Jerry Van Dyke

Jerry McCord Van Dyke was born in Danville, Illinois, on July 27, 1931, to Hazel Victoria (née McCord), a stenographer, and Loren Wayne "Cookie" Van Dyke, a salesman. He was of Dutch, English, Irish, and Scottish descent. ==Career==

Early career in McLintock! (1963) Van Dyke pursued a stand-up comedy career while still in Danville High School and was already a veteran of strip joints and nightclubs when he joined the United States Air Force Tops In Blue in 1954 and 1955. During the mid-1950s, Van Dyke worked at WTHI-TV in Terre Haute, Indiana. The Jerry Van Dyke Show, which included future CBS News Early Show news anchor Joseph Benti, Nancee South and Ben Falber, was popular fare. He was also given hosting chores on the 1963 game show Picture This. When The Judy Garland Show was unsuccessfully revamped, Van Dyke left the program. He also appeared in a 1964 episode of The Cara Williams Show. Van Dyke finally accepted the lead role of attorney David Crabtree in My Mother the Car (1965), the misadventures of a man whose deceased mother Gladys (voiced by Ann Sothern) is reincarnated as a restored antique car. He was also featured in Love and Kisses (1965) and as Andy Griffith's co-star in Angel in My Pocket (1969). on the season three episode "But Seriously, Folks" on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He also had roles in The Amazing Cosmic Awareness of Duffy Moon (1976) and 13 Queens Boulevard (1979). ==Personal life==

Van Dyke was married twice and had three children with first wife Carol: Jerri Lynn, Kelly Jean, and Ronald. Jerry and his second wife, Shirley, lived on an ranch near Hot Springs, Arkansas. Van Dyke was an avid poker player and announced a number of poker tournaments for ESPN in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was also a four-string banjo player with several performances on The Dick Van Dyke Show to his credit. ==Death==

On January 5, 2018, Van Dyke died at his Hot Spring County, Arkansas ranch from heart failure at the age of 86. ==Filmography==

Film Television ==References==