# Jerry Van Dyke, RIP **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 6, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004 "2018-01-06T22:38:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/1 "2018-01-06T22:38:27Z")
[Jerry Van Dyke](http://people.com/tv/jerry-van-dyke-obituary/), co-star of _Coach_, and Dick Van Dyke’s younger brother, has passed. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/2 "2018-01-06T22:46:30Z")
Bummer. I remember him well from _Coach_ and from one of his very first movie roles in _McLintock!_ ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/3 "2018-01-06T22:50:08Z")
Awe no! Jerry was a treasure on Coach. He was way more talented than appreciated. RIP Mr. Van Dyke. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/4 "2018-01-06T22:51:44Z")
Interesting that he passed on playing Gilligan. Seems like he was always in the shadow of his brother, although “Coach” brought him some notice and nominations for Emmys. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/5 "2018-01-06T22:53:39Z")
He was hilarious on Coach. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/6 "2018-01-06T23:02:16Z")
What? Why is he not immortalized as **Jerry _(My Mother the Car)_ Van Dyke**? jk… I think I saw him in everything he’s done, and will miss him. Listened to brother Dick’s autobiography, and both Dick and Jerry seem like such optimists. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/7 "2018-01-06T23:08:21Z")
I really enjoyed him as Stacy Petrie and, look, I can [re-watch it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXPsECyLkhA)right now on youtube. 🙂 RIP ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/8 "2018-01-06T23:11:21Z")
He retired in the Little Rock area for a few years. Bought an old movie theater and adjacent ice cream shop in Benton (a suburb of LR). He restored the theater and ice cream shop. They ran old classic movies and you could buy ice cream deserts… Jerry had a large ranch outside Benton. He lost interest and donated the restored movie theater and ice cream shop to a theatrical group. Moved away. I’ve attended a couple plays there. They’re called the Royal Players because the movie theater was the Royal. Jerry’s kind gesture is remembered in the History section of their web site. [http://www.theroyalplayers.com/wp/?page\_id=2](http://www.theroyalplayers.com/wp/?page_id=2) Nice guy and he’ll be missed. RIP ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2018, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/9 "2018-01-06T23:29:52Z")
Holy crap! I saw him in a rerun of \*\*\*MTM \*\*\*just the other day and kind of half-wondered if he was still around. (The first anniversary of Mary’s death is coming up on 25 January.) RIP, Jerry. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/10 "2018-01-07T00:07:08Z")
Also knew him from Coach. He was the only thing on that show that made me truly laugh. “Coach, if I’m ever on life support and there is no chance for me to wake up…don’t pull the plug! No matter what they say! I want to live!!!” Made me laugh as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/11 "2018-01-07T00:11:40Z")
A long, well lived life, it seems. Now if I can get this “my mother the car” earworm out of my head, that’d be nice. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/12 "2018-01-07T00:38:23Z")
I didn’t realize he had still been living at his Arkansas ranch. He had a long connection to my state. He played the tourist nightclubs in Hot Springs very early in his career. Especially in the 70’s after his first tv show bombed. That’s what made him different from Dick. Jerry had a very successful nightclub act. Very gifted stage comedian. > **[Actor Jerry Van Dyke, brother of Dick, dies at 86 | CNN](https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/01/06/entertainment/jerry-van-dyke/index.html)** > > Jerry Van Dyke, the younger brother of fellow comedian and actor Dick Van Dyke, died Friday at his Arkansas ranch, his wife Shirley Ann Jones told CNN. He was 86. > [@](#): > > Jerry Van Dyke, the younger brother of fellow comedian and actor Dick Van Dyke, died Friday at his Arkansas ranch, his wife Shirley Ann Jones told CNN. He was 86. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/13 "2018-01-07T00:42:28Z")
Creepy, guys. He was on this past week’s episode of “The Middle” in his recurring role as the grandpa. In the episode he asked the Dad to drive him to the woods and leave him to die, cuz he was ready to die. They (Dad and sons) actually did leave him but came back, to find him still alive. And at the end of the episode the sons decided to spend more time with him. He was looking pretty old in the episode and I thought to myself that it was nice he was still active in acting. I just watched the episode this morning actually. ---
**Author:** ![oliversarmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/eb8c5e/32.png) [@oliversarmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oliversarmy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/14 "2018-01-07T00:56:50Z")
That was John Cullum on the recent “The Middle” episode. Van Dyke played the father of Patricia Heaton’s character. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/15 "2018-01-07T01:31:47Z")
Ha! Thank you for the correction! I am less creeped out now. And my post is pointless 😃 ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/16 "2018-01-07T01:47:41Z")
Damn you, 2018! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/17 "2018-01-07T01:58:40Z")
Damn! Antenna TV has just started running _Coach_. They started with a marathon on New Year’s Day and I’ve started watching daily. He also appeared in an episode of his brother’s medical drama, _Diagnosis: Murder_ as Mark Sloane’s younger brother, who was a bit of a flake. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/18 "2018-01-07T18:20:21Z")
> [@oliversarmy](#): > > That was John Cullum on the recent “The Middle” episode. Van Dyke played the father of Patricia Heaton’s character. I’m surprised John Cullum is still around. That guy seemed ancient when he was on Northern Exposure and that was what, 25 years ago? RIP Jerry. I barely remember My Mother The Car but I really enjoyed watching him on Coach. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/19 "2018-01-07T20:32:20Z")
On _ **MTM** _, \*\*\*My Mother, the Car \*\*\* was always on the WJM schedule whenever they showed it. Must have been Mary’s \*homage \*to the Van Dykes. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004/20 "2018-01-07T20:46:11Z")
And Dick van Dyke was [pulled from a burning car](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-23760186/actor-dick-van-dyke-pulled-from-burning-car). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-van-dyke-rip/806004.md?page=2)