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Dick Van Dyke wasn't ready for ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' to end
Van Dyke on the ending of The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Goodbyes are hard for everyone, but they're definitely tougher for some people than others. For some, leaving something behind simply means that you're leaving behind something great in search of something better. But for others, saying goodbye can be a painstaking experience.
In his memoir, My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business: A Memoir, Dick Van Dyke revealed that he fell into the latter category when it came to one of his all-time greatest series, The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Van Dyke wrote, "In late summer of 1965, all of us began the fifth season knowing it was our last. The public may not have realized it yet, but we knew." Despite the show's imminent end being common knowledge among the cast and crew, the actual decision to end the series seemed to be creator Carl Reiner's alone. Reiner, who had experience in television, knew that the longer a series lasted, the more opportunities there were for it to grow dull and unimpressive in the eyes of the viewer.
Reiner seemed to also be aware not only of the importance of The Dick Van Dyke Show at the time but the potential of its importance in the future. Van Dyke wrote, "I think he [Reiner] recognized that all of us, through our collaboration and hard work, had produced a TV classic, and he feared that if repetition and fatigue set in, it could damage the show's magical reputation."
Still, Van Dyke had such a positive experience working on The Dick Van Dyke Show that he couldn't imagine the possibility of it ending. Specifically, he stated, "I loved the show and the people. It wasn't work." Van Dyke also maintained that he had no interest in continuing the series if Carl Reiner wasn't still working on it, so instead of mourning the loss of the series, the actor instead chose to enjoy the time he had left.
He wrote, "Indeed, I had a full plate of TV specials and movies...But really, until The Dick Van Dyke Show finished, I preferred to concentrate on, no, I preferred to savor, each and every last episode."
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