Child Star Larry Mathews Recalls Crying, Feeling ‘Devastated’ When “The” “Dick Van Dyke Show” Came to an End

Tereza ShkurtajSat, October 17, 2026 at 9:59 AM UTC

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Larry Mathews; ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’ cast.Credit: Tara Ziemba/Getty; CBS/Alamy -

Larry Mathews recently recalled crying at the wrap party when The Dick Van Dyke Show ended, describing the cast as his second family

He also opened up about struggling to return to school at the age of 10 after years of being tutored on set

As an adult, Mathews earned a theater arts degree from UCLA and has built a career in television production

Larry Mathews was just 5 years old when he joined one of television’s most celebrated sitcoms, but saying goodbye to The Dick Van Dyke Show proved far more difficult than he could have imagined.

Playing Ritchie Petrie, the young son of Rob and Laura Petrie, Mathews spent his formative years surrounded by a cast that became a second family. When the CBS sitcom concluded its five-season run in 1966, he faced the prospect of losing the daily routine and close relationships that had defined much of his childhood.

During the latest episode of Tripping Over The Ottoman, co-hosted by David Van Deusen, the series’ historian and archivist, Mathews opened up about the emotional experience of filming his final days on the show at age 10.

“I mean, keep in mind…I started when [I was] 5… and so absolutely, I was aware, and I was really emotional about it,” Mathews said of the show ending. “And, you know, in the wrap party, I cried because I remembered that we weren’t going to be with each other.”

Dick Van Dyke, young Larry Mathews, and Mary Tyler Moore in ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show.’Credit: Courtesy of Larry Mathews

The sitcom, which aired on CBS from 1961 to 1966, produced 158 episodes and earned 15 Emmy Awards.

While audiences followed the humorous domestic life of Rob Petrie, played by Dick Van Dyke, and his wife Laura, portrayed by Mary Tyler Moore, Mathews was growing up alongside the performers, bringing that fictional family to life.

For the young actor, the series finale meant more than finishing a job. The people he worked with had become an important part of his everyday life, making the end of production feel like a personal loss.

“I was very sad for me. As a child, I’d grown up. This is my other family besides my… home family. But they were really like more of a family to me in a lot of ways,” Mathews told Van Deusen. “I was kind of devastated that we weren’t going to wake up the next week and come in and do a show and be with my family members.”

Mary Tyler Moore and young Larry Mathews.Credit: Courtesy of Larry Mathews

The experience offered Mathews his first real glimpse into the “transient” nature of the entertainment business. While the adult cast members understood that productions end and new opportunities follow, he was still learning what that meant.

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“I think [the cast was] a lot more like, ‘Yep, we know we’re moving on. We got stuff,’ and, you know, Dick had stuff, and Mary… But for me, it’s my first experience of leaving a family, as it were, right? And then not being able to see them again,” Mathews explained.

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David Van Deusen and Larry Mathews.Credit: Courtesy of Larry Mathews

Mathews’ adjustment, however, did not end when filming stopped. Returning to a traditional classroom presented another challenge for the young actor, whose education had taken place differently while he worked on the sitcom.

On the podcast, he explained that he had skipped a grade while receiving lessons from a private tutor on set, leaving him to navigate an unfamiliar school environment when he returned.

“No, it was horrible, actually,” Mathews said of the transition to public school. The change was especially difficult because advancing from first grade to third grade meant returning to classmates that he didn’t know.

Larry Mathews and his wife.Credit: Courtesy of Larry Mathews

“I went back to the next year in third grade. And they were all like…’Oh, who’s this kid? He thinks he’s special,’” Mathews recalled. “And so it was very difficult for me until I got in high school, and then the whole switch flipped, and it was the most wonderful experience.”

After attending Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif., Mathews graduated from UCLA with a major in theater arts. He later worked in television production and post-production sales while continuing to take on occasional acting and voiceover roles before retiring.

Away from the spotlight, Mathews has been married to his wife, Jennifer, for nearly 40 years.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”