Whether you know him as Bert, the skipping chimney sweep in “Mary Poppins,” or Caractacus Potts, the quirky inventor in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” or from the sitcom named after him, Dick Van Dyke has been a Hollywood legend for decades.
But Van Dyke, who celebrated his 99th birthday on Dec. 13, is not only an actor — he’s also a father and grandfather.
Although Van Dyke, who made history in April becoming the oldest Daytime Emmy nominee, is now married to make-up artist Arlene Silver, he had all four of his children with his first wife Margerie Willet. They were married from 1948 to 1984.
Read on to learn more about Van Dyke’s four children: Christian, Barry, Stacy and Carrie Beth.
Christian Van Dyke
Born on May 13, 1950, Christian initially followed in his father’s acting footsteps, making his first on camera appearance on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” when he was 11-years-old.
However, Christian shied away from showbusiness, instead pursing and receiving a law degree from Arizona State University.
In his first position working with his degree, Christian worked as deputy district attorney in Corvallis, Oregon. He continued his legal career in Oregon first as a Salem assistant attorney general and then, in 1980, was elected to serve as district attorney for Marion County, according to Cascade Business News.
He would go on to spend time working for Nike and Patagonia.
Christian married Caroline Heller in 1970 and they had three children together.
In April 1987 their daughter, Jessica Lee, 13, died from Reye’s syndrome, which causes the brain and liver to swell, a few days after taking some aspirin to fight a fever she had from a case of chicken pox, according to the Los Angeles Times.
By this point in time, Christian and Caroline had already divorced.
Barry Van Dyke
Barry was born on July 31, 1951.
Like all of his other siblings, he appeared on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” making his acting debut in 1962.
Unlike his older brother Christian who quit acting to pursue law, Barry aspired to be an actor, like his father.
Barry told the Los Angeles Times that his father wanted him “to have (his) childhood.”
“He told me that if I still wanted to act after I graduated high school, then it would be OK,” Barry told the outlet.
Eventually, he achieved his goal of becoming an actor with most of his memorable roles being in TV shows, like “Galactica 1980” and “Diagnosis Murder,” a show he co-starred in alongside his father.
“I’d work with him any time,” Barry told the Los Angeles Times. He continued on to say that his father is “the best to work with, very creative. He has a lot of integrity and he’ll work no matter what, including physical discomfort. He set a fine example.”
In 1974, Barry married his wife Mary Carey. The couple had four children together: Carey, Shane, Wes and Taryn. Barry is also a grandfather to six children.
Stacy Van Dyke
Stacy was Van Dyke’s first daughter and third child.
When Stacy was young she, like her other brothers, dabbled in acting, appearing alongside her father in “The New Dick Van Dyke Show” and “Diagnosis: Murder.”
She continued her acting career, joining the Barnstormers, a performing group at the Windmill Dinner Theater in Phoenix, Arizona, according to Phoenix Theater History.
In 1979, Stacy married Mike Breen, a fellow member of the Barnstormers.
Despite pursuing acting, Stacy lived a private life and never pursued the level of fame her father had.
Carrie Beth Van Dyke
Born Oct. 18, 1961 Carrie Beth is the youngest of Van Dyke’s children.
She also debuted her acting career on “The New Dick Van Dyke Show.”
Like her older sister, Carrie Beth met her future husband, actor Kevin McNally, at the Windmill Dinner Theater. The couple married in 1983.
McNally went on to join the cast of “Diagnosis: Murder” with Carrie Beth’s brother and father for 19 episodes.
In 2015, McNally released a “Searching Your Eyes” on SoundCloud, which he said he wrote and recorded when Carrie Beth and him first met. Stacy and her husband also appear on the song.
