100 Years Ago Today...
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2025 8:37 am
... Dick Van Dyke was born. And he's still going strong.
Not many people know this, but Van Dyke got his start in professional show business here in Atlanta, where he performed with a comic from his hometown named Phil Erickson as the Merry Mutes (so-named because they performed their act in pantomime, miming popular songs and adding physical comedy). They started in a nightclub in Atlanta (that contract induced Van Dyke and Erickson to relocate to Atlanta from Illinois) and then had a local TV show in the early 1950s. Van Dyke left, and Erickson's wife, Nancy, joined the act, which was renamed the Wit's End Players. They added some performers and became a long-standing comedy troupe, somewhat like Saturday Night Live.
Not many people know this, but Van Dyke got his start in professional show business here in Atlanta, where he performed with a comic from his hometown named Phil Erickson as the Merry Mutes (so-named because they performed their act in pantomime, miming popular songs and adding physical comedy). They started in a nightclub in Atlanta (that contract induced Van Dyke and Erickson to relocate to Atlanta from Illinois) and then had a local TV show in the early 1950s. Van Dyke left, and Erickson's wife, Nancy, joined the act, which was renamed the Wit's End Players. They added some performers and became a long-standing comedy troupe, somewhat like Saturday Night Live.
