Margie Willett was an American, who sparked public interest for being the first wife of legendary award-winning Hollywood actor, singer, comedian and writer Dick Van Dyke, who is best known for his work in ‘Mary Poppins’ and ‘The Dick “. Van Dyke show.
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Early life and family
Little is known about Margerie “Margie” Willett’s early life, except that she was born in 1927 in Danville, Illinois, United States. She was quite a private person and her family refuses to share information about her with the public, to maintain her wish to live a low-key life when she was still alive.
Schooling
There is no information on his level of education.
* Mini Bio… Did you know? Dick and his 1st wife Margie got married on the radio show “Bride and Groom” because the show paid…
Originally posted by “Classic Hollywood”. Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Career
She had no record of employment or starting a business.
Private life
After living a life of anonymity, Margie was exposed to public scrutiny when she married one of Hollywood’s most iconic celebrities, Dick Van Dyke, on February 12, 1948 at the Chapman Park Hotel located on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Dick was just a budding artist at the time, and due to lack of funds he and Margie’s wedding was sponsored by a popular radio show – it wasn’t planned that way, but it was an opportunity Dick couldn’t pass up. He was performing at the hotel when the radio host of the show “Bride and Groom” learned of his intention to marry his girlfriend and immediately offered to sponsor not only the wedding but also the honeymoon, with household appliances and furniture to take away. residence.
Dick sent for Margie, got married on the radio show, and then honeymooned at Mt. Hood Oregon Resort in Welches, Oregon.
The couple struggled a bit and even lived out of their car as Dick couldn’t afford to buy her a house. Eventually, Dick enjoyed some success not only on radio and on stage, but also on television and in film. The couple were able to build a house and were blessed with four children, namely Carrie Beth, Stacy, Barry and Chris. While there were happy years in their marriage; unfortunately, they were plagued with problems both as individuals and as a couple.
Margie lost twins to miscarriage but that was early in the marriage so they were able to bounce back from that misfortune but later they both needed rehab due to their addictions .
Margie was heavily addicted to prescription drugs, while Dick became an alcoholic. They both decided to enter the same rehabilitation center and were able to reform. However, while Margie was quite proud of her husband’s accomplishments, for some reason she didn’t like the limelight and always preferred to be out of it. Margie decided to stay on the family ranch in the desert longer to avoid public attention. Dick understood this, but at the same time took comfort in the arms of another woman.
He had an eight-year extramarital affair with his agent’s secretary and part-time actress Michelle Triola, which rose to prominence due to her controversial past involvement with fellow actor Lee Marvin.
As with most mistresses, Michelle was completely supportive of Dick’s need for entertainment, but it strained his marriage. He said in an interview with Country Living, “I was involved with a woman other than my wife.” It was amazing. I writhed in guilt. In 1976, I had to do something. He confessed to his wife and they both agreed to live separate lives. They finally filed for divorce in 1984, ending their 36-year marriage.
After the divorce, Margie was rarely seen in public and would only be mentioned when one of her children chose to follow in her father’s footsteps. Barry entered the entertainment business and also became an actor. Margie never remarried and led a life away from the public eye.
In 2007, Margie was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, a disease which led to her death a year later.
She is survived by four children, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Who is Dick Van Dyke?
Richard Wayne Van Dyke was born in West Plains, Missouri on December 13, 1925, to parents Loren Wayne Van Dyke, a salesman, and Hazel Victoria McCord, a stenographer. The family moved to Danville, Illinois, and he grew up there with his younger brother Jerry Van Dyke in a very religious home, so he even thought about pursuing a career in their ministry when he was younger. However, Dick was destined to become an entertainer, as he found his calling after starring in a high school drama.
Dick left high school for the military in the final months of his senior year and only earned a diploma as well as a Distinguished Alumnus Award when he visited Danville High in 2004, thus eventually enrolling.
When World War II arrived, he enlisted in the US Army Air Force to become a pilot, but was turned down because he was underweight. He then became a radio host in the army and eventually became part of the special services that entertained troops around the world.
After the war he became a radio DJ in his home town, but in 1947 he began performing and was part of the pantomime comedy duo, “The Merry Mutes”. They toured towns until they could get a spot on national television and get more exposure. The duo stopped performing when they could no longer drag their family from gig to gig.
Arrange
In 1959, Dick made his Broadway debut in “Girls Against Boys” and then a year later played the lead role in “Bye Bye Birdie” which ran for over a year.
He had an innate talent and was never trained professionally as a singer, actor or dancer, but he was able to do them all superbly. During a television interview, Dick said that when he auditioned for a minor role in the musical he had no dance experience, but when he sang, the director immediately decided to give him the job. the main role of the show. His performance won him a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical in 1961.
Television
As he conquered the stage, he was also well on his way to conquering viewers. An old friend from the Army became a television director at CBS and brought him to New York for an audition that led to a seven-year contract. Dick went on to appear as a guest and semi-regular on several popular series, including “The Pat Boone Show”, “The Phil Silvers Show”, and “The Andy Williams Show”.
The success of his Broadway career led to his own comedy television series in 1961 called “The Dick Van Dyke Show”, starring Mary Tyler Moore, who he had a crush on. The show successfully ran for five years until its creator-producer Carl Renier canceled it; it earned him three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. In 1971, Carl Reiner produced and premiered “The New Dick Van Dyke Show”, starring Hope Lange, and it ran for three years, with Dick receiving a Golden Globe nomination. It wasn’t as successful as his first series, so Dick himself decided to end it. He later became a regular on “The Carol Burnett Show”, but only appeared in a few episodes of its final season, as he was busy with his film career.
Movies
In 1963, he reprized his role on Broadway in the film adaptation of the musical “Bye Bye Birdie”, and although he was not satisfied with this version, it was commercially successful.
The same year, he was part of the iconic film “Mary Poppins”, and played double roles with Julie Andrews. It was also a commercial and critical success, becoming considered one of the most popular films of the 20e century. He and Julie won a Grammy for singing the film’s soundtrack, “Chim Chim Cher-ee”, and the film won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
He continued to take on film roles even as he got older – the last notables were in the franchise film series starring Ben Stiller, “Night at the Museum” (2006-2014), in which he played the villain, and in 2018 with “Mary Poppins Returns”, in which he reprized his role as Mr. Dawes Jr. in the original version.
Mrs. @speakyteeth a @HowardStern @sternshow fan since the 90s. His only request since we met was that I be on the show. It never happened because of the opposite ribs. Last week my agent called and was declined. Did Howard ever get the request or is he afraid of me? pic.twitter.com/Xs1kwi3vXn
—Dick Van Dyke (@iammrvandy) October 9, 2019
Dick and Margie’s son Barry starred with his father in the long-running medical crime television series, “Diagnosis Murder,” which ran from 1993 to 2001 and ran for 178 episodes over eight seasons. In 2008, the father and son made four films for television, crime thrillers under the same title, “Murder 101” aired on the Hallmark channel.
After his marriage to Margie ended, his relationship with his mistress continued until she died of a terminal illness in 2009. He remarried in 2012 to Arlene Silver, a makeup artist from half his age.
Appearance
Margie Willet was 1.67 m (5 ft 5 in) tall and weighed around 55 kg (120 lb). She was Caucasian with dark brown hair and brown eyes.
Net value
Sources put his net worth at $15 million before his death. which largely stemmed from his divorce settlement. Her former husband’s net worth is estimated to be over $50 million, as of mid-2020.
