Veteran actor Dick Van Dyke, 87, was honored at the 2013 SAG Awards Sunday for his seven-decade career. Mid-way through the evening's ceremonies, the guild presented Van Dyke with their lifetime achievement award. Last year, Dick Van Dyke presented the same award to iconic actress Mary Tyler Moore, now 76, who was his trusted co-star on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" for years. Van Dyke brought his new wife, Arlene Silver, to the Jan. 27 event.
You can read more on this story below. The 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sun., Jan. 27, 2013, and honored notable performances and pieces of work in film and television. The awards are primarily given to actors by actors, so the evening is truly about peers in the entertainment industry bestowing recognition upon one another. Check out a full 2013 SAG Awards winner's list here!
SAG Awards 2013: Lifetime Achievement Honors Presented to Van Dyke (Jan. 27)
Rumor has it Van Dyke originally balked at the idea of Mary Tyler Moore cast opposite him on the now-classic suburbanite sit-com series, thinking her far too young for the role for a few reasons. It was true that Moore was eleven years Van Dyke's junior; she was just 23 when she was cast as Laura Petrie. With Van Dyke in his late thirties at the time, there were concerns about any implied improprieties, or worse, half of the whole series hinging on the performances of a nubile but rather inexperienced actress.
Moore's portrayal of the stereo-typically adorable, awkward American housewife in the 1960's was an unmitigated smash. Her quirk, her timing, her uncanny understanding of the complexities of the ever-evolving husband-wife relationship; it was all effortless, and it was all perfectly suited to Van Dyke's dynamic portrayal of Rob Petrie, America's all-around good guy. To this day, Rob Petrie remains one of the most affable sit-com dads and husbands of all time. He gave us compassion, he gave us humor, he gave us clean comedy with a wink, all while bringing home the bacon in a suit. What's not to like?
Besides the popular sit-com named for him (which also starred Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie, among other notable actors without whom the show would not have worked as well), Dick Van Dyke is equally well-known for his many other roles. His early work included an array of successful musicals, including award-winning starring roles in both stage and film productions of "Bye Bye Birdie", as well as his starring role on "Diagnosis Murder" later in his career.
Congratulations to one of the last of entertainment's truly "good guys".
FYI - Dick Van Dyke attended this year's SAG Awards with his new wife, Arlene Silver, seen pictured with her husband above. Find out more about makeup artist Arlene Silver in the video above.
For more SAG Awards 2013 coverage, click here!
Also, find our 2013 SAG Awards winner's list here, which will be updated Sunday night (Jan. 27) as awards are being presented.
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