Few shows have had the staying power of The Dick Van Dyke Show. Premiering on October 3, 1961, and wrapping up in ‘66, unlike most shows that end due to low ratings, this one simply concluded because the cast was ready to move on to fresher pastures.
With such a talented team, it made sense to spread the creativity around. Even 10-year-old Larry Mathews, who played Ritchie, was already looking ahead to his next big break. There were no big speeches or tearful goodbyes on the final day of filming. Instead, the cast spent their last moments together cracking jokes, recording tracks, and trading one-liners.
Created by comedy legend Carl Reiner, the series saw the incomparable Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore bring performances to life that won the show 15 Emmy Awards in a five-season run. But what happened to these beloved stars after the series ended in 1966? Let’s dive into where the cast went from their time on The Dick Van Dyke Show to today.
Dick Van Dyke
It’s hard to think of The Dick Van Dyke Show without picturing Dick—those long legs flying, that infectious grin, and his lovable, slightly clumsy charm as Rob Petrie. The show launched Van Dyke into superstardom, but he was far from done.
Dick Van Dyke’s original contract is said to pay him $1,500 per episode when the show first started. While that number might seem paltry, adjusted for inflation, that’s about $15,779 today—not exactly Seinfeld money, but definitely not peanuts either. And, Dick was also smart enough to negotiate an ownership percentage in the show, which he knew would be worth way more in the long run than his weekly paycheck.
After the series finale, Dick took his talents to the big screen, starring in movies like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Divorce American Style, with his physical comedy and family-friendly entertainment making him a household name. Speaking on his plans after the end of the show, he would say in an interview in 1967,
I’m going to sleep for a month. Then I go to Columbia to start work on Divorce, American Style. I think I’ve learned what to do in these five years. Maybe in another five years, I could learn how to do it.
In 1971, he tried his hand at another sitcom, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, where he played a talk show host. Though it didn’t hit the same as the original, it kept him on TV for three seasons. He also became a regular guest on The Carol Burnett Show, minting his comedy gold.
Later, Dick Van Dyke teamed up with his son, Barry Van Dyke, for The Van Dyke Show in the late ’80s. While it wasn’t a smash hit by any means of the imagination, it was, perhaps, a fun family experiment. Dick has four kids—Christian, Stacy, Carrie Beth, and Barry—from his first marriage to Margie Willett.
In 2012, Dick remarried, tying the knot with makeup artist Arlene Silver. Despite their 46-year age gap, the two have shared a beautiful partnership, with Arlene even by his side as he celebrated his 98th birthday in December 2023 during the CBS tribute Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic.
Van Dyke, at 98, isn’t holding back his opinions either, and why should he? Recently, while out and about, paparazzi asked the Mary Poppins legend if the future of America looks bright. His response? A cautious “I hope you’re right.”
When pressed about Donald Trump’s 2024 Election victory and his ability to “make America great again,” Van Dyke didn’t mince words, saying, “Fortunately, I won’t be around to experience the four years.”
This isn’t the first time the Emmy-winning actor has shared some candid, and slightly morbid, thoughts about aging. Back in September, when asked about missing the Primetime Emmy Awards, he quipped, “I feel old.” And as for his upcoming 99th birthday? Van Dyke jokingly admitted, “Just praying that I make it.”
On the eve of the election, he took to social media to endorse Kamala Harris for president. In a heartfelt video, the Mary Poppins and Bye Bye Birdie star read a speech he originally delivered back in 1964 at a civil rights event where he stood alongside Martin Luther King Jr.
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore was not just playing Laura Petrie—she quite frankly owned the role, from her playful wit to her Capri pants (a sure-fashion risk at the time). Moore’s chemistry with Van Dyke was electric, and together they created one of TV’s most beloved on-screen couples. This role also earned her two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe, making Mary Moore one of television’s early leading ladies.
Coming in as a relative newbie, her starting pay, however, was significantly lower. As Sheldon Leonard put it in his book The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book, “Mary was signed up for nickels and dimes.” While the exact figure isn’t mentioned, it’s clear her salary was well under $1,000 per episode when she started.
After The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary didn’t just fade into the background. Talking about her plans next, she said,
I’m talking to Universal about my first picture under contract there. It may be Thoroughly Modern Millie with Julie Andrews. Also, my husband (NBC executive Grant Tinker) has been transferred to New York as program head, so I’ll be moving. I really hate to leave.
Post-Dick Van Dyke, Mary became a feminist icon with her self-titled show, where she played a single, independent career woman—a groundbreaking portrayal for the 1970s. That show became a cultural phenomenon, earning her three more Emmys and inspiring women everywhere to toss their hats in the air (literally).
Moore would then venture into dramatic roles, earning an Academy Award nomination for her work in Ordinary People. In the late ’80s and early ’90s, she stayed active on TV with shows like Annie McGuire and guest spots on That ’70s Show. Despite personal tragedy, including the loss of her only son in 1980, Mary always spoke of her life with gratitude. “[It] has been a wonderful life. There are very few things I would go back and do differently,” she once said.
On January 28, 2012, Mary Tyler Moore was honored with a Life Achievement Award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles. As she stood before the audience giving her speech, she hid something Moore had carried for over 30 years—she was severely blind.
“They brought the lights up, and she was there,” her husband, Dr. Robert Levine, later explained in May 2023. “And the reason for that was she could not walk safely across the stage at that point.
Moore was open about living with type 1 diabetes, which she was diagnosed with in 1969 after a miscarriage. She wrote in her autobiography, Growing Up Again: Life, Loves, and Oh Yeah, Diabetes:
It seems that during the necessary D&C procedure that followed the miscarriage, it was discovered that there might be a little problem with the amount of sugar present in my blood. The normal count is between 70 and 110. Mine was 750!
Despite being a vocal advocate for diabetes awareness through her work with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), Moore never publicly disclosed that the disease was gradually robbing her of her eyesight. “Over time, she suffered many of the complications of diabetes,” Levine shared. “But the one thing that had the greatest impact on her was the fact that she was nearly blinded by it in her later years.”
Her struggles with vision loss worsened as she aged. In 1989, Moore underwent eye surgery that allowed her to keep working for a time, but eventually, her eyesight diminished to the point where she could no longer read or navigate a room safely. Levine would say,
And for a woman who was in her heart a dancer and so physically capable and so independent, just imagine what that would mean to you, to have your joy robbed from you
Her dear friend Betty White shared in 2014 that Moore’s eyesight had deteriorated significantly, saying, “Her eyesight is what the big problem is right now. She’s almost beyond the point of being able to see at all.”
Moore passed away on January 25, 2017, at age 80. Her death certificate listed cardiopulmonary arrest and diabetes as contributing factors. Following her passing, Levine helped launch the Mary Tyler Moore Vision Initiative with the JDRF. Its mission is to “create a world without vision loss” from diabetes by advancing research and access to therapies.
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner, the creator of The Dick Van Dyke Show, initially wrote the series as a starring vehicle for himself (even stepping in Rob’s role for the pilot), but CBS thought he wasn’t quite the right fit for the lead. While Reiner didn’t play Rob Petrie, he did make a guest appearance as the egotistical Alan Brady, Rob’s boss. Off-screen, Reiner became one of comedy’s most prolific creators, writing and directing films like The Jerk and All of Me.
“I’m starting right away at Columbia, writing, directing, and producing Enter Laughing (1967),” Reiner would say after the end of the five-year run. This project was personal – it was based on his own book about his childhood, giving him plenty of material to work with.
Many after him gave him his due credit. “It was kind of a breakthrough,” says Phil Rosenthal, creator of Everybody Loves Raymond. “Why did it ring so true? Maybe it’s because Carl Reiner’s whole modus operandi was he would say to his writers, every week, ‘What happened at your house this week?’
The technique was so effective that James L. Brooks and Allan Burns adopted it for The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970s. Treva Silverman, the show’s first female writer, recalls,
Jim and Allan called me in. Before we started talking about the episode, I was telling them about something that had happened to me the week before. There was a FedEx guy or some package guy who came, and he called me ma’am. But I’m 30 years old, why is this person calling me ma’am? And so Allan said, ‘That’s an episode.’”
That story inspired The Mary Tyler Moore Show’s second episode, “Today I Am a Ma’am.” Reiner explained his writing philosophy in 1977, saying,
You have to imagine yourself as not somebody very special but somebody very ordinary. If you imagine yourself as somebody really normal and if it makes you laugh, it’s going to make everybody laugh.
Reiner remained active well into his 90s, sharing jokes on Twitter and collaborating with longtime friend Mel Brooks. He passed away in 2020 at the age of 98.
Rose Marie
Rose Marie was a scene-stealer as Sally Rogers, Rob’s razor-tongued co-writer. She was hilarious, and confident, and didn’t hesitate to call boys out for something in the writers’ room.
Rose knew showbiz long before The Dick Van Dyke Show. She started as a child star in vaudeville and later transitioned to TV and film. When Rose Marie was brought on to play Sally Rogers, she was offered $1,000 per episode—a deal she took right away.
After her time as Sally, she joined The Doris Day Show and became a regular panelist on The Hollywood Squares, where her wit made her a fan favorite. When the Dick Van Dyke show ended, Rose would tell her plans in an interview, stating
I’m going to Australia to play some dates, then I come back in June and make a pilot script about a meter maid, one of those lady policemen who check parking meters.
“Play some dates in Australia” sounds like a clever excuse for a working vacation In her personal life, Rose was married to Bobby Guy, a trumpeter, until his untimely death in 1964. They had one daughter, Georgiana.
She passed away in 2017 at 94. Reflecting on her career, she once said, “I was asked what I wanted my legacy to be. My answer: ‘That I was good at my job and loved every minute of it.’” And you know what? That sounds fulfilling.
Morey Amsterdam and Larry Mathews
Morey Amsterdam, who played Buddy Sorrell, was the king of one-liners. Buddy’s constant wisecracks and playful insults (especially aimed at producer Mel Cooley) made him a standout on the show.
Morey was a seasoned comedian before The Dick Van Dyke Show, so much so that he was even called “The Human Joke Machine” for his ability and quickness in crafting a punchline for just about anything. After the show, he continued acting, popping up in hits like The Partridge Family, Alice, and Fame. Like Rose Marie, he also became a beloved panelist on The Hollywood Squares. His final role was in an episode of Caroline in the City in 1996. That same year, he passed away at 87.
Who could forget Ritchie Petrie, Rob, and Laura’s adorable, curious son? Larry Mathews played the role perfectly, but after the show ended, he decided to step away from the spotlight. Instead, Larry focused on his education, eventually graduating from UCLA. He ultimately returned, though, with a successful behind-the-scenes career in Hollywood as a producer and editor.
Larry has also stayed connected to the show’s legacy. He’s often seen at reunions and events celebrating the sitcom. Married since 1987, Larry seems to have found happiness away from the chaos of Hollywood.
Even after more than 60 years, The Dick Van Dyke Show is still just as funny and heartwarming as ever. Whether it’s those gags from the writers’ room or the sweetness of home – whatever its magic might be – it still knows how to make us laugh, tear up, and maybe even bust a little dance move in the living room.
