MALIBU—Actor Dick Van Dyke, 97, who is famous for his 1960’s TV series “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” crashed his car into a gate in Malibu on March 15, TMZ first reported. He suffered minor injuries.
Dyke told officials while behind the wheel of his Lexus LS 500, his car slid and lost control before hitting the gate. It had been raining heavy.
He was found bleeding from the mouth and nose and was given treatment for a possible concussion. Dyke was not transferred to a hospital but was picked up by an unknown person and driven to his home.
In August 13, 2013, Van Dyke was driving near Calabasas when his car caught fire. A bystander pulled him to safety; he didn’t sustain any injuries.
The star was last seen on the small screen in February 2023, when he was unmasked on the season 9 premiere of “The Masked Singer.”
“I had never even seen the show when they asked me. So I checked it out and it looked like a lot of fun,” he told PEOPLE, after his exit from the Fox series. “I was positive they wouldn’t be able to guess who I was. And I was right!”
He performed Frank Sinatra’s “When You’re Smiling” — a song choice the star attributes to his wife, Arlene Silver. “They wanted me to do something current and I know nothing from rock,” Van Dyke admitted. “So we picked out one which typifies me. She’s the one that came up with it and I liked the song, too.”
He started his career with WDSU-TV New Orleans Channel 6 (NBC), first as a single comedian and later as emcee of a comedy program. His first network TV appearance was with Dennis James on James’ “Chance of a Lifetime” in 1954. He later appeared in two episodes of “The Phil Silvers Show” during its 1957–1958 season. He also appeared early in his career on ABC‘s “The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom” and NBC‘s “The Polly Bergen Show.”
By 1961, his hit series “The Dick Van Dyke Show” launched. In the series, he portrayed a comedy writer named Rob Petrie. Carl Reiner conceived the program and cast himself in the lead of the pilot, but CBS insisted on recasting, and Reiner chose Van Dyke to replace him. The show reigned until 1966 where he co-starred with other performers like Mary Tyler Moore, Richard Deacon, Rose Marie, Jerry Paris and others.
