Bill Persky

Kate & Allie, I feel like maybe there were just one or two auditions filmed for the people in California, because it shot in New York and the audition was in New York.

So I think Bill Persky was in the room and some of the other creators.

But otherwise...

That's interesting.

Maybe because in life I had a boyfriend, they thought I, I inspired, I inspired the, what I'd be capable to tap into, I guess.

Here, I'm just looking at this photo.

I went to Bill Persky's 95th birthday party like a week ago, and this is a photo of us at one of the live tapings where he would come out and open the show and introduce everybody, and I hadn't seen a photo like this in a long time, so.

It's good.

Um, so I don't think it wa- I, I always took it as a pretty great challenge to get in an audition room and like nail it.

So, um, but I remember Bill Persky being in there, who was, and still is, he just celebrated his 95th birthday.

I went to his birthday party.

Wow.

Right.

And I think I had just finished On Golden Pond.

And Bill Persky was the director, right? A lot? Was that right?

Mm-hmm.

Good thing there was no bad reception in Albany, the upstate New York town near where Van Dusen grew up.

He got so into the show that by the time it was being rerun on Nick at Nite in the '90s, he was reaching out to cast members, writers, producers, just about everybody connected to the series, including creator Carl Reiner, Rose Marie, writer-producer Bill Persky, Mary Tyler Moore, and even Van Dyke himself.

Van Dusen chronicles it all in his new digital book, From Fandom to Friendships: Extraordinary Encounters and Rare Treasures with The Dick Van Dyke Show Cast.

As he says, "I never imagined that simply loving a television series would lead to lifelong friendships with the people who created it." He shares those connections on his fun and lively podcast, Tripping Over the Ottoman, where in mid-October he'll feature a conversation with Larry Matthews.

Oh.

And I know it's a bit unusual, uh, but I loved...

And I don't know if that was a, um, Bill, uh, you know, the, the writing team there that, uh, Bill Persky and, uh, Denoff.

Was that one of their, or that was a Gary Marshall show, but-