DoYouRemember?

The Home of Nostalgia

Larry Matthews Of ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’ Recalls Learning About JFK’s Death On Set At 8

by •

Add as a preferred source on Google
Larry Mathews, President John Kennedy/X/Everett collection

Larry Mathews, who played young Ritchie Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show, recently shared a poignant memory from his childhood acting days. He recalled the moment he and the rest of the cast learned about President John F. Kennedy’s assassination while rehearsing on set. Matthews was only a little boy at the time, but the day left an unforgettable mark.

The cast had been preparing a season 3 episode centered on Ritchie’s birthday when series creator Carl Reiner walked in and stopped everything. Reiner delivered the heartbreaking news that President Kennedy had been assassinated. What followed, according to Matthews, was a haunting silence as the reality of the national tragedy sank in.

Related:

  1. Who Is The Jester In “American Pie”? Don McLean Ruled Out The Name Everyone Guessed
  2. Tina Louise’s Relationship With ‘Gilligan’s Island’ Cast Was Fraught With Conflict

The ‘Dick Van Dyke Show’ set froze upon learning about JFK’s death

 

For fans, The Dick Van Dyke Show JFK moment represents an intersection of entertainment history and national sorrow. Matthews recalled how the cast gathered in the Petrie family’s living room on set. Reiner turned on a prop radio, and everyone listened quietly to Walter Cronkite’s live broadcast about the assassination.

Production was immediately halted, and Reiner told everyone to go home. Filming resumed the following week, but the memory lingered. The episode they had been rehearsing, “Happy Birthday and Too Many More,” eventually aired months later and was one of the few filmed without a live audience due to the nation’s somber mood.

dick van dyke show jfk
President Kennedy speaking at Rice University football field. Sept. 9, 1962. He called for ‘no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space’. Sept. 9, 1962.. For Editorial Use Only

A child star’s lasting memory

Matthews recalled the experience to have been surreal, more so for a child within a comedy show. At his tender age, there was the utmost seriousness to this moment. He remembered that he saw among those around him how the adults acted, gravely stunned, and united in their grieving. It was that kind of valued moment where time stood still even on a Hollywood set.

dick van dyke show jfk
THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, from left: Dick Van Dyke, Larry Mathews, Mary Tyler Moore, 1961-1966

Twenty years later, it remains a vivid memory to Matthews, not just as a bit of history, but as an intensely human experience. His account provides an insight into the manner in which national tragedy resonates throughout all aspects of life, even life behind sitcom lenses.

More Like This

About Peace A