COMEDY: We’re sure many of our readers remember “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”
Now we won’t have far to go to see a digitally preserved collection of production-used scripts from the show, heavily annotated by Carl Reiner, legendary producer, director and writer.
The National Comedy Center in Jamestown, N.Y., is preserving Reiner’s collection of all 158 scripts — more than 7,500 pages.
“This is a treasure trove of original material, direct from the pen of one of comedy’s most important and resounding voices,” said Journey Gunderson, National Comedy Center Executive Director.
“We are honored that Carl Reiner has placed his trust in us as we preserve this incredible body of work — which will enable future generations of comedy fans and scholars to understand the creative process behind one of the most influential TV series of all time.”
Carl Reiner drafted the show’s pilot script 60 years ago — in 1959 — and it remains a high-water mark in the history of comedy, and in American popular culture.
“The Dick Van Dyke Show” starred Dick Van Dyke as television writer Rob Petrie, Mary Tyler Moore as his wife Laura Petrie, and Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie as writing colleagues for the fictional “Alan Brady Show.” Reiner would make occasional appearances as Rob’s egocentric boss Alan Brady. The series originally aired on CBS from 1961 until 1966. It continues to be a major influence on television comedy and comedy creative talent to this day.
The National Comedy Center also announced the acquisition of production documents and scripts from the collection of award-winning situation comedy director John Rich, who helmed the first 41 episodes of “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”
The John Rich Collection also includes original annotated scripts from his tenure as the original director of the groundbreaking Norman Lear series “All in the Family.”
The Reiner and Rich materials will join the National Comedy Center’s growing archive, which houses creative materials from the careers of comedy innovators including George Carlin, Lucille Ball, Shelley Berman and Lenny Bruce and more. In 2018, the Center acquired the expansive archive of comedienne and singer Rose Marie, whose portrayal of “Sally Rogers” on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” was an early and significant representation of an independent professional woman on television.
