Ted Danson Calls Dick Van Dyke 'My Hero' as Stars Celebrate the Actor's Legacy for His 100th Birthday (Exclusive) Angela AndaloroDecember 10, 2025 at 5:41 AM 0 Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Ted Danson and Dick Van Dyke at the 2003 TV Land Awards Ted Danson is among the many stars who are celebrating Dick Van Dyke's legendary career in celebration of his 100th birthday Van Dyke turns 100 on Dec. 13 American Masters – Starring Dick Van Dyke premieres nationwide Friday, December 12 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS Ted Danson is celebrating Dick Van Dyke on his milestone birthday.
- - Ted Danson Calls Dick Van Dyke 'My Hero' as Stars Celebrate the Actor's Legacy for His 100th Birthday (Exclusive)
Angela AndaloroDecember 10, 2025 at 5:41 AM
0
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Ted Danson and Dick Van Dyke at the 2003 TV Land Awards -
Ted Danson is among the many stars who are celebrating Dick Van Dyke's legendary career in celebration of his 100th birthday
Van Dyke turns 100 on Dec. 13
American Masters – Starring Dick Van Dyke premieres nationwide Friday, December 12 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS
Ted Danson is celebrating Dick Van Dyke on his milestone birthday.
The A Man on the Inside actor, 77, is among the stars honoring the legendary actor as he celebrates his 100th birthday on Dec. 13. American Masters – Starring Dick Van Dyke takes a closer look at the career of the Emmy, Tony and Grammy-winning star and features some of today's biggest entertainers discussing how he continues to inspire them.
Danson began by explaining the series of events that made Van Dyke synonymous with TV for him.
"The truth is, Dick Van Dyke is my hero. I grew up without a television in Arizona. I mean, literally, my first TV was when I was a freshman in college. I found one on the street, hauled it up to my dorm room, tapped into some teacher's antenna outside the window, turned it on."
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"It's about 11 o'clock in the morning, and it was an old black and white TV. And on came a rerun of the Dick Van Dyke Show, literally as Dick came through, the title sequence, and tripped over the ottoman. And I was smitten," he shared.
Danson said the show's combination of work life and family life was an "important" decision that aided in the show's success.
"I think it's important that you have a family structure, you know. Family is always what we're most interested in as an audience. And then you had the work family, and that was just funny," he laughed.
Van Dyke's undeniable charisma is what endears him to audiences, Danson noted.
Bettmann/Getty
Cast of 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' in 1965
"If you want to watch a show and watch a performer over and over again in your living room, you're going to want to have someone that is clearly someone you want to spend time with. In comedy especially, you're recognizing a basic kindness within that person, which you have with Dick. He gave people a laugh. He uplifted people, and he did it in such an elegant, funny, extraordinary way."
Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, Jim Carrey, Steve Martin, Conan O'Brien and Martin Short are among other stars that appear in the special. Also featured are archival interviews with Van Dyke's former costars and colleagues, including Walter Cronkite, Sheldon Leonard, Rose Marie, Mary Tyler Moore and Carl Reiner.
American Masters – Starring Dick Van Dyke, premieres nationwide Friday, Dec. 12 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings), and will stream for free on pbs.org/americanmasters and the PBS App
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Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: December 09, 2025 at 01:45PM on Source: PRIME TIME
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