Dick Van Dyke sorry for 'atrocious cockney accent' in Mary Poppins

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by JozefK, Jul 24, 2017.

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  1. JozefK

    JozefK Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
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    Dick Van Dyke sorry for 'atrocious cockney accent' in Mary Poppins

    Dick Van Dyke has apologised for the “most atrocious cockney accent in the history of cinema” more than half a century after his role in the 1964 Disney classic Mary Poppins.

    The US actor played chimney-sweep Bert in the film, and has been the subject of much teasing from fans about his famously off-radar accent.
    ---

    he has previously spoken about his turn as Bert, saying he would never be allowed to forget it.

    “People in the UK love to rib me about my accent, I will never live it down,” he said. “They ask what part of England I was meant to be from and I say it was a little shire in the north where most of the people were from Ohio.”

    He also said he was completely unaware during the shoot that anything was wrong with his attempted cockney accent. “I was working with an entire English cast and nobody said a word, not Julie [Andrews], not anybody said I needed to work on it so I thought I was alright.”​

    I've never had a major problem with his accent; it shouldn't take away from his wonderful song and dance performance. For the record, one Anthony Hopkins agrees with me.

     
  2. Michelle66

    Michelle66 Senior Member

    It's a toss up as to who has the worst cockney accent – Dick Van Dyke or these two guys:
     
  3. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Dick Van Dyke has said he had a vocal couch on Mary Poppins who led him through the accent and told him it would be fine.

    But... there is an episode of his Dick Van Dyke Show where he did a similarly bad accent. Here's what he said recently on Conan:

     
  4. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham
    In a movie where he dances (brilliantly) with cartoon penguins, realism doesn't really bother me. It was the first film I saw in a cinema and I still think he makes the movie.
     
  5. JonnyKidd

    JonnyKidd Forum Resident

    Well, it's not a huge deal compared to the rest of the movie, which was great. In my opinion, Americans tend to be a little bad at accents that are not their own. I'm sure there are great American actors who can pull off a great British accent or an Australian accent, but unfortunately not everyone is gifted with that.

    I used to think it was a terrible accent, and while some may think it, I think it's cute, and Dick van Dyke tried. So that's something at least.
     
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  6. Benno123

    Benno123 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio
    If in 50+ years this is the worst thing that can be said about Dick Van Dyke then I guess that speaks volumes on the kind of person he truly is.
     
  7. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    I like it, authentic...no.
     
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  8. Scope J

    Scope J Senior Member

    Location:
    Michigan
    It is pretty bad!

     
  9. Ginger Ale

    Ginger Ale Snackophile

    Location:
    New York
    If this becomes a trend a LOT of actors will have to apologize.
     
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  10. fitzysbuna

    fitzysbuna Senior Member

    Location:
    Australia
    it does not matter his chemistry with Julie was fantastic and is what makes the film so Dick Van Dyke don't go saying sorry over a bad accent !
     
  11. Where are you Simon

    Where are you Simon Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Wales
    His rubbish accent and over the top facial expressions have always been part of the films charm.
     
  12. Jason Pumphrey

    Jason Pumphrey Forum Resident

    The accent never bothered me, I just enjoy the film.
     
  13. cboldman

    cboldman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hamilton, OH USA
    Now he needs to apologize to penguins for his over-the-top penguin dance.
     
  14. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    It's about time. Next up, Charlie Hunnam in "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword."
     
  15. dewey02

    dewey02 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The mid-South.
    Dick Van Dyke was ahead of his time.

    He was wearing these years before M.C. Hammer, and years before young kids were wearing their pants halfway down their butts with the crotch of their pants down below their knees! :D

    And Mary Poppins was the first movie I remember seeing at the movies (I may have seen others but didn't remember them). It is still one of my favorites because of both Julie and Dick. The accent didn't bother me at all - but I figured all that time spent inside "chimleys" must have impacted his speech patterns! ;)

    [​IMG]
     
  16. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

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    Hollywood, USA
    Van Dyke's performance is so energetic and fun, I think we have to kind of give him a pass on this. It's a classic film in many ways. Walt Disney said several times before his death that he believed that Mary Poppins was the crowning achievement of every film he ever made, because it combined so much into one production.
     
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  17. quicksilverbudie

    quicksilverbudie quicksilverbudie

    Location:
    Ontario
    50 years too late Dick! :D
     
  18. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    Straight up!
     
  19. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham
    Having endured the actual Cockney accent in numerous British TV shows, I wonder what all the fuss is about...
     
  20. Jack White

    Jack White Senior Member

    Location:
    Canada
    Not news. Van Dyke has explained/ "apologized" for the accent for years. Several years ago, he appeared on the Piers Morgan's CNN talkshow. Morgan opened the interview by insulting Van Dyke, complaining about the "Mary Poppins' accent. Undeservedly gracious towards Morgan, Van Dyke explained that he had an English accent coach (from England) for that film who never said a negative word about the accent - told him he was doing great, nor did his several British co-stars (including Julie Andrews), the director, nor anyone else on the set or who had seen the rushes, including Walt Disney, himself. He thought he was doing fine and never received any feedback to the contrary. Obviously, his performance diminishes any defect in the accent.

    I'm not certain why people don't complain about actors and actresses from the UK and their affected American accents. There must be some standard trick taught to British actors in phonetically speaking with (what they think) is an American accent. It's immediately identifiable as phoney - it's that low, flat, over-extenduated quality that gives it away. I wonder if film audiences in the UK watching those American films think that these accents actually sound authentic.

    And while we're on the topic, why isn't there an outrage over Scott Bakula's atrocious New Orleans accent (NCIS: NO), which he not only slips in and out of, is completely unnecessary for the character.
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2017
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  21. razerx

    razerx Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sonoma California
    I didn't notice.
     
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  22. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham
    Nobody should have to apologise to Piers Morgan about anything. At all. Ever.
     
  23. forthlin

    forthlin Member Chris & Vickie Cyber Support Team

    I'm a Disney fanatic, Poppins is my favorite live-action Disney film. Julie Andrews/Dick Van Dyke made that movie magic, and the Sherman Bros. music was incredible.
     
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  24. Daily Nightly

    Daily Nightly Well-Known Member

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    As, equally, "unreal" as: his CARACTACUS POTTS sounding like a Midwesternero_O(!)
     
  25. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    That's a very weird accent as well. All of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a strange film -- they paid the Sherman Brothers to basically "write more Mary Poppins songs," and clearly that movie didn't work. I saw it as a kid in the theater, and thought the effects were incredibly cheesy.
     
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