All All. Sign In. In Memoriam List activity. Frank Buxton. After service in the U. Army in the Korean War, he worked in local television as a producer-director in Buffalo, N. As a film and TV actor, he has appeared in Overboard , Beaches , Frankie and Johnny , Face of a Stranger , With a Vengeance and Roommates , as well as many series and specials. He was married to Viera.
He died on 5 January in Bratislava, Slovakia. Jerry Van Dyke. Actor Soundtrack Coach β He had that same genuine likability factor, owned that same trademark lantern jaw and was just as appealing and gifted as his older brother, Dick Van Dyke , but, for decades, Jerry Van Dyke bore the brunt of his brother's overwhelming shadow. Six years younger than brother Dick, the comic actor was born on July 27, , in Danville, Illinois.
Raised there, the crew cut blond showed an aptitude for clowning in high school. His stand-up comedy venues first took the form of dives and strip clubs throughout the Deep South in which his banjo-playing became an intricate part of the routine.
At one point, Jerry was a regular on the Playboy club circuit. He then set his sights on the top showrooms in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Atlantic City and became a dependable opening act. Jerry's early career should have been rightfully interrupted when he joined the Air Force in He, instead, kept the troops laughing by performing in Special Services shows. Following his tour of duty, he nabbed variety appearances and a regular comic relief role on The Judy Garland Show He found comic acting parts as well on TV.
Like brother Dick, who was a huge TV star by this time, Jerry also did a stint emceeing a game show. In Jerry's case, it was Picture This Ever the hapless klutz and happy-go-lucky stammerer, Jerry built up his TV reputation in the early 60s. He turned down the title role in Gilligan's Island , which he rightfully deemed inane, but instead chose the equally silly My Mother the Car It proved to be a detrimental career move.
