The Dick Van Dyke Show was one of those must-watch sitcoms of the 1960s. Families would gather around to watch this quirky family’s fun and relatable exploits.
Of course, it helps that the show had such a strong cast. Dick Van Dyke was much fun as the clumsy and overreactive Rob Petrie. Mary Tyler Moore was also quite stellar as his wife, Laura.
In this compilation video, you can see just how strong their dynamic was. The video opens with Laura trying to wake Rob out of bed. Rob, however, doesn’t want to get up.
She becomes concerned only after Rob rejects Laura’s playfulness in the morning. Doubts form in her head about Rob being tired of her. She has an internal monologue about feeling like her husband doesn’t love her anymore.
Rob continuously says he doesn’t want to get up but will join her for breakfast. She starts to leave the room in a huff. Rob then tells her to close the drapes.
He then requests that Laura wake him up at 11. Laura tricks him by setting his arm for a few seconds. He then gets up, all excited, and exercises.
Laura enters the room. Rob says he’s thankful for the extra hours of sleep. Laura then says she’s willing to have breakfast. Rob thinks she must’ve been starving for hours.
She reveals her secret when asked about how Laura could wait so long. She turned his alarm back two hours, so he woke up immediately. He stops exercising in embarrassment.
Rob then asks how much extra sleep he got. She says seven seconds. Rob immediately goes back to bed. Laura slams the door on her way out.
In another clip, Rob is entertaining at a party. He performs an impression of his wife’s uncle Henry. He requests a chair and a hat for his bit.
Laura is then complicated by one of the attending wives. She says Laura must love living with someone who makes her laugh. Laura isn’t impressed.
Rob starts his impression of a drunk uncle Henry coming home from a Christmas party. He slurs his words and stumbles. Rob bolts upward when the woman pretending to be Henry’s wife enters the room and speaks clearly.
As the wive goes to get coffee, Rob starts fumbling again, trying to light a cigarette. When she returns, he stumbles again. The bit continues like this with Rob constantly slipping around and bolting upward when the wive enters.
The wife then recommends Henry should get a nice stiff drink. Rob then collapses on the floor. The party claps for his performance.
In the next scene, Rob sits at his desk talking about the history of humor. As he talks about cruelty with his clients, he gets his hand caught on the desk.
As Rob talks about slapstick, he unwittingly starts slapping his hand with a knife. He then wraps up the hand he injured. Yet he accidentally hits his other hand with the knife.
Rob continues to hurt himself as the clients laugh at his comical performance. Rob isn’t exactly making his point about slapstick not being funny. He even goes so far as accidentally stabbing himself.
The clients are laughing as much as the audience. Rob then attempts to demonstrate with a chair, and his foot goes through it. He then falls face first on the desk.
Rob then steps into a waste basket and kicks it around. He’s struggling to make his point about Freud and slapstick not being funny. He falls off his desk as he tries to sit down.
As he finishes up, Rob sits down in a chair. The chair then falls back. The clients congratulate Rob on another fun bit.
What better way to end this Dick Van Dyke video than a musical number? Dyke and Moore perform at a club with an elaborate song and dance number. It’s a real charming moment for the couple.
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