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The Dick Van Dyke Show cast would laugh so hard they'd ruin film takes — on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C, which was shooting next door
Laughter really is contagious.
They say if you do what you love, then you never truly work a day in your life. We're not sure how true that is, but one thing is for sure: If you're having fun while you're doing it, it definitely feels a little less like work.
Just as the cast of The Dick Van Dyke Show thrived on making its viewers laugh with the show's antics, the cast and crew also delighted in making each other laugh. It was a jovial experience all around, but sometimes it came at the expense of other people also working on the same film lot.
In Dick Van Dyke's memoir, My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business, he credits show's creator Carl Reiner and writer Sheldon Keller with being the fuel to the show's comedy fire. He wrote, "Carl was the master of knowing the difference between funny and not funny, but occasionally Sheldon took exception and the two of them got into a discussion that typically had them meeting in the middle, in agreement, and understanding that their difference of opinion came from their different approaches. Carl was a comedy purist, and Sheldon was all about the story, all about how the show was built."
Van Dyke continued, "I received a first-class education from listening to these two brilliant men argue with each other not about whether something was funny, but about what constituted funny, and what made something funny."
According to Mary Tyler Moore's memoir, After All, Moore wrote, "Laughter was a constant companion during the show's days of rehearsals." Their joy was so contagious, they ruined takes of scenes...just not on their own show.
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Moore wrote, "Whether it was the writing, or each other's contribution to that humor, or just life, we were constantly getting in trouble for having ruined a take on Gomer Pyle. Their soundstage was next door. Several times a week, their assistant director would come stomping onto our set to ask if we could please 'hold down the laughter.'"
Sorry Gomer, but if we were on that set, we couldn't help but crack up too.
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14 Comments
Who will supply the apology I demand and deserve?
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0340952/mediaviewer/rm1581431552/?ref_=nm_md_3
I'll hang up, pout and wait for my answer.
Sheldon Leonard did write a few episodes, but was more known as one of the producers.
(source - IMDB)
