Jerry Van Dyke - Television Career

Television Career

In 1963 Van Dyke appeared in several episodes of the Judy Garland show on CBS. He was cast as her sidekick for several episodes until the show was revamped and he was released from it. Eager to capitalize on his exposure, CBS made plans to set him up in his own series. After turning down the role of Gilligan in Gilligan's Island, and rejecting an offer to replace Don Knotts on The Andy Griffith Show, Van Dyke accepted the lead role of attorney David Crabtree in the short-lived sitcom My Mother the Car (1965), the misadventures of a man whose deceased mother Gladys (voiced by Ann Sothern) is reincarnated as a restored antique car. Although the series was a commercial failure, Van Dyke continued to work steadily in supporting television and film roles through the rest of the decade. He starred in another short-lived situation comedy, Accidental Family (1967), as widowed comedian Jerry Webster who buys a farm to raise his son while he's not professionally touring.

During the 1970s, Van Dyke returned to stand-up comedy. He spent much of the decade touring Playboy Clubs around the country and headlining venues in Las Vegas, Nevada, Reno and Atlantic City. He returned to television for guest appearances on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Love, American Style and Fantasy Island, and roles in The Amazing Cosmic Awareness of Duffy Moon (1976) and 13 Queens Boulevard (1979).

In 1988 he made a guest appearance on Charles In Charge as Jamie's health teacher, Mr. Merkin. In 1989 Van Dyke portrayed Luther Van Dam, a beloved, yet befuddled assistant coach on the long-running series Coach (1989–1997). He received four consecutive Emmy nominations (1990 through 1993) for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series."