Child Star Larry Mathews Shares Behind-The-Scenes Stories From ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’

Larry Mathews was just 5 years old when he secured the role of his lifetime playing opposite Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore as their onscreen son Ritchie on The Dick Van Dyke Show, which aired from 1961-1966. Growing up in a strict Sicilian Catholic family, Mathews, the sixth of seven children, is one of the very few people who can say he spent his childhood working with comic geniuses like Van Dyke, Moore, Carl Reiner, Morey Amsterdam, Jerry Paris and Rose Marie. Here Mathews, 69, talks with us about his memories on set, along with his enduring love and respect for his onscreen family.

What memory still sticks with you regarding first meeting Dick, your TV dad?