Video: PBS Unveils Trailer for New Dick Van Dyke Documentary Feat. Julie Andrews, Martin Short, & More

In celebration of the centennial birthday of Dick Van Dyke, PBS is releasing a new documentary film chronicling the life and career of the Emmy, Tony and Grammy-winning star. American Masters – Starring Dick Van Dyke will premiere nationwide Friday, December 12 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS, just ahead of Van Dyke’s 100th birthday on December 13.

In the newly released trailer, friends, colleagues, and showbiz giants such as Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, Martin Short, Jim Carrey, Ted Danson, Steve Martin, and Conan O’Brien all praise the performer, whose career and reach have spanned the worlds of comedy, television, film, and Broadway. Also included are archival interviews with Van Dyke’s former costars and colleagues, including Walter Cronkite, Sheldon Leonard, Rose Marie, Mary Tyler Moore and Carl Reiner.

“[Dick] Van Dyke is a national treasure,” said filmmaker John Scheinfeld. “Like so many others, I grew up loving his iconic TV series and his classic movies and it was an absolute joy to come to work every day with my team to produce the definitive exploration of an extraordinary career.”

At 99 years old, Dick Van Dyke continues to remain one of the most popular and beloved performers in show business history. After winning a Tony for Bye Bye Birdie, he returned to the stage in the 1970s and '80s with national tours of The Music Man and Damn Yankees.

In 1961, his superstar status was solidified with the debut of The Dick Van Dyke Show on CBS, winning three Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy over the course of its six-season run. On the big screen, he starred in Bye Bye Birdie and Mary Poppins (1964). Other films include Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), The Comic (1969), Dick Tracy (1990), the Night At The Museum films, the HBO documentary If You're Not In The Obit, Eat Breakfast (2017), and Mary Poppins Returns (2018).

The filmmaker behind Starring Dick Van Dyke is John Scheinfeld, whose previous work includes writing, producing and directing the American Masters film This Is...Bob Hope, as well as theatrical documentaries The U.S. vs. John Lennon, Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary, The Happy Days of Garry Marshall and What The Hell Happened To Blood, Sweat & Tears?.

This is one of two documentaries releasing this year to coincide with the 100th birthday of the legendary performer. The other film, titled Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration, is being released in theaters by Fathom Entertainment this December. Learn more about that title here.