Dick Van Dyke, CG Animator
August 20, 2004 11:29 AM   Subscribe

Guess who's really into computer animation, and is also a professional CG animator? Dick Van Dyke.
posted by GriffX (25 comments total)
 
That's just super-cool. This post made my day. His name was one of my first, um, "words". I love Dick van Dyke. I hope he gets to make an xmas special. Before it's, uh, too late.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 11:44 AM on August 20, 2004


That's awesome.
posted by kenko at 11:57 AM on August 20, 2004


That's pretty cool. My favourite movie when I was a kid was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. My folks even recorded the audio track from it off of the TV to keep me occupied on long trips. (Hey, my parents were music pirates before piracy was cool!).

I hope I'm still learning new skills when I'm that age.
posted by substrate at 12:03 PM on August 20, 2004


I knew that show was fake. I know it's 1950s CGI but you can totally see the keyframes, and it buffers whenever there's more than four actors in a given scene.
posted by Peter H at 12:05 PM on August 20, 2004


By the way, do y'all know who wrote the book "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"? If you don't, you'll be surprised. :)
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 12:05 PM on August 20, 2004


Oooh, oooh! *waves hand Horshak-like* I know! I know!
Ian "James Bond" Fleming!!!
What do I win?

Back on topic...
Great link, great story. But you'd have to expect he'd be more up to date on media technology than most stars his age; after all, his initials are DVD.

(I'm adding "Jim Hill Media" to my list of Hollywood Insider sites... Thanks, Griffx)
posted by wendell at 12:10 PM on August 20, 2004


Dick Van Dyke is one of my comedic heroes. To learn that he is interested in tech, too, makes me like him even more.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:42 PM on August 20, 2004


TV Cream: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Nowadays everyone points to this as proof of Ian Fleming's versatility and how he didn't just write about sabotage, unhinged business moguls, kidnapping, aggressive foreign governments, renegade spies, extraordinary inventions and gadgets and heroes falling for unlikely glamorous women... is
it just us?
posted by dodgygeezer at 12:46 PM on August 20, 2004


I love Dick Van Dyke.

After all, he did teach us all how to "Stop, Drop & Roll."
posted by grabbingsand at 1:07 PM on August 20, 2004


How cool is that?

I grew up on the Dick Van Dyke show--my dad's an older guy, and so that show was one of the relatively few cultural connection points that we could just sit back and enjoy together without trying to figure out what the other one saw in it. Even senior year in college, my roommate and I would arrange our daily schedules around repeats of the show on some local UHF channel.

Now my kids are totally into CCBB and Mary Poppins, and I don't care how lame his Cockney accent is, or that he's become the baby boomer's Matlock [WAV file]. DVD is awesome--a born entertainer--and it's great to see that he's such a techno-freak.
posted by LairBob at 3:33 PM on August 20, 2004


[Mind blown, reality shattered. Thanks, GriffX!] Did anyone else see that episode of "Dinner for Five" where Peter Berg told his 'Dick Van Dyke is down' story?
posted by steef at 4:09 PM on August 20, 2004


That was the cutest thing ever. Way to go, brave sir.
posted by shotsy at 4:10 PM on August 20, 2004


Batman's Robin is also big into 3d. Burt Ward- Robin from the tv show- has a 3d animation company and has been active on 3d mailing lists. He's actually a legit 3d guy now who runs a legit 3d company for a couple of years. Very cool too see some of these tv stars keep doing something creative. He's not trading in on his stardom either. I think he's quite reticent about talking about Batman and wants do focus on his 3d. Good for him.
posted by superchris at 5:20 PM on August 20, 2004




He's no Kiki Stockhammer...
posted by Vidiot at 10:21 PM on August 20, 2004


omg kiki. it's been years...
posted by Hackworth at 10:40 PM on August 20, 2004


Funny, I just saw Mary Poppins again after years and years. I didn't mind DvD's dreadful English accent... what I had forgotten is what a splendidly loose and energetic and creative dancer he is.

My hat is off to him... what a fantastic human.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 11:39 PM on August 20, 2004


Dear God. According to this Kiki tribute page, she's now singing in a Star Trek-themed punk band in California.

That's a long way from the original Video Toaster demo tape (with music by Ken Nordine, no less)...
posted by Vidiot at 11:45 PM on August 20, 2004


Er, to continue the derail, that should have been "this Kiki tribute page."
posted by Vidiot at 11:53 PM on August 20, 2004


In that horribly bad recent Dick Van Dyke Show reunion show on CBS (and now re-running forever on TV Land), Dick's character, Rob Petrie, is a work-at-home computer animator now. (Laura runs a dance studio.)
posted by AstroGuy at 10:57 AM on August 21, 2004


it really was awful, and the little bit of animation they showed (of him dancing?) wasn't good.
posted by amberglow at 11:04 AM on August 21, 2004


Yeah well... this is still super cool. If anyone actually follows the suggestion about Dick making a show or film using his characters, I totally want to work on it. :)

And when I'm 79 I hope I'm into the "latest" cool creative things... as opposed to scrounging dinner wherever I can.
posted by zoogleplex at 3:03 PM on August 21, 2004


when you're 79, early-bird specials are usually the coolest thing going, unless you're a healthy millionaire, like DVD, who can afford good equipment and good training. good luck.
posted by amberglow at 3:09 PM on August 21, 2004


: >

It annoys me--just because an old celebrity is doing something doesn't mean it's any good, nor are they remarkable for doing it. (see Tony Bennett's paintings, daddy Bush skydiving, and other things like this.) These celebrities have every advantage over the rest of people their age, and are blessed with wealth, health and time, as well as excellent medical care and media attention. I like Dick Van Dyke as an actor (always have, always will), but am not impressed.
posted by amberglow at 4:12 PM on August 21, 2004


The first time I miss Siggraph in 10 years and Dick Van Dyke was there! I'm so bummed! I thing he's great, and his brother is goofy.
posted by tomplus2 at 7:12 PM on August 21, 2004


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