"HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND TOO MANY MORE"

Today marks the 85th birthday of Dick Van Dyke. The man has been such an - well, I can't say influence exactly, because it was Morey Amsterdam as Buddy Sorrell that did more to shape my path in life. (I've often said this in the past - Buddy got paid to tell jokes, he got to sleep on the job, and he got to make fun of bald guys and I wanted to do the same. Two out of three ain't bad.)

But I admired Mr. Van Dyke greatly and I even knew as a kid that his show was the epitome of style and class for a sitcom. And that it still is one of the funniest ever just seals the deal.

Dick Van Dyke was supposed to be doing a one-man revue in California, but damage to his Achilles' heel put a kibosh on that run after only a few appearances. I hope those people who got the chance to see it will always remember how lucky they were to do so. I'm so green with envy that I've become the Incredible Bulk.

Happy birthday, Mr. Van Dyke. And thank you!

[By the way, the subject heading was the title of an episode from 'The Dick Van Dyke Show', and it so applies to this man.....]