Dick Van Dyke’s boyhood home in Danville, Illinois, was recently spared from a wrecking ball.
“Danville is a special place where as I look back at those days on Hazel Street, I realize how lucky I was to have been born in my generation,” said Van Dyke, 91.
“My childhood was more like Huck Finn than millennial.”
He talks about adventures with his younger brother Jerry Van Dyke.
“When school was out, the barefoot summers were mine! I didn’t know we were poor, I didn’t know what stress was. It was all adventure. It was all play! Now all these years later, I get to share Jerry’s and my little Midwest town with the world!”
Once in a state of disrepair, the Danville home is soon to be restored as a landmark by The Dick Van Dyke foundation and the people of Danville.
“Van Dyke also visits his old high school and meets with the marching band and the drama club to share inspiration and tell stories of his days in school,” says a news release. “Before it’s all over, Dick even talks about a man he used to work for named Walt.”
“Welcome Home” — produced by Laugh-O-Gram Studios with Dillon Spears, Lance Kirkland and Arlene Van Dyke — will screen Saturday, July 22, at San Diego’s Marriott Marquis and Marina Hotel.