needed.