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| Jerry Van Dyke in his iconic role as Luther Van Dam in the sitcom "Coach". Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/ ABC PHOTO ARCHIVES VIA GETTY IMAGES (May be subject to copyright) |
One minute he could be the bumbling incompetent assistant football coach, putting his team’s championship hopes in jeopardy. The next minute he’s the savvy analyst, spying something to help his team win.
Such was the life and times of Luther Van Dam, assistant coach to Hayden Fox, head coach of the Minnesota State Screaming Eagles then the Orlando Breakers in the durable sitcom “Coach”.
Luther was played by Jerry Van Dyke, by far his signature role, and one he played from 1989 to 1997.
When he died awhile back, I was reminded of how good an actor he was – much more than just Dick Van Dyke’s younger brother.
The dawn of the decade
As the 1980s opened, Jerry Van Dyke was firmly entrenched as a supporting actor. His most notable role was as Rob Petrie’s brother Stacey in “The Dick Van Dyke Show”. So real life brother played character’s brother.
As the 1980s opened, Jerry Van Dyke was firmly entrenched as a supporting actor. His most notable role was as Rob Petrie’s brother Stacey in “The Dick Van Dyke Show”. So real life brother played character’s brother.
He continued in guest roles throughout the decade, appearing in, “House Calls”, “Fantasy Island”, “The Love Boat”, “Newhart”, and the miniseries, “Fresno”.
Then on Feb. 28, 1989, Jerry Van Dyke played Luther Van Dam opposite Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox in the first episode of "Coach".
The show would go on to a long, healthy run, wrapping up with its 200th and final episode on May 14, 1997.
Assistant to “Coach”
Luther Van Dam was a lifelong bachelor who struggled with self-confidence off the field but was a defensive genius on the field. He loved food, with a seemingly bottomless stomach, and he had a dog, a loveable schlep named “Quincy”.
Luther Van Dam was a lifelong bachelor who struggled with self-confidence off the field but was a defensive genius on the field. He loved food, with a seemingly bottomless stomach, and he had a dog, a loveable schlep named “Quincy”.
He could be bumbling and seemingly incompetent, always getting Coach Fox into strange situations, but he always found a way out.
The best example was when the Screaming Eagles were preparing for the Pioneer Bowl and a chance at the national championship. Absent-mindedly Luther leaves the team’s playbook for the other team to find. They then expose it on national TV. Yet, after suffering a concussion, and missing most of the game, he is watching the game on TV and spots something. It is a tendency the other team has that will help the Screaming Eagles win. He madly scrambles to get the information to Hayden and does in the nick of time. It helps the Screaming Eagles go on to win the national championship.
That epitomizes Luther Van Dam to a tee.
As seen on TV
I have to admit, I did not see one episode of “Coach” in the ‘80s. Instead, it was after I returned home from university in the spring of 1991 that I got hooked on “Coach” watching re-runs. It was the first time my parents had cable TV. Since then, I caught up on much of it five or six years ago when City-TV aired re-runs two at a time on weeknights. I filled in a lot of the blanks for the first three seasons watching “Coach” on DVD. After that, I bought the entire DVD collection, which sits in my office now, waiting for me to fill in the rest of the blanks.
I have to admit, I did not see one episode of “Coach” in the ‘80s. Instead, it was after I returned home from university in the spring of 1991 that I got hooked on “Coach” watching re-runs. It was the first time my parents had cable TV. Since then, I caught up on much of it five or six years ago when City-TV aired re-runs two at a time on weeknights. I filled in a lot of the blanks for the first three seasons watching “Coach” on DVD. After that, I bought the entire DVD collection, which sits in my office now, waiting for me to fill in the rest of the blanks.
Parting thoughts
Jerry Van Dyke had a prolific career that just touched the 1980s.
Jerry Van Dyke had a prolific career that just touched the 1980s.
It is interesting that he was able to appear in a variety of different shows with his more famous brother Dick Van Dyke including “The Dick Van Dyke Show”, “The New Dick Van Dyke Show”, and “Diagnosis: Murder”. Dick even made an uncredited appearance in “Coach”.
Jerry Van Dyke would go on to have a chance to star in TV shows such as, “My Mother the Car”, but none were successful. Instead, he became a great supporting actor, all through the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and into the 21st Century. He would guest star in everything from “Teen Angel” and “Yes, Dear” to “My Name is Earl”, “The Millers”, and “The Middle”.
Jerry Van Dyke was able to carve out a place and a name in television history of his own.
It would have been easy to be over the top playing Luther as a bumbler and idiot, but Jerry Van Dyke gave a layered performance. Just when Luther appeared to be clued out, he would do something to help out Hayden or one of the other characters. He was often the voice of reason when Hayden freaked out.
Luther Van Dam was a memorable character, one that Jerry Van Dyke got to explore for 200 episodes. For his efforts, Van Dyke was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for his portrayal of Luther Van Dam in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1994.
That is quite a run.
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