Dick Van Dyke and his younger brother, Jerry, said they loved each other but were not especially close as children. Their relationship grew warmer later in life, they explained, as they spent more time working together.
Were Dick and Jerry Van Dyke close?
Not particularly during childhood, by their own account. In a joint Los Angeles Times interview published April 22, 2015, Dick said, “We loved each other, but I was out of high school before he got in.” Jerry, who was six years younger, said he had looked up to Dick. The age gap meant Dick had finished high school before Jerry began it, leaving the brothers at different stages of life.
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That account describes affection without much closeness in their youth—not estrangement or hostility. The brothers did not offer a complete account of their private relationship across every period of their lives.
How their relationship changed in later life
By 2015, Jerry said, “We are becoming closer. I’m really getting to know him better at this age.” Dick connected the change to their shared work: “It’s because we have been working together more.” Their explanation is specific: spending more time collaborating helped them know each other better.
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A 2018 Los Angeles Times obituary later summarized their account as a relationship that had not been especially close in youth but had strengthened in recent years, referring back to the brothers’ 2015 interview. The public record does not establish how often they saw each other outside work.
When the brothers appeared together on television
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Jerry appeared on both the original The Dick Van Dyke Show and the later New Dick Van Dyke Show, playing the brother of Dick’s character in each. Their on-screen family connection was part of a longer history of shared television work.
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The Middle
In 2015, Jerry suggested that the brothers appear together on The Middle while he was staying at Dick’s Malibu home. They played fictional brothers who bicker and then reunite. That storyline belongs to their characters; it is not evidence that the real Van Dyke brothers had the same conflict.
Jerry Van Dyke had a career of his own
Jerry was more than Dick’s younger brother. He became best known for playing assistant coach Luther Van Dam on Coach, which ran from 1989 to 1997. The Television Academy records four Primetime Emmy nominations for his supporting role in a comedy series, in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1994.
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His final television role was an April 2015 appearance on The Middle with Dick. Jerry died on January 5, 2018, in Malvern, Arkansas, aged 86.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the brothers’ own comments tell us
- They said they loved each other, but the six-year age difference and their different stages of life kept them from being especially close while growing up.
- Later, they said they were getting closer, and Dick attributed that to working together more.
- Their television collaborations offer examples of that shared work, while Jerry’s career on Coach shows his independent success.
The clearest account is the one the brothers gave themselves: an affectionate relationship that became closer with time and collaboration. Their comments do not support claims of a serious falling-out, nor do they reveal every detail of their private lives.
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Sources
- Susan King, Los Angeles Times, April 22, 2015
- Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times, January 6, 2018
- Television Academy feature on Jerry Van Dyke
- Television Academy, Jerry Van Dyke biography and career record
- Television Academy feature on The Dick Van Dyke Show
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