Margie Willett was Dick Van Dyke’s first wife and the mother of his four children. She knew the actor before television fame and film roles eventually made him a household name. Their marriage began in 1948, when money was tight and his entertainment career was still taking shape. Over the following decades, they shared the demands of raising a family as his professional life changed.
Her story includes an unusual radio wedding, years spent caring for their children, and personal difficulties that eventually led to divorce. Van Dyke’s own recollections offer a glimpse of a woman who valued privacy and had little interest in Hollywood social life. Looking at her early years, marriage, and later life helps place Margie Willett within the family history that accompanied his long public career.
Quick Bio
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Margie Willett, also named Margerie Willett in Van Dyke’s official biography |
| Nationality | American |
| Hometown | Danville, Illinois, United States |
| Known For | Dick Van Dyke’s first wife |
| Former Spouse | Dick Van Dyke, American actor and comedian |
| Wedding | Married on the Bride and Groom radio show in Los Angeles |
| Marriage Year | 1948 |
| Divorce Year | 1984, after a long separation |
| Children | Christian, Barry, Stacy, and Carrie Beth Van Dyke |
| Public Life | Preferred life outside Hollywood’s spotlight |
| Death Year | 2008, according to Dick Van Dyke’s account |
| Cause of Death | Pancreatic cancer |
Margie Willett’s Early Life and Background
Margie Willett spent her childhood years in Danville, Illinois. Genealogical profiles list her birth in Attica, Indiana, in 1927, while her marriage record also identifies Indiana as her birth state. Those genealogical profiles place her in Danville by 1940, showing the difference between where she was born and where she spent her younger years.
Her marriage record identifies her as Marjorie Ann Terrell and names her parents as William E. Terrell and Mayme Peterson. At 21 years old, she still listed Danville as her home. She had known Dick Van Dyke there for years, although detailed accounts of her schooling and childhood interests remain limited in reliable published sources.
How Margie and Dick’s Relationship Began
Dick Van Dyke remembered beginning his romance with Margie when he was 20. By then, their acquaintance had already lasted several years. He later described her as artistic and down to earth when looking back on their life together. Their courtship began while his future in the entertainment industry was still uncertain, before television or major film roles brought him wider recognition.
As they grew closer, Dick pursued work as a performer. In 1947, he formed a comedy partnership with Phil Erickson and toured West Coast nightclubs. The couple’s finances were limited, which affected their plans to marry. They wanted a wedding but needed help covering the cost, a practical problem that would shape how they eventually exchanged their vows.
A Radio Wedding Before Hollywood Fame
Margie Willett and Dick Van Dyke married on February 12, 1948, during a live broadcast of Bride and Groom. Dick was performing at the Chapman Park Hotel in Los Angeles when he met the program’s producer. After hearing that the young entertainer wanted to marry but could not afford it, the producer offered to pay for the wedding and honeymoon.
To bring Margie to California, Dick borrowed money for a one-way train ticket. They exchanged vows in the hotel chapel, standing before a minister and two radio microphones. In his memoir, Dick estimated that 15 million people listened to the ceremony. Their wedding became a public event years before his television success.
The program also provided their rings, and the couple received household appliances, as well as a honeymoon at Mount Hood, Oregon. These gifts helped them begin married life while money remained scarce as Dick pursued work. Dick’s later recollections describe the early years of their marriage as financially difficult and often spent on the road. Over the following years, performing jobs took them through Los Angeles, Atlanta, and New Orleans, before Dick secured a CBS television contract in 1955 and moved his family to New York.
Raising Four Children with Dick Van Dyke
Margie Willett and Dick Van Dyke raised two sons and two daughters. Christian was born in 1950, Barry in 1951, Stacy around 1955, and Carrie Beth in 1961. Before their first child, Dick recalled that Margie had miscarried twins. He later credited her with much of the work of raising them and praised her for keeping the children grounded.
Christian and Barry both appeared in the same episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show as children. Christian eventually qualified as a lawyer, served as district attorney for Marion County, Oregon, and worked in senior roles at Nike and Patagonia. Barry continued in acting and became known for playing Detective Steve Sloan alongside his father in Diagnosis: Murder.
Stacy’s interest in performing developed through school plays and later extended to theater and television. She performed with the Barnstormers at the Windmill Dinner Theater in Phoenix, and her credits included The New Dick Van Dyke Show and Diagnosis: Murder. Carrie Beth made brief appearances in The New Dick Van Dyke Show before largely stepping away from public life. She married actor and musician Kevin McNally in 1983, and the couple had two children.
Carrie Beth’s birth coincided with the first season of Dick’s successful sitcom, as the family entered a period of greater public visibility. Dick encouraged Barry to finish school before acting professionally, and Barry recalled trips to England and Hawaii while his father worked on location. Barry also remembered his father as playful and attentive, recalling lessons about making choices and becoming his own person. These memories suggest how performance and family life sometimes overlapped during their upbringing, while each child later developed a different relationship with the entertainment industry.
Family Life Away from Hollywood’s Spotlight
At show-business events, Margie Willett sometimes found herself overlooked as guests tried to speak to her husband. Dick later recalled that she had little fondness for Hollywood’s social scene. He remembered her short hair and preference for going without makeup, details that contributed to strangers occasionally mistaking the couple for brother and sister.
Fame also brought confusion between Dick’s screen marriage and his real one. He said audiences were so convinced he was married to Mary Tyler Moore that checking into hotels with Margie could become awkward. In another recollection, Margie bought six copies of a magazine featuring him, and the cashier asked whether she was his mother.
The couple also bought a horse ranch in Arizona. Dick agreed to make his 1971 sitcom, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, on the condition that it was produced near his home in Cave Creek. Margie later spent more time at their desert ranch, according to his memoir. These accounts suggest that distance from Hollywood became increasingly important to her personal life.
Marital Struggles, Separation, and Their Eventual Divorce
The pressures within Margie Willett’s marriage became increasingly difficult during the 1970s. In 1972, Dick Van Dyke spent three weeks in hospital receiving treatment for alcoholism. Shortly afterward, Margie entered the same hospital for an addiction to prescription medication, according to his later account. Dick acknowledged that drinking had affected family life and described their addictions as signs of deeper problems in the relationship. He also recalled experiencing relapses while trying to remain sober.
During this period, Dick grew close to Michelle Triola, a former performer working as his agent’s secretary. Their friendship developed into an affair while he was still married. In Keep Moving, he recalled feeling guilty and deciding, by 1976, that he had to be honest about the relationship. After he admitted the affair, he and Margie lived separate lives. Their decision to separate did not immediately lead to a divorce, and the legal marriage continued for several more years.
The divorce was finalized in 1984, 36 years after their wedding. All four children had reached adulthood before the divorce. Dick remained with Triola, and their relationship continued until her death in 2009, although they never married. His public accounts link the end of his first marriage to addiction, emotional distance, and his affair. These explanations reflect his own recollections of the marriage. Margie’s perspective was less publicly documented, which leaves limited grounds for claiming exactly what she felt or how she regarded their final separation.
Margie’s Private Life After the Divorce
After the divorce, Margie Willett continued living away from public attention. Published accounts describe her later years as quiet, but offer few details about her everyday activities or personal relationships. Her life during this period is much less documented than the marriage that brought her name into entertainment coverage.
Her interests outside Hollywood had developed before the marriage officially ended. She and her family discovered remains of an ancient Hohokam village on their Arizona property. Dick later recalled that she published a book about the discovery in 1982. That earlier project offers a glimpse of her personal interest in Arizona’s ancient history beyond her identity as a famous actor’s wife.
Her Final Years and Family Legacy
Margie Willett died of pancreatic cancer. Dick Van Dyke placed her death in 2008 in a later interview, although some published profiles give 2007. In his memoir, he wrote, “Even though we were long divorced, with her death I lost a part of myself.” The comment reflects the lasting significance of their shared history.
Her family legacy extends to another generation of performers. Barry’s sons, Shane and Carey Van Dyke, also worked in entertainment and appeared in Diagnosis: Murder alongside their father and grandfather. Shane went on to direct the feature film Titanic II, adding filmmaking to the family’s screen careers.
Dick’s recollections also acknowledge the work Margie put into raising their children and keeping them grounded. Her contribution to their upbringing remains an important part of the family story, alongside the more visible achievements of its actors and filmmakers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Margie Willett?
Margie Willett was Dick Van Dyke’s first wife and the mother of his four children. They married in 1948 on live radio.
How did Margie Willett meet Dick Van Dyke?
They knew each other while growing up in Danville, Illinois. Dick later said they began dating when he was 20.
How many children did Margie Willett have?
Margie had four children with Dick: Christian, Barry, Stacy, and Carrie Beth Van Dyke.
Why did Margie Willett and Dick Van Dyke divorce?
He linked their divorce to addiction, growing emotional distance, and his affair with Michelle Triola. They divorced in 1984 after a long separation.
When did Margie Willett die?
Van Dyke said she died of pancreatic cancer in 2008, although PEOPLE and some published accounts give 2007.
Conclusion
Margie Willett shared Dick Van Dyke’s early struggles, his rise to fame, and the responsibility of raising four children. Their marriage ended after years of personal difficulties, but his later recollections acknowledged her work as a mother and the impact of her death.
Her life also included interests outside Hollywood, such as her involvement in an archaeological discovery. Together, these details offer a fuller picture of a largely private life.
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