Interview With Dick Van Dyke About 'Mary Poppins' And More

Dick Van Dyke thought Walt Disney wanted to see him about "Mary Poppins" because of his singing and dancing skills. But the legendary studio founder had something else in mind.
"He had heard me in an interview talking about what was happening to family entertainment," says Van Dyke in a phone interview, still amused by the memory. "I was decrying the fact that it seemed like no holds were barred anymore in entertainment. ... That's why he called me in, because I said something he agreed with."
Disney, after years of cajoling "Poppins" author P.L. Travers, was finally mounting a production of the books about a magical nanny. With Van Dyke, he knew he was also getting a star as well as a like-minded performer. The actor's TV sitcom, "The Dick Van Dyke Show," was a steady hit at the time, and he had won a Tony for his work in the stage version of "Bye Bye Birdie."
With Van Dyke as the Cockney chimney sweep Bert, fellow Tony winner Julie Andrews (in her movie debut) as Poppins and several old pros in tow, Disney went ahead with production on the 1964 film, which was to become one of the biggest hits his studio ever produced.
The movie earned five Oscars -- including a best actress win for Andrews -- and its Richard and Robert Sherman songs, such as "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," "Feed the Birds" and the Oscar-winning "Chim Chim Cher-ee," have become standards.
Forty-five years later, "Poppins" is also a hit stage show, with excerpts of the Broadway production featured on a new 45th-anniversary DVD. Van Dyke, 83, took a few minutes to talk about the film, his much-maligned Cockney accent and Michelle Obama's fondness for his old TV show.

Read the interview with Van Dyke here...
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/27/van.dyke.poppins/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

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