Posted in: TV | Tagged: coach, Diagnosis Murder, dick van dyke, entertainment, Jerry Van Dyke, television

Actor and Comedian Jerry Van Dyke Has Died at the Age of 86

Published Sat, 06 Jan 2018 13:01:53 -0600

Actor and comedian Jerry Van Dyke has died. TMZ is reporting the new given to them by Jerry's wife, Shirley. She says that they were in a car accident over 2 year ago and Jerry's health had been deteriorating ever since. His old brother, Dick Van Dyke, had been out to see them at their ranch in Arkansas during the Christmas holiday.

Jerry, six years younger than Dick, had to live in his brother's shadow for most of his career. He started his career doing stand-up and playing the banjo. He got into acting and television in 1963, eventually guesting on four episode of the Dick Van Dyke show. He went on to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show and the Judy Garland Show as well as recurring roles on My Mother the Car, Accidental Family, Headmaster, 13 Queens Blvd and Fresno before hooking on with Craig T. Nelson for the nine seasons of Coach. After that he had regular gigs with Teen Angel, You Wish, Yes,Dear and The Middle. His last appearance on TV being in 2015.

He appeared as his Coach character, Luther Van Dam, on episodes of both The Drew Carey Show and Grace Under Fire. In 1999 he guested on an episode of his brother's second television series, Diagnosis Murder.

Jerry Van Dyke was 86.

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