Diantha Mills
Beloved comedian and actor Dick Van Dyke and his first wife, Margie Willett, had an unusual marriage, beginning with their nuptials. A live audience of about 15 million people saw the young couple exchange vows during a radio broadcast. Van Dyke stated to The Guardian in 2016 that “we were financially strapped to get married, but a radio producer was willing to pick up the tab and send us on honeymoon if we got married on his show.” He had grown up in Danville, Illinois, where he had known Willett.
Despite facing financial difficulties in their early marriage, she remained by his side as his career gradually took off. However, the celebrity also brought with it issues.
According to the Daily Mail, Margie Willett detested Hollywood and preferred the peaceful Arizona desert where the couple purchased a property in the 1960s. Her main priority was raising their four kids. In the 1970s, Van Dyke and Margie sought therapy; she for prescription drug abuse, and he for alcoholism. In 1984, the pair called it quits on their lengthy marriage. Following Van Dyke’s admission that he had been having an ongoing extramarital affair, their marriage ended. Following the divorce, Willett led a quiet life until passing away in 2008 from pancreatic disease.
Margie Willett – Those Initial Years
Dick Van Dyke, then twenty years of age, started dating Margie Willett in 1945. Despite their love, Van Dyke left Danville to pursue a career in show business, leading a comedy team called the Merry Mutes with Phil Erickson in Los Angeles. Willett stayed in Danville. “She frequently asked when I was going to send for her,” he said in “My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business.”We were engaged, so her clues became less veiled as time passed.” Following their unique nuptials, Willett miscarried twins and the couple made their home in Los Angeles. Following her recuperation, Erikson drove the Merry Mutes from Reno to Miami to Atlanta.
Before making his breakthrough in the film industry, Van Dyke soon started appearing on television and later on Broadway, according to ” Honouring the Achievements of the Older Generation: Living Life to the Full.”As her husband’s Hollywood career took off with his famous sitcom “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and films like “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” Willett, who was described as “earthy and artistic,” wore her hair short, didn’t use makeup, and preferred to keep out of the spotlight. This was according to The Guardian. With four children in the household, the couple’s paths started to separate.
Dick Van Dyke and Margie Willett Living Their Separate Life
The Tribune reports that Dick Van Dyke and Margie Willett rekindled their vows on their eighteenth wedding anniversary. However, Van Dyke’s alcoholism had begun to cause the marriage to fall apart. According to the Daily Mail, Willett checked herself in for her Librium addiction on the day he was discharged from treatment in 1972. Willett then withdrew to their ranch in Arizona. On the property, she and her family had discovered the remains of an ancient Hohokam Native American settlement. She wrote a book titled “Keep Moving: And Other Tips and Truths About Ageing” in 1982, which discussed the discovery.
Amazing details regarding Margie Willett Margie Willett was a reclusive individual who shied away from the spotlight and never gave any personal information. Even after marrying a well-known Hollywood figure, she managed to hide her life and kids from the paparazzi. These fascinating details of her early years, marriage, kids, and passing away are provided. Her birth year was the late 1920s. What is the birthday of Margie Willett? The ex-wife of Dick Van Dyke was born in Danville, Illinois, on November 3, 1927. She was a white citizen of the United States.
In 1948, Margie Willett Wed Van Dyke
1947 saw the couple’s meeting in Danville. They moved to Los Angeles, California, where they were married, and after a month of courting, they became engaged. On February 12, 1948, they exchanged vows on ABC Radio’s Bride and Groom live broadcast programme. They were too poor at the time, so the same show paid for both their honeymoon and their tickets. Willet did not remarry.
Willett never reconnected with anyone after her divorce from the star.
Conversely, Van Dyke dated Michelle Triola Marvin, who passed away in 2009 after 35 years of marriage. After that, in 2012, he wed Arlene Silver, a cosmetics artist 46 years his junior.
Margie Willett had four children. Two daughters and two sons made up the former couple’s family of four. Willett lost twins during a pregnancy that ended earlier in their marriage. Christian, her eldest son, was born on May 13, 1950.
A Few Words
He began his acting career on the Van Dyke Show, but he eventually moved into the legal profession. He is the husband of Caroline Heller, with whom he has a boy and a girl. Barry, Margie Willett’s second son, was born on July 31, 1951. He pursued his dream of becoming a Hollywood actor, just like his father. His performances in Diagnosis Murder, Heavenly Deposit, and Remington Steele are what made him most famous. The actor and Mary Carey are wed, and together, their kids number four.
