Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Reading Comprehension for December 13
This actor's work can be seen in the movie Mary Poppins. You might have seen him in the role of inventor/father Caractacus Pott in the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Besides finding fame in movies, he was also a successful TV star. He starred as Rob Petrie in The Dick Van Dyke Show in the 1960s and as Dr. Mark Sloan in Diagnosis: Murder in the 1990s. His fame is a result of his flair for comedy. He is the famous Dick Van Dyke.
He was given the name Richard Wayne Van Dyke at his birth on December 13, 1925, in Missouri. His parents raised him and his younger brother, actor Jerry Van Dyke, in Illinois. He got an early start preparing for his career as an entertainer by being involved in high school and community plays. He grew up to be six feet one inch in his socks! Before he joined the United States Army Air Corps, he considered becoming a minister.
Van Dyke has enjoyed a long career. While he was in the U.S. Army Air Corps, he became a radio deejay. This was during WWII, and it was just the beginning. Van Dyke returned to the States. After a brief excursion into the field of advertising, he turned back to show biz. He went from radio to stage to television to movies and back to television. Fans enjoyed his comic routines as much as his singing and dancing. He has been described as having "ageless charm."
