Van Dyke and Company

Last updated
Van Dyke and Company
Genre Comedy-Variety
Directed by John Moffitt
Starring Dick Van Dyke
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes11
Production
Executive producerByron Paul
Running time60 mins
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseSeptember 20 (1976-09-20) 
December 30, 1976 (1976-12-30)

Van Dyke and Company is an American comedy and variety show television series hosted by Dick Van Dyke on NBC in 1976. Andy Kaufman made his prime time debut on the show and became a series regular. [1] [2] The executive producer of the show, Byron Paul, was the manager and producer to Dick Van Dyke. [3] The pilot episode was directed by Art Fisher and aired as a CBS TV special on October 30, 1975. [4] The series aired from September 20, 1976, to December 30, 1976, before it was cancelled due to low ratings. [5] Despite its cancellation, the show won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series at the 29th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1977. [6] Van Dyke also won Favorite Male Performer in a New TV Program at the 3rd People's Choice Awards. [7]

Contents

Episodes

Episode No.AirdateGuests
PilotOct 30, 1975 Carl Reiner, Ike & Tina Turner, Gabe Kaplan, Kenneth Mars, Lynne Lipton
1Sep 20, 1976 Chevy Chase, Flip Wilson, Andy Kaufman
2Oct 7, 1976 John Denver, Ilie Nastase, Super Dave Osborne, Andy Kaufman
3Oct 14, 1976 Carl Reiner, Andy Kaufman
4Oct 28, 1978 Hal Linden, The Sylvers, Andy Kaufman
5Nov 11, 1976 Carol Burnett, KC and the Sunshine Band, Andy Kaufman
6Nov 18, 1976 Harvey Korman, Lola Falana
7Nov 25, 1976 Freddie Prinze, The Spinners, George Foreman, Andy Kaufman
8Dec 2, 1976 Sid Caesar, Donna Fargo, Andy Kaufman
9Dec 9, 1976 Lucille Ball, The Lockers, Andy Kaufman
10Dec 16, 1976 John Byner, Bobbie Gentry, Andy Kaufman
11Dec 30, 1976 Tommy Smothers, Jim McKay, Sha Na Na, Andy Kaufman

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References

  1. Zmuda, Bob (2000). Andy Kaufman Revealed!: Best Friend Tells All. Little, Brown. ISBN   978-0-446-93049-9.
  2. "Dick Van Dyke's forgotten variety show found the perfect way to introduce general audiences to Andy Kaufman". Me-TV Network. August 29, 2019. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  3. Roberts, Jerry (2009). Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors. Scarecrow Press. p. 438. ISBN   978-0-8108-6378-1.
  4. Terrace, Vincent (2019). Encyclopedia of Television Pilots: 2,470 Films Broadcast 1937-2019, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 317. ISBN   978-1-4766-7874-0.
  5. Zehme, Bill (2009). Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN   978-0-307-42846-2.
  6. "Van Dyke and Company". Television Academy. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  7. Group, Gale; Peacock, Scot (1998). Contemporary Authors. Gale. p. 407. ISBN   978-0-7876-2667-9.