DICK’S MOMENT TO SHINE
Local legend Dick Van Dyke has been tearing up the stage at the Malibu Stage Company and Pepperdine’s Smothers Theatre in recent weeks, and now he has something else to look forward to. The Screen Actors Guild will honor DVD with its highest award for Life Achievement.
“Dick is the consummate entertainer, an enormously talented performer whose work has crossed nearly every major category of entertainment,” SAG-AFTRA co-president Ken Howard said. “From his career-changing Broadway turn in ‘Bye-Bye Birdie’ and his deadpan humor in the Emmy-winning ‘Dick Van Dyke Show’ to his unforgettable performance as Bert in ‘Mary Poppins,’ he sets a high bar for actors.”
During his five decades in show business, the 86-year-old actor and song-and-dance man has picked up five Emmy Awards, most for “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” which featured actress Mary Tyler Moore as his on-screen wife.
He also snagged a Tony Award for “Bye Bye Birdie” and a Grammy Award for the “Mary Poppins” soundtrack. The film is still a classic in which he co-starred with local Julie Andrews.
There are more recent on-screen productions. He appeared with Ben Stiller in the popular hit “Night at the Museum,” as well as the TV drama “Diagnosis Murder.”
Dick presented Mary Tyler Moore with last year’s SAG Life Achievement Award. Will she do the same for him this year? Stay tuned. The 18th annual Screen Actors Guilds Awards take place on Jan. 27.
MUST SEE TV
There’s a whole crop of choices on the fall TV rundown. Local Michael Chiklis stars as a tough guy in ‘60s Vegas along with Dennis Quaid, who stars as a rough and tumble rancher who is recruited to fight crime. “Vegas” airs on CBS.
Also in the drama department is “Nashville,” which sets the stage for tension between two country stars. Connie Britton plays Rayana Jaymes, a once popular singer with a career on the skids. She is pushed to go on tour with hot up-and-comer Juliette Barnes, played by Hayden Panettiere.
For a change of pace, there’s “666 Park Avenue.” “Lost’s” Terry O’Quinn is the sinister owner of a classic Manhattan apartment building, whose tenants run into plenty of unexpected surprises. Other offerings include “Ben and Kate,” “Arrow,” “Partners,” “Made in Jersey” and “The Mob Doctor.” Who will hit and who will miss? We’ll find out soon enough.