
It’s a double date for the ages as Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen visit Dick Van Dyke and his wife Arlene Silver at their lovely home! Dick is a personal hero to Ted and Mary, so they’re asking him about his illustrious career from his broadcasting roots to Broadway and The Dick Van Dyke Show. Dick also shares about encounters with Walter Cronkite and Stan Laurel and his experiences working on films like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins. Bonus: Ted and Mary get Dick and Arlene’s respective takes on how their first meeting went down. This conversation was recorded in 2024. To help those affected by the Southern California wildfires, make a donation to World Central Kitchen today. For full-length video of this episode including shots of Dick and Arlene’s keepsakes, visit http://youtube.com/teamcoco and subscribe.
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Ted Danson
Where everybody knows your name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson sometimes is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with the name your price tool from Progressive you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try it@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and and affiliates price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states.
Woody Harrelson
Oh my God. I guess everybody's dead. I can. I'm not hurting anybody's feeling.
Ted Danson
Welcome back to where everybody knows your name with me, Ted Danson.
Mary Steenburgen
And me, Mary Steenbergen.
Ted Danson
And we're married. For those of you who don't know that because of the fires in la, we're not at the Team Coco studio as we usually are. We're hunkered down in our home. We're safe. Sad, but safe. I know a lot of you have been watching this on TV and social media and like all of us, we everybody wants to find a way to help. And I know there are many really good causes out there, so we encourage you to pick whichever one speaks to you. Today we're going to talk about World Central Kitchen that Jose Andres created. He's out in LA right now working to feed first responders with his food trucks and his emergency kitchens. And I should say that Jose was on our podcast a couple of months ago and one of the most remarkable people I've ever had the pleasure to talk with.
Mary Steenburgen
You came home that day and you couldn't stop talking about him and how extraordinary he was. And as amazing as you might think he is.
Ted Danson
Anyway, we really encourage you to check out World Central Kitchen.
Mary Steenburgen
They've served millions of folks in crisis zones all across the world. So if you would like to help, you can visit wck.org and give generously. And there's also a link to donate in today's episode Description this is the.
Ted Danson
First time we've gone into a studio or our home to record something since the fire started. So it's tricky because you don't want to seem tone deaf, but we also want to share with you some of the remarkable people we've been talking about. So what we're trying to do is always make sure that if you're listening to this, you're being guided in a direction that will support and nurture the people who have been affected by these fires. We're working on this and we'll get back to you soon on how we're going to do that. But first we're going to talk about the remarkable Dick Van Dyke and his wife Arlene Silver, who we got to talk to in their Malibu home a couple of months ago.
Mary Steenburgen
It was, it was, it was an unreal experience.
Ted Danson
It really was.
Mary Steenburgen
You know, for us, Dick was. Has been a hero since we were very young. We watched him in movies and on television. I think for you, the Dick Van Dyke show was very seminal.
Ted Danson
Literally the first thing I saw when I got my first tv, because I grew up without a television. Well, but I had.
Mary Steenburgen
Please tell them how you got your television show.
Woody Harrelson
All right.
Ted Danson
I was at Stanford University and I grew up with that. Literally, this was my first tv. My parents didn't want a TV in the house. I got back at them, didn't I? I found this old discarded TV on the street at Stanford and I put it up in my dorm room and I crawled out on the roof to tap into the cable of some teacher that lived below us. Forgive me. And turned on the TV at 11 o'clock in the morning and literally saw Dick tripping over the ottoman on the Dick Van Dyke Show. And I was in love from that moment. I mean, one of the most remarkable physical comedians we've ever had the pleasure of being exposed to.
Mary Steenburgen
So I have to say, going to their house, I had no idea what it would be like. And it's this lovely old Spanish home in Malibu. It's just filled with fantastic memorabilia and love letters from all kinds of people.
Ted Danson
And Charlie Chaplin, he has this letter from Charlie Chaplin.
Mary Steenburgen
There's a life size sculpture of Dick that's very real looking. And you keep kind of being startled because you think he's somehow behind you. And that was from Mary Poppins. What I took away when I left there was. We had just interviewed one of the oldest people I know and also his. His partner in crime, who's a lot younger than him. But the two of them are beautifully like children together. They play, they laugh constantly, they love to dance. She adores him. And she's very much like this wonderful, supportive archive of his life. If he can't remember a name. And by the way, he remembers so much detail. But when he can't remember a year or a name or something, she knows it. She's like this wonderful Dick Van Dyke computer that knows all the answers. And they're joyful.
Woody Harrelson
They are.
Ted Danson
It was kind of one of our best double dates. But the room was surrounded with production people and cameras and sound people and producers and everyone. Everyone in that room felt like we were experiencing something magical.
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah.
Ted Danson
Anyway, we're probably talking too much about It.
Mary Steenburgen
We should just care about them, speak for themselves.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Ted Danson
Ladies and gentlemen, Dick Van Dyke and Arlene Silver.
Dick Van Dyke
Thank you for letting us into your home. All of us.
Arlene Silver
We're so much easier.
Woody Harrelson
They just lowered the federal rate a half a percent. Yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
We know nothing about money. Literally. Tell me what that means and if.
Arlene Silver
That'S okay, it doesn't either.
Dick Van Dyke
Terrible.
Woody Harrelson
My sense of. I was talking today about guys like Tom Hanks who are not only good actors, but you have a business sense. And he's out producing. I don't do anything.
Arlene Silver
No.
Woody Harrelson
I don't have any business head whatsoever.
Dick Van Dyke
Just so you know. We've been so excited all week that we sat in bed this morning having our many cups of coffee, watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
It wasn't on, was it?
Mary Steenburgen
No. Well, it can be. It's. You just go to Apple TV and there it is. And I hadn't seen it for quite a few years. And we're singing. We're seeing this song.
Woody Harrelson
And speaking of business, I'm supposed to own 20% of that movie, but I haven't seen any checks in 30 years.
Mary Steenburgen
Oh, my God.
Dick Van Dyke
Did they come for a while and then stop?
Woody Harrelson
No, they never came. Oh, yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
We'll call Tom Hanks and we're going to get a lawsuit going.
Woody Harrelson
Right.
Dick Van Dyke
Get you your money. But didn't you just. We're going to jump all over the place. But didn't you hurt yourself on that film?
Woody Harrelson
Yes, I did. I. I like the other dancers who warm up. I didn't warm up before a dance number, and I'm twice as their age. And I had to kick on. Remember we were going around the. In the bakery.
Dick Van Dyke
Yes.
Woody Harrelson
And stuck my foot out and tore my. The muscle in the back of my leg. Oh, yeah. So I had to. We shot other stuff till I healed up.
Mary Steenburgen
So you were fine. You got through the old bamboo fine. Yeah. And you didn't. That one looks so funny. Tricky.
Woody Harrelson
I never have in Broadway, you know, the kids would be out on the stage warming. I never warmed up. I never vocalized nothing. Just walk out and do it. Very unprofessional of me.
Dick Van Dyke
That's like Barbra Streisand. She never sings around the house. She barely warms up ever.
Woody Harrelson
Really?
Arlene Silver
Yeah.
Mary Steenburgen
I asked her husband, I said, so when she goes in the shower, do you just, like, run there and stand there listening? And he goes, no, she doesn't sing in the shower.
Woody Harrelson
She doesn't sing. She doesn't have to.
Mary Steenburgen
No, you said that.
Arlene Silver
You told me that she goes up on a piano and goes along to tone her voice. That's what you told me.
Woody Harrelson
That's what she told me. Okay. Well, I introduced her the first time, her first trip to Los Angeles many years ago. I introduced her at the some hotel. I got to introduce Coconut Grove.
Arlene Silver
Was it the Coconut Grove?
Woody Harrelson
Maybe my memory is.
Arlene Silver
I can't remember what I had for breakfast.
Dick Van Dyke
You're welcome to the club.
Woody Harrelson
We almost look alike, don't we?
Dick Van Dyke
We do.
Mary Steenburgen
You guys have such a similarity. Such similar. Tall, beautiful shapes. And both so graceful.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, we look like brothers.
Dick Van Dyke
Well, let me jump to my origin story with you. I grew up without a television in Arizona. My mother didn't want one, so we didn't have one. My first TV came was I was at Stanford University. I found one on the street, lifted it up to our room, plugged it in and tapped into some teacher's antenna, crawled out on the roof, turned it on and it was around 11 o'clock in the morning. And it was a rerun of the Dick Van Dyke Show. And as I turned it on, it literally was you tumbling over the ottoman.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, really?
Dick Van Dyke
And I was smitten. And I was your fan and stalker from that moment on. I remember early on when I started to do Cheers and we'd be at a similar event. I could almost feel like your eyes started to cross when you saw me coming towards you again to tell you that story or worship at your feet. You are my hero.
Woody Harrelson
So I was your introduction to tv?
Dick Van Dyke
You were, yeah. And to physical comedy. Nobody, nobody does it as well as you did it. Really?
Woody Harrelson
Well, I practiced a lot as a kid. I used to go to Laurel and Hardy movies on Saturday and then come home and falling down on the grass. Practicing falling. Yeah, I was prepared.
Mary Steenburgen
And what, and what town was that? Where did you grow up?
Woody Harrelson
Oh, in Danville, Illinois. Yeah?
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
Didn't you get a chance to say something to Stan Laurel to.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
Were you claimed you.
Woody Harrelson
I started looking for my, you know, Stan and Buster Keaton the minute I got out here. I was looking up a phone number one day and there it was at Stan Laurel in Santa Monica. And I called him up, he knew me from the show. So I got to go out to his house and meet him and I've got pictures. And I did the same with Buster's house in the Valley.
Mary Steenburgen
They were in the phone book.
Woody Harrelson
No, he wasn't in the phone, but I got him through Stan.
Arlene Silver
Stan was in the phone book though.
Woody Harrelson
You know, I did the eulogies at both of their funerals.
Dick Van Dyke
Really?
Woody Harrelson
Yeah. And the one to Stan ended up in a book of the hundred best eulogies of the century by Stan.
Dick Van Dyke
Really?
Woody Harrelson
Yeah. I worked hard on it.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Mary Steenburgen
Wow.
Dick Van Dyke
I remember you quoted in the book you wrote that you told him, stan, I did steal a lot of my material from you. And he just went, I know.
Woody Harrelson
He said, I know. That's right. I've got his derby.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
And I've got Buster Keaton's pool set. Pool cube.
Dick Van Dyke
I'm gonna.
Ted Danson
Oh, look.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah.
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
That had quite a history. Somebody picked it up on the camera team, I think, when he died, took it home, gave it to his uncle. And I didn't get it till not too long ago when his uncle died. And they.
Arlene Silver
I think he got lost in a card game. That's what the.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, is that how.
Arlene Silver
Yeah, yeah. So we have it.
Dick Van Dyke
Now, you also mentioned that your other hero was Carl Reiner. I love that you mentioned that.
Woody Harrelson
He was not only a great talent, he was one of the nicest people I ever knew. He was an angel, that guy. Loved him.
Dick Van Dyke
If you don't mind me pushing this around, how did that the Dick Van Dyke show come to be? Where did it come into your life? How was it?
Woody Harrelson
Well, I was still. I was doing Bye Bye Birdie for a year and the pilot came up and my agent told me it was between me and Johnny Carson to do the pilot. Wow. And I thought, well. And so when the birdie was over, I. No way. I took a week off, flew out here and did a pilot with Carl and came back and he called me, said it sold. And then the end of the first season, we got canceled. Really got canceled. We were on against Perry Como, who was on NBC, and he beat us every night, so we got canceled. Sheldon Leonard, who was the executive producer, went down to Cincinnati to Procter and Gamble and talked him into it. He said, this show deserves another chance. And we. They gave us another chance, and then we ran for five years.
Mary Steenburgen
Wow.
Dick Van Dyke
Did they move the night? Did they move it to a different.
Woody Harrelson
During that first year? Bounced around a little bit. Yeah, I think. What was the final night? Tuesday.
Dick Van Dyke
I don't know. I came in with reruns.
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah, that's right.
Dick Van Dyke
Didn't have the TV.
Woody Harrelson
When were you born?
Dick Van Dyke
47.
Woody Harrelson
47?
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
I got married in 48. And when you think I go back to 25, I'm almost 100.
Dick Van Dyke
I know.
Woody Harrelson
This is insane.
Mary Steenburgen
You were. You were about a month old when my father's sister was born. She's about a month younger than you.
Woody Harrelson
Really?
Mary Steenburgen
And you're both going to celebrate your 100th birthday. Birthdays.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, great. Yeah. I want to have a big party.
Dick Van Dyke
I love the book you wrote about. We're talking about age and how you never thought about age until somebody came along and said, write a book about age and. But for you, it was never a thing at all. No, you would just live, live your life.
Woody Harrelson
I've got another book in me by now. That was what, 50 years ago?
Arlene Silver
No, no, no, the Keep Moving book.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, keep moving. I think it was 10, 15 years ago. Well, somebody said, you know, how do. To what do you attribute your age and physical condition? I said, I've always exercised three days a week. We go to the gym still three days a week. And I think that's it. Why I'm not stove up like my equals.
Dick Van Dyke
I. That's one of the. I had met you before at events and. And then we lived in Malibu for a while, Mary and I and kids and everybody and I would go to the same gym you did. And if I got there early enough, I would see you literally work out on some weight machine. And then almost like you were doing circuit training, you would not walk to the next machine. You dance. You literally dance to the next machine. And I watched that for a couple of weeks. And finally I talk to you about your exercise. And you said you would come to the gym and work out for whatever hour, whatever it is, then you would go home, you would swim laps for whatever, and then get back into bed and take a nap.
Woody Harrelson
And then take a nap. Exactly. Yeah. Good routine. Was that at Canaan?
Dick Van Dyke
Yes, the upstairs kind of jet.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, you should see the new one. Oh, really? Great. Yeah, just a couple of blocks from here.
Dick Van Dyke
Do you do what? Elliptical stuff. What do you do? What do you work on?
Woody Harrelson
Well, I get down and do a lot of stretching and yoga type things. Sit ups.
Dick Van Dyke
Right.
Woody Harrelson
And they have machines, right? You know, sit up machines again. Yeah, something for almost every exercise.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
And she did. Works out too. Can I tell you my favorite experience in my life?
Dick Van Dyke
Yes.
Woody Harrelson
I was 15 years old in Crawfordsville, Indiana. My dad had just been transferred there. I was a freshman in high school on the freshman track team, running 100 and the 200. The high jump across the street from me was Wabash College. And on Saturdays they had their track meets. So I'd go over and watch that and our coach would be one of the officials. One day I'm at, they're running against Purdue. And he came over and he said, the anchorman on the, on the Relay team twisted his ankle. You want to run it? I say, yeah, sure. I ran barefoot against Purdue. Beat the guy by five yards. Beat him by five yards. The Purdue guy. I'm 15. I couldn't believe it. I thought, I'm going to the Olympics. I was never that fast again. I think it was the bare feet makes the difference.
Dick Van Dyke
So bare feet was just for that moment, or did you go barefoot a lot?
Woody Harrelson
No, I didn't go barefoot after. They wouldn't let me barefoot now. But the Africans all run barefoot.
Arlene Silver
Always barefoot.
Woody Harrelson
But I was really fast.
Arlene Silver
That's another secret. You're always barefoot.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah.
Arlene Silver
You're ground. I have the ground, the grounding.
Woody Harrelson
You remember when Fosbury, the Fosbury flop went over 7ft backwards?
Dick Van Dyke
They do, yeah.
Woody Harrelson
There's the first time in my wife I. My life I ever swore I said, son of a. When I saw that. Because the old western roll and.
Dick Van Dyke
Or the scissors. When I started, it was just the scissors.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah. They get you anywhere?
Dick Van Dyke
No.
Woody Harrelson
And there was a western roll and the eastern row.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
But he went over backwards, over seven feet, and everybody. Why didn't somebody think of that before?
Dick Van Dyke
That's amazing.
Woody Harrelson
No girls are jumping that high.
Dick Van Dyke
So how did you. Wait, so there are two things I want to talk about. Your voice. You were singing a cappella early on in life, is that right?
Woody Harrelson
Well, yeah. I sang with the choir in high school and then formed a barbershop quartet, which I still have.
Dick Van Dyke
Are you still doing that? I knew you did it up until.
Woody Harrelson
Nobody does barbershop anymore. I was looking for a new bass. Can't find anybody who even heard of it.
Arlene Silver
What else do we do at the gym?
Woody Harrelson
We sing duets all day.
Arlene Silver
But I play music he knows.
Woody Harrelson
Right.
Arlene Silver
And I play it in the sound system.
Woody Harrelson
He's singing her music. I don't understand.
Arlene Silver
So I had to learn music he knows. So I've learned thousands of songs.
Woody Harrelson
She knows every 40 song there is.
Mary Steenburgen
They're pretty great. Yeah, they are great.
Arlene Silver
They are.
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
Did you take dance classes early on?
Woody Harrelson
Did you. No.
Dick Van Dyke
No.
Woody Harrelson
When I first got in the business and, you know, actually started working, I thought, somebody's going to find out that I have no training and I want to be in trouble because I never had dancing, acting, singing, nothing. I just broke in and managed to fool everybody all these years.
Mary Steenburgen
Wait, so, Dick, did you first go to New York and you did Bye Bye Birdie there, or did you come to California first, touring with your partner, Phil?
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, we had a record act, another guy, local guy and me, called the Merry Mutes. Very popular in those days. Pantomiming to records, you know, Bing Crosby and Mary Martin. We traveled all over the country as an. As an act.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah, yeah.
Woody Harrelson
And we ended up in Atlanta, Georgia, because we liked it. And we finally split up. I got a job at a television station as an announcer and doing a show. And I got a buddy of mine from the army, from the Air Force. Ended up a director at CBS and said, if you. I'll pay your way up if you want to do an audition. So I go to New York. Who was the gal's name? I did us on a show.
Arlene Silver
Oh, Janie Ford.
Woody Harrelson
No, no. Anyway, it was some opera singer who had a show. And at the end of it, they held the audience over and I did my little act. I sang a song which I can't remember.
Arlene Silver
Once in Love with Amy.
Woody Harrelson
Once in Love with Amy. With a little horse, little horseshoe, little horseshit. And I did a little monologue and that was it. And the next morning they called me in and said, you've got a seven year contract. Just like that.
Dick Van Dyke
Wow.
Woody Harrelson
Starting at 20,000 a year. That was twice what I was making. So we moved to New York and I was the host of the morning show, the CBS Morning show for a.
Dick Van Dyke
Year with the anchor. Who was the anchor? Somebody famous.
Arlene Silver
Walter Cronkite.
Woody Harrelson
Walter Cronkite was my newsman.
Dick Van Dyke
That's so esteemed. Astounding. I'd never heard that.
Woody Harrelson
Nobody ever heard me because Dave Garaway was on NBC and took all the ratings. But Walter had just come from radio, of course. Wonderful man. You know, he did a strip tease. I. I never saw it, but I understand. It was sensational. But finally they want to transfer him to nighttime. And he came to me, he said, dick, what did I do? I said, you jerk. I can't fire anybody. I'm lucky to have this job. So he went to Nighttime and became Walter Gronkite. He was a wonderful guy.
Arlene Silver
Who is your news lady?
Woody Harrelson
Tell me.
Arlene Silver
Barbara Walters.
Woody Harrelson
Barbara Walters. Well, she was continuity at the time. She was writing.
Arlene Silver
Yeah, well, still, I mean.
Woody Harrelson
So were you in each other's books?
Arlene Silver
Yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
So did you leave that seven year contract then to go do Bye Bye Birdie or.
Woody Harrelson
No. CBS left that contract.
Arlene Silver
Broke up with you.
Woody Harrelson
They left. Kept me for three years. They tried me as a game show host. I was awful. And I forget what else you tried.
Arlene Silver
You were the. Did the pilot for Price. Price is Right.
Woody Harrelson
I did the pilot for Prices. Right.
Mary Steenburgen
You're amazing, by the way.
Arlene Silver
I know everything.
Woody Harrelson
My memory.
Arlene Silver
I wish a million.
Dick Van Dyke
We have a half a brain each.
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
When we play Wordle, we do it.
Mary Steenburgen
Together because together we're genius.
Woody Harrelson
It takes two of us.
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
No, they called me in and got an audience off the street and I did it, you know, a pilot of it and went home. I said the dumbest thing. People guessing how much something cost. That's a television show. That was 50 years ago. I still don't understand it.
Ted Danson
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Dick Van Dyke
How did you get to Bye Bye Birdie on stage?
Woody Harrelson
The CBS dropped me, and there I was on Long island with a family and no job. So I just started going around auditioning for everything. You know, with opera and ballet, anything. I stood in lines all day, every day. And I auditioned for a G Champion who directed it. And I sang Once in Love with Amy and did my little thing again. He came up and said, you've got the part.
Dick Van Dyke
Wow.
Woody Harrelson
I've always thought it was because we were almost the same height, build and everything that he would, you know, he thought I. Yeah. And then I almost got fired out of town because I wasn't delivering. I was a wreck. You know, you go to Philadelphia with the show and still perform for audiences, but you're still trying things.
Dick Van Dyke
Right.
Woody Harrelson
And for some reason, I couldn't. I was just a nervous wreck about Broadway. And they brought a tune down for Cheetah Rivera and she said, look, Dick hasn't anything to do in the first act. Why don't you give it to him? It was happy fits. She gave me happy face.
Mary Steenburgen
Oh, my gosh.
Woody Harrelson
Which won me a Tony.
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah.
Mary Steenburgen
And what year was that?
Woody Harrelson
61. 61. Something like that. Because then I. Once I got a year there, I came straight out to Carl and we started the show. And that was 61 to 65 or 6.
Dick Van Dyke
6.
Arlene Silver
61 to 66, I think.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah. It was five years. Nobody wanted to quit the show. But Carl want to go on, do some movies and things.
Dick Van Dyke
Right.
Woody Harrelson
I mean, the cast was. We were heartbroken. We had such fun. It was such a great group. Wouldn't, like, come under work at all. Cara was fun. Oh, you know, half those scripts were written on the floor. He'd give us a basic script and then. But between Rosie and Maury and me, we start throwing lines and.
Dick Van Dyke
Right.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah. That was the fun of it.
Mary Steenburgen
There was improv in there.
Woody Harrelson
A lot of it. Yeah. Even on the air. There was really. Sometime. Well, we had an audience. And I could never understand how can you do comedy without an audience? You need them to work with you.
Dick Van Dyke
I found you never as good in your Rehearsal or dress rehearsal, as you are with the audience. It takes, you know, to a whole new.
Woody Harrelson
Several notches. Yeah. And. And they guide you. They can change the mood by their reaction.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
The longest laugh I ever got in my life was one that CBS didn't want us to do. But we thought our babies were mixed up and the other couple turns out to be black when they walk in.
Dick Van Dyke
Right.
Woody Harrelson
That was. We had to cut the cameras because the audience wouldn't stop laughing. And the network was scared to death of it. Scared to death of it. Back in those days. Oh, what a laugh. It was just great.
Dick Van Dyke
I got to work with Mary once. She was a Mary Tyler Moore. Mary Tyler Moore, yeah.
Woody Harrelson
You know, from day one, she just had it. She just had it. Carl picked her because of her voice. You know, she had that high pitched ping in her voice. The pilot, she was, you know, good. She played her part. But after working with Maury and Rosie and me, she picked it up like by the third show, she was dynamite. She was the greatest.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
I couldn't have picked anybody better. And I'm so happy for her. Her career went.
Dick Van Dyke
Yes.
Mary Steenburgen
And you were a big part of that. You really championed, actually all the women that you worked with. And that wasn't true of all the male actors of your time. But you were really so. You know, she had the nicest things to say about you.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, Mary did?
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, great. You know, when the show was over, I could tell the network just saw her as the wife who supported. She wasn't getting anything from the network. So we did a special called Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman where we showcased everything she did. Dan said she just blew the place away. The next day they called her and got the marriage. We had to get their attention.
Dick Van Dyke
I hope this was after the show.
Woody Harrelson
The network, you got to nudge them a little bit. They didn't get it that she was great.
Dick Van Dyke
So that was through 66. The Dick Van Dyke Show. Did you take time off or do Bye Bye Birdie during the summer?
Ted Danson
When did you show up?
Woody Harrelson
I did Bye Bye Birdie during the summer.
Dick Van Dyke
Wow.
Woody Harrelson
Right.
Arlene Silver
You did Bye Bye Birdie Be and then you left it to do the Dick Van Dyke Show.
Ted Danson
Right.
Mary Steenburgen
But the movie.
Woody Harrelson
I'm sorry, the movie, yeah.
Mary Steenburgen
Oh, yeah.
Woody Harrelson
Did you ever see the stage show?
Dick Van Dyke
No.
Woody Harrelson
It was a. It just made me so angry. It was a romp on Broadway. It was just such a great hit. And they rewrote it for Ann. Margaret and Margaret.
Ted Danson
Right.
Woody Harrelson
And changed all the lines, Changed everything changed. Took out some of the songs. And it was nothing compared to the Broadway show. It just missed entirely. And the only two from the. The original were Paul Lynn and me. And we were both saying what a. This is terrible. They really ruined it.
Dick Van Dyke
I'm sorry to hear that.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah. Can't go back and fix it. But the Broadway show was a Just flew.
Dick Van Dyke
Who played. I thought Maureen Stapleton was very funny in the movie.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
She was amazing. That's the first time I think I saw her.
Woody Harrelson
You know, she was afraid of going out in the world. Bothered her. She didn't like to cross the street by herself. She had the strength. Yeah. Sweet as she could be.
Arlene Silver
What about that?
Woody Harrelson
She had this phobia.
Arlene Silver
The Hollywood party. The rap party.
Woody Harrelson
Paul Lind, Can I say these things?
Dick Van Dyke
Yes, you can.
Mary Steenburgen
You can say anything.
Woody Harrelson
We are at a big long table and Paul then leans down on the table and Margaret. I'm the only one here that doesn't want to. Ya.
Dick Van Dyke
That's great.
Woody Harrelson
Paul was as funny as you can get a nice guy. Except when he drank and then he got a little, you know, sharp.
Dick Van Dyke
Was that an example of him drinking? A little bit, yeah.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, yeah. Well, I thought the party for the movie was at the director's house. Everybody had finished anyway. Came in the living room.
Arlene Silver
Oh, no.
Woody Harrelson
Marina's sitting on the floor with a bowl of salad.
Arlene Silver
It's like his first Hollywood party.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, my God. I guess everybody's dead. I can. Oh, my. I'm not hurting anybody's feeling.
Dick Van Dyke
Wow to you. Tell me about. I loved the movie. Now I'm blanking on his name. The Carl Reiner wrote for you and directed the comic. Oh, I thought that was outstanding. Where you played the silent movie star.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
Who.
Woody Harrelson
You know, it didn't do anything and people wouldn't go to see me do a serious role. And it wasn't really a serious role. But we would go out with a camera, a handheld 16, and look for things to do right. If a fire engine went by, jumped on it, and we had reams of footage, unfortunately that disappeared. Just fun things we did out. Out in public. And then we took all the film out in my backyard and dragged it over the grass to make it look old.
Dick Van Dyke
Oh, really? So it would project.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
Like an old movie.
Arlene Silver
They're so authentic, those silent movies.
Woody Harrelson
We both felt that it was a great example of that period. We thought we really caught it, but people didn't want to see it. And nobody. And what was the other one?
Arlene Silver
Nowadays people always talk about that movie.
Dick Van Dyke
Oh, it's wonderful. And your Performance is astounding. But recovering or still alcoholic? I can't remember the character.
Arlene Silver
You had a drinking problem?
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, yeah. During it. Yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
No, no, the character you play.
Arlene Silver
The character you're playing.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah. Was a recovering alcoholic and. Yeah, I think so.
Arlene Silver
That's morning. After that you love.
Woody Harrelson
There's a crazy guy.
Arlene Silver
Mickey Rooney.
Dick Van Dyke
Do you talk about your sobriety? Do you talk about it in your book?
Woody Harrelson
Not much. It's been. Got what, 45, 50 years, right. I went through a short period where I realized I was trapped and I went and AA and got help right away. Went to some place where you rehab who you get rehab? Yeah, One of those things you had.
Arlene Silver
To go to rehab?
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, I didn't have it for long.
Dick Van Dyke
Right.
Woody Harrelson
What took me the longest was smoking.
Dick Van Dyke
Wow.
Woody Harrelson
Did you ever smoke?
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah, it was tough. It took me.
Woody Harrelson
We both said it was. That's rough. We did a movie about it.
Dick Van Dyke
That's right.
Woody Harrelson
With Norman Lear. What was name?
Arlene Silver
Cold Turkey.
Woody Harrelson
Cold Turkey. And we had both. We were doing pretty good. Not smoking. But he had to direct a room full of local people. It had to be smoke filled. Everybody was smoking. And it was one little lady who didn't know how to do it. And Norman said, no, hold it like this. And I saw him take the draw and I. His eyes go, oh, no. He smoked a pack that day. I saw. I should have said no because his eyes just changed.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah. I've never trusted people who can smoke one cigarette a day. It's like I'm one cigarette away from a pack a day. I know. Yeah.
Ted Danson
I.
Woody Harrelson
How do you do that? One a day. No, it's like one drink a day.
Dick Van Dyke
Yes.
Arlene Silver
But you love your Nicorette. Now. You. You.
Woody Harrelson
I'm still on it to this day.
Arlene Silver
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah. I still chew.
Dick Van Dyke
And it's. And it's the delivery system that's bad for you. Right. It's the smoke and the tar and the nick. It's not the nicotine. If you deliver it through gum.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
Is not harmful for you. Is that right?
Woody Harrelson
We can check.
Arlene Silver
It can be at an excessive rate. I mean, the amount he does, it could cause some. I mean, they're like in your bloodstream, the nicotine.
Woody Harrelson
But it doesn't get in your lungs.
Arlene Silver
No, no, no. It's much better than smoking.
Woody Harrelson
Tom Poston was in that movie and he couldn't. The whole town had to quit smoking to get the money. And he couldn't stop smoking because he was also a drunk, A very rich drunk. And I don't know how many takes I had to do to get through. He broke me up because the drinking bone is connected to the smoking bone. He said, you see, they go. And I every. What do you call me? Riverman. I bet I did 12 takes and I thought I couldn't hold it. I just kept falling apart. But he is funny in that.
Dick Van Dyke
Are you a giggler on set?
Woody Harrelson
Yes.
Mary Steenburgen
I'm glad to hear it. You do worse. I'm terrible. I, I, I'm. I humiliate myself. I get out of control.
Woody Harrelson
It's funny.
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
Deacon, you know, the big guy.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
When he was going to go up, a bead of sweat would appear and I would know and I would go.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
I was knowing he was going to go up and. But I'd see that beat a sweat.
Mary Steenburgen
Are there, are there outsakes from the Mary Tyler Moore show? Do you guys. Did anybody ever.
Arlene Silver
There are some.
Woody Harrelson
There's an outtake real.
Arlene Silver
I think there is.
Mary Steenburgen
Oh my God.
Arlene Silver
I bet that's great on YouTube you can find it. But Carl didn't like. I heard that Carl didn't like showing that because.
Dick Van Dyke
Because it breaks the. Yeah.
Arlene Silver
Reality or the.
Woody Harrelson
Actually I looked at him later and I didn't think they were all that funny. We thought, you know, we broke up and thought yeah, yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
Can we jump around a little bit more? Because when I first met you, I also heard stories of how you were building. I don't know if you built that, but building. I don't know if it's paper mache or what it was life replicas of people that you made so that some. So a woman could sit with this man next to her in the seat of her car and well, it's Halloween.
Arlene Silver
He makes monsters.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, I make Halloween monsters.
Arlene Silver
We're.
Woody Harrelson
We do a Halloween a block long.
Arlene Silver
Oh yeah. We're obsessed.
Woody Harrelson
Thousands of people kind of. We've done. We're on what, 40th year or four.
Arlene Silver
Well, you've been doing since the 60s. But then we do. He was going to stop doing it 10 years ago. We sold all the monsters. James Cameron used to be our neighbor and we had competing Halloween and he bought all of our monsters and we said, yeah, we're going to stop. It's too much work. And then when Halloween came around, we were sad that we liked the street.
Woody Harrelson
Thing and that's what made the marriage. Halloween and singing together. It's coming pretty soon too.
Arlene Silver
So we, I thought, well, what else can we do? That's not a lot of work and I love to lip sync. So I did Ursula on the steps out here. And everyone loved it. And then Dick's like, we got to get a stage. We got to get lights. That was 10 years ago. I've been doing Ursula for 10 years. And we do a live show with puppets and dancing. And he comes out, if. If he feels like it.
Woody Harrelson
We put a stage in front of the garage.
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
Real lighting and everything.
Dick Van Dyke
That's fantastic.
Woody Harrelson
We get so many kids. It's just great. We open the gates from six to nine so that all the kids can come in. Yeah, it's fun.
Dick Van Dyke
So maybe I got the mannequin thing wrong, but I do know you were into computer.
Arlene Silver
Oh, yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
And a cg.
Mary Steenburgen
Cgi?
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, animation.
Dick Van Dyke
Didn't they let you do something professionally on a film?
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, a motorcycle. Thing of a motorcycle. And I did it in. In Lightwave. My little CG machine. Yeah. And they used it, so I got a credit for a special effect.
Dick Van Dyke
Great.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah. Great hobby.
Dick Van Dyke
Do you still play around with that?
Woody Harrelson
I do. It's kind of grown past me. It's gotten so complicated.
Dick Van Dyke
Arlene, can we talk about how you guys met?
Arlene Silver
Sure.
Woody Harrelson
I was backstage at. In the green room of what? SAG Awards.
Dick Van Dyke
Right.
Woody Harrelson
And we're just sitting there by myself. And she walked by, and for the first time in my life, I approached. I just jumped up. I said, hi, I'm Dick. Almost without thinking. And she sat down. I introduced myself, and I was totally in love at site at first sight.
Mary Steenburgen
Wow.
Woody Harrelson
And I found out she was a makeup lady. And I said, you can come on my show. And she had one business card left, gave it to me in my tight little fish. And I got her on the show as makeup.
Arlene Silver
A Hallmark movie?
Woody Harrelson
Was that what it was? A Hallmark?
Arlene Silver
But what did I say to you? The first thing I said to you.
Woody Harrelson
Well, she didn't know who I was.
Arlene Silver
No, that's not true.
Woody Harrelson
Well, she was very interesting.
Arlene Silver
I know who he is. He's Dick Van Dyke. I said, I thought she had never seen anything.
Woody Harrelson
She'd never seen Mary Poppins. I think she thought it was Christopher Palmer.
Arlene Silver
No, I. I knew that Julie Anders was in another movie, like Sound of Music, and there was a guy in it like Christopher Plummer. So Dick was always, like, in my peripheral. Yeah, I knew who he was. I mean, he's Dick Van Dyke. But when I met him, I went, I don't know why I know who he is. Because the cast of Mary Tyler Moore was there to give an award for Best cast at SAG Awards. So Dick said, will you watch? Will you watch my seat? I'm going to go get my makeup done. And I'm like, okay. I didn't believe him. And then the cast goes out. No, he sits down. And then he. The cast goes out to give the award. And he comes over and sits next to me. And I said, aren't you supposed to go out with them? Because I thought he was on the Mary Tyler Morsh. I was like, wrong about everything. And then you said, oh, what do you do? And I said, I'm a makeup artist. I've had a million jobs. But at that. That night, I was a makeup artist. And he said, oh, I'm doing this murder mystery thing. I might need a makeup artist. I said, oh, hasn't that been on the air for a long time? Because Diagnosis Murder had been off the air for 10 years. It was this little hallmark. I just was wrong about everything.
Dick Van Dyke
Were you aware that he was looking at you?
Arlene Silver
No, no, not at all.
Woody Harrelson
In a way, it was kind of good for me because she wasn't over impressed or anything. I was just a guy.
Mary Steenburgen
Doesn't sound like she was very impressed at all.
Woody Harrelson
It was. It was a hard sell, I'll say that.
Arlene Silver
They were at the after party. I always go to the after party and I put my makeup away, and then we go to the after party. And Dick never goes to an after party. And there's pictures of him at the, like, going into the afterparty, like, plowing for me. And I was putting my makeup away, so I didn't. I wasn't even in there yet. And then people were coming up to me at the party saying, were you talking to Dick Van Dyke? And I'm like, yeah, what? I was like, I didn't think it was that big of a deal. And then I went to work the next day. I was working at a makeup school, and I told them I met Dick Van Dyke. And they're like, what?
Woody Harrelson
Well, going through the crowd. My manager was with me. And he kept saying, what is. What are you doing? What is the matter? And I wouldn't tell him I had.
Arlene Silver
To find this picture because Dick is all smiles and big eyes. And then Bob, his publicist, is behind him just, like, so puzzled, like he doesn't know what he's doing.
Woody Harrelson
He knows I don't go to a party.
Arlene Silver
Yeah, yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
There's something you. I don't know if you wrote it in the book, but in reference to you guys getting together, it just struck me. I loved it. That was me coughing, not breaking up in tears.
Woody Harrelson
Sorry.
Dick Van Dyke
Although it's a wonderful phrase you said in Reference to being a widower and then finding love again. That a happy heart is a horrible thing to waste. Yes, it's a quote.
Woody Harrelson
It's a good quote.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
But she's certainly done that for me. Kept me, you know, alive and working and young. Yeah.
Mary Steenburgen
There's so many beautiful photos of the two of you around, dancing and singing. You have a water slide outside.
Woody Harrelson
It feels like Jeremy is on the mantle there, which she won for producing a Van Dyke special.
Arlene Silver
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
All my others are in here.
Mary Steenburgen
Well, it feels like you two have a lot of joy together.
Arlene Silver
Oh, yeah.
Mary Steenburgen
The whole house.
Arlene Silver
We have so much fun.
Dick Van Dyke
I'm assuming a lot of laughter.
Arlene Silver
Oh, yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
Boy, do we laugh a lot.
Arlene Silver
Yeah. How did you two meet?
Dick Van Dyke
Here and there, Hollywood style. Married to other people. Henry Winkler. Barbecue in his backyard. Birthday party. At an audition. I auditioned to play Mary's husband in Cross Creek. Did not get it, thank God, because I was a mess and she wouldn't have even seen me. And then later we made a movie together.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, you did work together.
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah, we did. I had just announced to everybody that would listen that I was done with love, that I look like someone who would be good at love, but I'm actually terrible at love. And I have two beautiful children. I'm finished, finit. No more. Then I work with him, Then I fall in love. So. But that was 31 years ago.
Arlene Silver
Awesome.
Mary Steenburgen
Happy to be wrong about that. Yes.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah. I couldn't bear to live alone. I'm not alone.
Arlene Silver
Oh, my God.
Woody Harrelson
I can't stand my own company for an hour.
Dick Van Dyke
But I think people grow spiritually or whatever in the real big way. They grow in different ways. I have to grow in relationship. I. My growth comes from my relationship with Mary.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah. I can't imagine emotionally. Maturity and wisdom.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah. And just. Just following new paths together.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, that's true.
Mary Steenburgen
Inspiring each other.
Woody Harrelson
You know something I've noticed, hitting 99, when you get to a certain age, you suddenly realize you can nail people. After a couple of sentences, I can tell you who somebody is on meeting them. There are certain mannerisms and I don't know what it is, but I can nail somebody almost immediately. And it comes, I think, with age, dealing with people.
Mary Steenburgen
You did.
Woody Harrelson
Interesting.
Mary Steenburgen
You don't think you were. Were able to do that when you were younger?
Woody Harrelson
No, no, I got taken quite a lot.
Mary Steenburgen
Oh, you did.
Arlene Silver
You're very naive and innocent.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, innocent.
Arlene Silver
Which is good. Which is good. It's good to be that way.
Ted Danson
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
I'm getting pretty suspicious these days.
Dick Van Dyke
As.
Ted Danson
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Woody Harrelson
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Woody Harrelson
Oh, boy.
Ted Danson
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Nick Leow
Yeah, I got a kit for one pan beef cheeseburger style salad. It was simple, delicious. It came together in 10 to 15 minutes. It was under 10 grams of carbs, which works for my diet. And you know, even though I kind of feel like a 5 year old who needs to call salad something else in order to eat it, you know, with a cheeseburger salad.
Ted Danson
Right.
Woody Harrelson
I'm owning it. I'm owning it.
Ted Danson
Stuff a cheeseburger.
Nick Leow
It checks that box of comfort food like you were talking about. So, yeah, I really enjoyed this, Ted.
Ted Danson
Okay, for a limited time, Home Chef is offering our listeners 18 free meals plus free dessert for life and of course, free shipping. On your first box, go to homechef.com Ted and Woody that's homechef.com Ted and woody for 18 free meals and and free dessert for life. Home chef.com Ted and woody must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert.
Dick Van Dyke
Can I ask a question about you and another one of my heroes, Fred as there?
Woody Harrelson
Yeah. He came to visit me on the set of Bye Bye Birdie and I had on my best suit and I've got a picture with him. Who I look Like Emmett Kelly next to him, you know, he was so well tailored, but he liked my dancing and just blew me away.
Arlene Silver
Wow.
Woody Harrelson
That I was an amateur. He said, I like the way you move. Oh, my God.
Dick Van Dyke
That must have meant the world.
Arlene Silver
You heard him talk on the radio about that?
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, and. Yeah, I heard him on the radio say he liked the way he like. He liked the kid from west side Story. West side Story, Yeah. And he said, I like the way Dick Van Dyke moved. I wish I had that recording.
Arlene Silver
And now we're trying to.
Woody Harrelson
I have a letter that somebody sent me, a friend of Charlie Chaplin's, in which in the middle of it, he said, have you seen Dick Van Dyke? Charlie Chaplin.
Dick Van Dyke
That's amazing.
Woody Harrelson
I've got that pin on the wall.
Arlene Silver
You have style, Laurel. Letters to have him talk.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, yeah. Letters from Stan.
Arlene Silver
We should have a music. Our house is too small. We have. I have so many things that cool like that.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
You remember Jacques Tati?
Dick Van Dyke
Yes, yes.
Ted Danson
French.
Woody Harrelson
I was working in Paris and I kept trying to find him. I wanted to meet him. And they said he was a hermit. He would come into a drugstore and take some candy and leave and not pay for it. He was known for that. And they just let him. But he was. I couldn't find him. He was like a shadow. I never got to meet him.
Dick Van Dyke
The movies are like Mr. Hooley's holiday or something.
Woody Harrelson
Holiday.
Dick Van Dyke
Yes. And. And all mine wouldn't speak.
Woody Harrelson
Never spoke.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah. It just blew me away. He was so good.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah. Did you ever see Marcel Marceau?
Woody Harrelson
Yes.
Dick Van Dyke
Yes.
Woody Harrelson
When he was working down at. In the Village.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, he was appearing. I made every Wednesday matinee, everyone. I'd go back and watch him. Finally got to meet him, got asked backstage, and he turned into Hannah Youngman. He did joke with us. Yeah. That's who he is. It's like a release for him. But we have. We're going to do an hour mime show together, and he died on me. Yeah. We were going to all do mime, and I was so excited about it, just to be, you know, put up there with him. And he died at a rather young age. I missed it. What else did I miss? People dying?
Mary Steenburgen
Not much.
Arlene Silver
You're outliving everybody.
Dick Van Dyke
That was one of your favorite people working.
Mary Steenburgen
I loved him. I worked with him a few times. Yeah, he was so great. Yeah, we did Elf together. Yeah, he was Santa Claus in Elf. Well, talk a little bit. Can we ask you about a couple of movies like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which I Love. Was that a wonderful experience?
Woody Harrelson
Oh, yeah. You know, Mary Poppins took inside of four months and shitty Bang Bang took over a year. But we had to leave England and go to Europe just to get some sun. It was.
Mary Steenburgen
It was raining too much.
Woody Harrelson
Too much rain and clouds. You couldn't get any light. So we're going through what's supposed to be the English countryside and their vineyards, the French vineyards. Actually. We did all that shooting in France. Yeah. It took forever to do, but I loved every minute of it. I just loved it. Lionel.
Dick Van Dyke
Oh, Jeff. Lionel Jeffries, one of my guy.
Woody Harrelson
We have such a friendship, but he was younger than me. He played my father and he was five years younger.
Mary Steenburgen
Really goodness.
Woody Harrelson
Great cast. A lot of fun.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah. Really good cast.
Woody Harrelson
You know, that car was a big, heavy thing. It had a four cylinder engine in it, so you really couldn't get going very good.
Dick Van Dyke
Was it like the original? Was that a real car that.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
Oh, wow.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, there's a couple of them around the country now. Yeah, it was perfect. Just beautiful.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Arlene Silver
Well, the one from the special was a replica. There's a lot of replicas from the special.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah.
Arlene Silver
People just made.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, yeah. Everything was beautiful.
Mary Steenburgen
But can they go into the ocean?
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, it was about four cylinders and it took forever to get going. But once we did, it was fun.
Dick Van Dyke
You know, that special, CBS special, birthday special. We celebrated you. But it was so amazing to see all the actors there. We're so excited to be there, to be able to either perform for you.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
Or talk to you or acknowledge you in some way. You have so many people whose lives you delighted and changed, but also actors who wanted to emulate you and your movement, your voice, your spirit. Your spirit that you put out, Dick, is just that energy of love and interest.
Woody Harrelson
It comes from doing what you love to do. You know, you're having a good time, everything. I. I didn't do anything where I really was miserable, you know. Bye Bye Birdie. The movie was kind of a drag because we couldn't make it what it had been.
Dick Van Dyke
So did you. Can I ask because that's the second time you've said that. Was your part messed with? Was it shortened? Was it. Why was it so different that you didn't like it as much as the.
Woody Harrelson
Well, the. The Ann Margaret part was rather small on Broadway and they wrote special songs for her and took other songs out and it just changed the whole Gotcha piece of everything.
Dick Van Dyke
Gotcha.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah. Paul was really pissed all the time, but that was just kind of his nature.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah, yeah. Well, it's. It's. I didn't get to see the play, but it was a wonderful movie.
Arlene Silver
A lot of people like the movie, and it makes me laugh when people.
Woody Harrelson
People who didn't see the Broadway show.
Arlene Silver
How much? Doesn't like it.
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah.
Arlene Silver
So. But if people like it.
Mary Steenburgen
So I'm one of those.
Arlene Silver
Yeah, just. Yeah, go with it.
Mary Steenburgen
And Mary Poppins. So where was Mary Poppins? Was that after Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?
Woody Harrelson
No, before.
Mary Steenburgen
It was before.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah. That's how Cubby Broccoli came to me about Chitty after I'd done Poppins, thinking I'd be good for the part. And I said, have you heard my British? Actually, when Sean Connery left the. The Bond series, Cubby wanted me to play it.
Mary Steenburgen
That's what I was going to ask.
Woody Harrelson
Why don't you be Bond?
Arlene Silver
Great Bond.
Woody Harrelson
I said, have you heard my British accent? He said, click. Yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
I love that you said that. Your dialogue coach for that was Irish and his accent wasn't any better.
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah.
Arlene Silver
Pat O'Malley.
Woody Harrelson
Pat O'Malley, who had a thick Irish accent. He came into my house one night after dinner for a couple of hours, and that was it. That was it. Yeah. Americans tease me a lot, but strangely enough, the British don't. They teased me a little bit, you know, because it was no accent of any kind.
Arlene Silver
It was charming.
Mary Steenburgen
It was still just one of the glorious performances.
Arlene Silver
Oh, my God. Singing, the dancing. Two roles. You did two roles that people don't even know.
Dick Van Dyke
I love that story, too. That. To play the older in the bank.
Mary Steenburgen
The banker.
Dick Van Dyke
The banker. To play that part which you came to the director or the producer and said, I think I should play it. Why don't you let me know?
Arlene Silver
Walt Disney.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah. Oh, Walt Disney. That's it. You spoke to Walt Disney and he said, no. And then you said, well, I'll do it for nothing. It'll be free.
Woody Harrelson
Right.
Dick Van Dyke
And he said, no. And then you said, I'll pay you $7,000. Okay.
Mary Steenburgen
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
I did a screen test. I made myself up and got out in front of what was the. The how. The bank's house. Right. And sang a little song, I think what sold it. At the end of the song, I went over and pretended to pee in the bushes. That broke. All walled up. He just loved it. I think that gave me the part. Yeah. And then I did an old man and what?
Arlene Silver
Mary Poppins Returns.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, that's right. You pay a lot with Emily, that one.
Arlene Silver
Oh, she's so great.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah. But I had been working with A young couple.
Arlene Silver
Oh, Dee Dee and Mark, bro.
Woody Harrelson
A couple. Had been working with me on the show for a couple of dance numbers. And I mentioned them to Walt. He said, do you know anybody? I said, I think these kids are good. So he hired them. They got. They did that. And then they did Shitty Bang Bang with me.
Dick Van Dyke
Wow.
Arlene Silver
And then the Sherman Brothers wrote both.
Woody Harrelson
Rights and they came up with so many. Wore me out.
Mary Steenburgen
And was working with Julie. Just glorious.
Woody Harrelson
She is, sweetheart. But a lady through and through. She really is a British lady. You know, she doesn't let down her hair very often.
Arlene Silver
I hear she does.
Woody Harrelson
I'm sure she does. The opening number in Shitty Mule Bamboo.
Dick Van Dyke
Yes.
Woody Harrelson
Where I. We have to jump over the stick and die.
Dick Van Dyke
Yes.
Woody Harrelson
Every take, one guy would miss. We did 24 or five takes.
Mary Steenburgen
Wow.
Woody Harrelson
And I went. I made it every time. And these guys, they were half my age, but you'll notice that I catch it on my heel and I push it through because I knew I couldn't do another one.
Dick Van Dyke
And we just watched that this morning, and I think it's one take. It's just one frame. That whole dance. They don't cut into it?
Woody Harrelson
No, they don't cut.
Dick Van Dyke
It's just you.
Mary Steenburgen
So you had done it 22 more times than the one we saw.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah.
Mary Steenburgen
That was the 23rd day.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah.
Mary Steenburgen
I can't imagine it's.
Woody Harrelson
And then we're on the stage and we're doing a twist thing. Two of the dancers actually spit something. Doing that step, this with the leg going like. Yeah. I can't say no.
Arlene Silver
But then the thing where you. They go back and forth and you're jumping.
Woody Harrelson
I love that stuff. I just loved it. I don't know why you didn't study dancing when I was a kid.
Dick Van Dyke
You wrote that that was the hardest dance you'd ever.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, yeah, Yeah.
Arlene Silver
I think it's better that you didn't, because you're. You're unique, you know, That's. If you would have trained, they would have said, stop doing that.
Woody Harrelson
You're right.
Arlene Silver
And you would have been everybody the right way.
Woody Harrelson
And it would.
Arlene Silver
It's better that you didn't tell me.
Dick Van Dyke
About this gentleman behind us peering over your shoulder.
Woody Harrelson
I'm never that tall.
Dick Van Dyke
How did you get that? Was that in the movie or.
Arlene Silver
No, this is from the movie Ride the. The.
Dick Van Dyke
Oh.
Arlene Silver
From Disney World. And they were closing it down, and they asked us if he want. We wanted his chimney sweep. We're like, yes, Nice.
Mary Steenburgen
Very nice.
Arlene Silver
And it came in a ch. With a chimney. And he said, well, and he was sitting on the chimney. And we said, well, we can't. We have nowhere to put that. So we got it made into a standing. There he is.
Dick Van Dyke
I know we said we'd only be here for a little while, but I have to mention a show I was doing called Becker, where you played. Came in and played my father.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, my God, that's right.
Dick Van Dyke
And it was, you know, clearly, I worship you. And I told you, you were the beginning of this. It was even before I started acting.
Ted Danson
That I saw you trip over the aisle.
Woody Harrelson
God Almighty.
Dick Van Dyke
But then you played my father, and I think the rest of the cast absolutely sucked that week because we never got to rehearse. We just asked you questions. Tell us more stories. Tell us.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, really? Is that what we did?
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, that's right. We did do a show.
Mary Steenburgen
I never saw him more excited, more moved, more honored than the week he got to work with you.
Woody Harrelson
You know, funny thing is, you get to an age when you really don't care how you look anymore. You have to keep in mind, I might get a job, so I have to keep trimming the beard and trying to look nice.
Dick Van Dyke
We only lose weight and weight and get into shape and really exercise. When there's a movie part that just came around, then it's like, oh, boy, that's right.
Woody Harrelson
But a lot of people are just so stiff and everything from not moving. And it's so easy getting the water. Yeah. Did you see my slide out there?
Dick Van Dyke
Mary spotted it right away.
Mary Steenburgen
I love the water slide, by the way.
Woody Harrelson
Oh, my grandkids go crazy.
Mary Steenburgen
I bet.
Woody Harrelson
Because it's fast. It just zooms. Yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
Let me ask you one more thing about. I can't imagine outliving all your friends. I know the answer to why you're so happy and cheerful. It's you. Arlene would be my guest.
Woody Harrelson
Exactly.
Dick Van Dyke
But it must be hard not to be depressed about loss and grief.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, every one of them. All my guys from my hometown are gone. Everybody I knew here, all my buddies are gone. Everyone. Bob Newhart was the last. And there's just nobody to even pick up the phone and call. Yeah, I hate that. So I'm trying to make younger friends.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah, you got two here. I don't know how younger we are.
Mary Steenburgen
But not that much younger. And was it hard when you were first together for you, with the age difference? Not so much what you felt, but what people projected on to you.
Woody Harrelson
I don't.
Arlene Silver
I feel like everyone was happy about it. It was. It was weird how it. I think if it wasn't Dick Van Dyke, you know, it's. He's kind of an easy sell. I don't know. And he's so youthful.
Mary Steenburgen
Anyway, happy for him.
Arlene Silver
Happy for him. Yeah. So it was. They wanted to see him happy and. I don't know, just. It never really was a big issue. Yeah, thank God. I mean, I was terrified when it, you know, came out. I think there was one article when he was doing his lucky life tour and there was, like, a mention of me. I was like, oh, my God. I was just always, like, thinking it was going to be all this bad.
Dick Van Dyke
Well, I tell you, from. I'm so happy for my friend Dick Van Dyke that you are in his life. I don't feel, you know, not sad, but whatever. In any shape or form. It's so nice to know, you know, and experience it today.
Woody Harrelson
I get my coffee in bed every morning.
Dick Van Dyke
I so does Shake.
Woody Harrelson
It's a small thing, but it's very important. It means a lot.
Mary Steenburgen
Every single cup of coffee I'm so grateful for. I never let it slide.
Dick Van Dyke
Are you black or do you like a little sweet?
Woody Harrelson
I like sugar in it.
Arlene Silver
Five cubes of sugar.
Dick Van Dyke
Whoa.
Woody Harrelson
I like mushroom.
Dick Van Dyke
Oat. Milk or creamer or what? No, just black. Just sugar and black. Wow.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah.
Ted Danson
Great.
Woody Harrelson
You had to come by on Halloween.
Mary Steenburgen
You really should sound crazy.
Arlene Silver
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
You can be a monster if you want. Or.
Arlene Silver
Have you ever been in a horror movie? Either one of you.
Dick Van Dyke
I did the original creep show.
Woody Harrelson
You did?
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah. Stephen King, George Romero. And I was. I get killed by. In the. Drowned in the Water by.
Mary Steenburgen
Oh, Leslie.
Dick Van Dyke
Leslie Nielsen.
Arlene Silver
Oh, wow.
Dick Van Dyke
Leslie Nielsen, who had, by the way, As a real. In life, had a handheld. Pardon My. Whatever. Fart machine.
Arlene Silver
Yes, I heard.
Dick Van Dyke
And he was relentless. We actually got asked to get off a plane because we were sitting in first class and we had been boarded first. And every person who came by, he'd squeeze off a handheld fart. And finally. And he was asked to stop, and he wouldn't. So we were asked to get off the plane.
Woody Harrelson
I'd heard that story. He was a guy who wasn't really funny, but they made him.
Arlene Silver
Oh, my God. Airplane is one of the best movies. Airplane.
Woody Harrelson
And the second one was Airplane two was Nothing. And the first one was Hysteric.
Arlene Silver
I still watch it and see new things in it.
Woody Harrelson
Boy, this is great. We never have any company or anything. Yeah.
Arlene Silver
So nice.
Woody Harrelson
It's wonderful. You made our day.
Mary Steenburgen
Well, you made our year because this was really special.
Woody Harrelson
So you're not that far away, are you? No, oh, good.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
Well, you got to come by more often.
Arlene Silver
Yeah.
Dick Van Dyke
Do you imbibe alcohol still or. No, no, no. What am I saying? I just did that whole thing. Well, we don't either.
Woody Harrelson
Been there, done that.
Arlene Silver
All the alcohol we have here, people giving us.
Woody Harrelson
We have booze here.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah. Would you like a little drinky dick?
Arlene Silver
Just a little bit, right? I can't believe it won't hurt you. You have. You have drank a little.
Dick Van Dyke
That'll be the edit.
Arlene Silver
You have had a little wine, like if he wants. If a little. But he does. He's beyond.
Dick Van Dyke
Not to worry.
Mary Steenburgen
That just was edited out and then.
Arlene Silver
Goes back to rehab.
Woody Harrelson
I had rehab in a place downtown called the Mission.
Arlene Silver
Midnight Mission.
Woody Harrelson
Midnight Mission, which is one of the best in the world. I spent a couple of weeks there and sobered up. And I used to go down a lot, you know, and visit the people. But since COVID I've gotten a little leery about that. Yeah, I used to go just table hop on Sunday to pass out.
Arlene Silver
Midnight Mission. Homeless. It's a homeless, right?
Woody Harrelson
Yeah. And mostly homeless, of which there are a lot more.
Arlene Silver
Oh my God. Yeah.
Woody Harrelson
There are people with kids living in their cars. You don't know how many of those there are. It's insane. I remember the Depression. You know, there are a lot of guys we call tramps come to the back door for a handout, but there weren't that many of them. They all hung out down at the. At the railroad tracks. But there's so many more now. Wasn't, you know, ever were the Depression.
Mary Steenburgen
Wasn't your grandfather a railroad man?
Woody Harrelson
He worked in the shop at the CNEI Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad. And he was slight like I am, but he had huge forearms from working thing. I thought they got Popeye from him because I saw Popeyes. It's a grandpa. Yeah, yeah. He was a slight little man. Big arms from all that kind of work.
Dick Van Dyke
Right.
Arlene Silver
He was your biggest influence on me.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I had a lot of grandparents and great grandparents on both sides. A lot of long lived people. And I'm the one that's lived the longest now.
Dick Van Dyke
Wow.
Woody Harrelson
My mom made it just short of 96, so yeah, I've got them all beat.
Mary Steenburgen
Your background, is it from Holland?
Woody Harrelson
The Netherlands. Yeah, yeah.
Mary Steenburgen
Same as me.
Nick Leow
Yes.
Mary Steenburgen
Steve Bern is too.
Woody Harrelson
Van Dyke. Yeah. I went to Amsterdam once and the phone book is nothing but.
Arlene Silver
And you say you're half Irish.
Woody Harrelson
Is that what you say, McCord? That's Irish, isn't it? Was my mother's made me.
Arlene Silver
I'm 100%. Both of my. All my family's from Ireland. And you always say that you're half Irish.
Woody Harrelson
Ma is Scottish and just mc, I think is Irish, I think.
Arlene Silver
Oh, now you're. You're backing up on your claims.
Woody Harrelson
Well, I'm half Irish.
Arlene Silver
I'm.
Dick Van Dyke
You've been so generous with us.
Woody Harrelson
Thank you both.
Dick Van Dyke
Yeah, we're all so happy that we got to be here.
Arlene Silver
Really.
Woody Harrelson
We'll be right back after these words.
Ted Danson
That was astounding. As you heard, he's been one of my heroes since I first got introduced to the idea of acting at all. So that was just remarkable, and I'm so glad we got to share it together. What was it like for you?
Mary Steenburgen
That was a privilege. Just to a delight. I loved it. Thank you for including me. Thank you, Team Coco. And I love that experience. I appreciate it.
Ted Danson
Did you love it so much you might come back and do that again?
Mary Steenburgen
Maybe. Yeah.
Ted Danson
Okay, we got a maybe. I'll go with that. Once again, please consider giving to World Central Kitchen and you can do that by visiting wck.org so thank you.
Woody Harrelson
That was fun.
Mary Steenburgen
Thank you.
Ted Danson
That's it for this episode. Hello to Woody and thanks to our friends at team Coco. As always, you can subscribe to our show on your favorite podcast app and give us a great rating if you're in the mood and a review on Apple podcasts if you have some time. Thank you very much. See you right back here next week where everybody knows your name.
Mary Steenburgen
Bye. Wy everyone.
Dick Van Dyke
Diary.
Nick Leow
You'Ve been listening to where everybody knows your name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson. Sometimes the show is produced by me, Nick Leow. Executive producers are Adam Sachs, Colin Anderson, Jeff Ross and myself. Sarah Fedorovich is our supervising producer. Our senior producer is Matt Apodaca. Engineering and mixing by Joanna C. Samuel with support from Eduardo Perez. Research by Alyssa Grohl, Talent booking by Paula Davis and Gina Batista. Our theme music is by Woody Harrelson, Anthony Genn, Mary Steenbergen and John Osborne. Special thanks to Willie Navarre. We'll have more for you next time where everybody knows your name.
Woody Harrelson
We have to do a sign off here, don't we? Say goodbye.
Dick Van Dyke
Dick. You start the sign offs.
Woody Harrelson
How do you do it?
Dick Van Dyke
I don't know. That's why I'm making you start.
Woody Harrelson
Yeah, my day's in radio. This is a sign off. 73, 30. Hey, I'm Paul Scheer.
Mary Steenburgen
I'm June Diane Rayfield.
Nick Leow
And I'm Jason Mantzoukis.
Woody Harrelson
And we're the hosts of how did this Get Made?
Ted Danson
A comedy podcast where we deconstruct, make.
Woody Harrelson
Fun of and celebrate the best worst movies ever made.
Nick Leow
Have you ever seen a movie that's so bad that it's actually good? Eh, that's what we're talking about.
Arlene Silver
From blockbuster franchises and made for TV.
Woody Harrelson
Romances to bonkers 80s action flicks and obscure sci fi musicals, we cover it all. You can find.
Nick Leow
How did this Get Made? Wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to follow the show so you never miss an episode.
Woody Harrelson
Idiot.
Arlene Silver
Skipping cold and flu season is Plan A, but if you do get sick, be prepared for Plan B with Kleenex lotion tissues. Kleenex lotion tissues moisturize skin, helping prevent the added discomfort of red, irritated skin on top of your cold and flu symptoms. So this cold and flu season, grab Kleenex lotion tissues, visit kleenex.com to learn more and buy now. For whatever happens next, grab Kleenex.
Podcast Summary: "Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (sometimes)"
Episode: Dick Van Dyke & Arlene Silver
Release Date: January 22, 2025
In this heartwarming episode of "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", hosts Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson reunite with beloved actors Dick Van Dyke and his wife Arlene Silver. The episode delves deep into their enduring friendship, illustrious careers, and the personal bonds that have stood the test of time. Below is a detailed summary capturing the essence of their engaging conversation.
The episode kicks off with Ted and Woody expressing their excitement about having Dick and Arlene as guests. They reminisce about their first meeting with Dick in his Malibu home, filled with memorabilia and personal touches that reflect a life rich in creativity and love.
Quote:
Dick Van Dyke (06:06): "Ladies and gentlemen, Dick Van Dyke and Arlene Silver."
The conversation takes a nostalgic turn as Dick shares his early experiences with television, revealing how Woody was his first introduction to the medium.
Quote:
Dick Van Dyke (09:11): "I grew up without a television in Arizona. My first TV came when I was at Stanford University. I found one on the street, lifted it up to our room, plugged it in, and watched the first moment I saw you on 'Cheers.'"
Woody reciprocates by sharing his admiration for Dick's physical comedy skills, attributing much of his own comedic style to Dick's influence.
Quote:
Woody Harrelson (10:21): "I practiced a lot as a kid. I used to watch Laurel and Hardy movies on Saturdays and then come home and practice falling down on the grass. I was prepared."
Dick opens up about the challenges faced during the initial run of "The Dick Van Dyke Show," including its early cancellation and subsequent revival thanks to Sheldon Leonard's advocacy.
Quote:
Dick Van Dyke (13:03): "The show was canceled after the first season because we were up against Perry Como on NBC every night. Sheldon Leonard convinced Procter & Gamble to give us another chance, and we ran for five successful years."
Woody shares anecdotes from the set, highlighting the camaraderie among the cast and the improvisational nature of the show.
Quote:
Woody Harrelson (29:13): "The longest laugh I ever got in my life was during an episode where our babies were mixed up, and the other couple turned out to be black when they walked in. The audience couldn't stop laughing."
The discussion shifts to personal topics, including Woody's experiences with sobriety and the impact of loss on Dick. They candidly talk about overcoming addictions and the importance of support systems.
Quote:
Woody Harrelson (35:28): "I went through a short period where I realized I was trapped and I went to AA and got help right away."
Dick reflects on the loneliness that comes with outliving friends, expressing his efforts to connect with younger generations.
Quote:
Dick Van Dyke (65:15): "It's hard not to be depressed about loss and grief, but having Arlene in my life has kept me alive, working, and young."
The guests delve into their creative endeavors outside of acting, such as Halloween monster creations and animated projects. Arlene showcases her passion for live performances, particularly her impersonation of Ursula from "The Little Mermaid."
Quote:
Arlene Silver (40:45): "We put a stage in front of the garage with real lighting and everything. We open the gates from six to nine so all the kids can come in. It's just great fun."
Woody shares his foray into computer-generated imagery (CGI), discussing a motorcycle project he contributed to.
Quote:
Woody Harrelson (41:09): "I made a motorcycle CGI model in Lightwave, and they used it in a special effect. It was a great hobby."
The conversation highlights memorable moments from classic productions like "Bye Bye Birdie", "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", and "Mary Poppins." Woody recounts the challenges of filming in Europe and the joy of collaborating with talented individuals like Carl Reiner and Mary Steenburgen.
Quote:
Woody Harrelson (55:35): "We shot 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' in France because of the weather. It took over a year, but I loved every minute of it."
Dick praises Woody's dedication and unique approach to performance, emphasizing the importance of joy in their craft.
Quote:
Dick Van Dyke (57:08): "Your spirit that you put out is the energy of love and interest. It comes from doing what you love."
A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to the deep bond shared between Dick and Arlene. They discuss how their relationship has provided mutual support, inspiration, and a source of continuous joy.
Quote:
Woody Harrelson (45:52): "She's done so much for me. Kept me alive and working and young."
As the conversation nears its end, the guests reflect on aging gracefully, staying active, and the legacy they hope to leave behind. They share personal routines that help them maintain their vitality and humor.
Quote:
Woody Harrelson (15:02): "I've always exercised three days a week. We still go to the gym three days a week, and I think that's why I'm not stuck up like my peers."
Dick adds his thoughts on personal growth through relationships, highlighting the spiritual fulfillment it brings.
Quote:
Dick Van Dyke (47:55): "My growth comes from my relationship with Mary. We grow spiritually and inspire each other every day."
The episode wraps up with heartfelt thanks from Ted and Woody to Dick and Arlene for sharing their stories and insights. They encourage listeners to support meaningful causes like World Central Kitchen, emphasizing the importance of community and compassion.
Quote:
Ted Danson (73:06): "Please consider giving to World Central Kitchen by visiting wck.org. Thank you."
This episode serves as a beautiful tribute to enduring friendships, the joys and challenges of a life in entertainment, and the personal connections that enrich our lives. Through laughter, shared memories, and candid reflections, Ted Danson, Woody Harrelson, Dick Van Dyke, and Arlene Silver offer listeners a glimpse into their cherished relationships and the legacy they continue to build together.