Jerry Van Dyke RIP

I took my mother to the emergency room this morning at 2 AM. She's fine now. But I was in the waiting room at 5 AM watching Dick Van Dyke in an infomercial, marveling at what good shape he's in in his 90s. 

Then I come home and read this on Twitter about his brother:

RIP Jerry Van Dyke. I'm glad his mother wasn't still running when it happened.

--J Elvis Weinstein
A reference to his sit-com My Mother the Car.

Jerry Van Dyke has died at 86. 

He started in comedy the same way his brother did, in the Army. Dick Van Dyke avoided becoming a tail gunner by entertaining the troops. He told Marc Maron it was why he was such an energetic performer. Jerry Van Dyke stayed out of combat in the Korean War the same way.

It seemed very strange that the Army could simply order a soldier to be a comedian, but it turns out they could do this because they would freely steal everyone else's material, something you're not supposed to do in civilian life.