Model, actress, and philanthropist Margie Willett co-starred in commercials and short films alongside her husband. She is most known for being Dick Van Dyke’s first wife.
How did Margie Willett live before she met Dick Van Dyke? How long did they stay together? What transpired following the dissolution of their marriage? On this page, you can find the solutions to these and other questions.
On April 13, 1927, Margie was born in Denver, Colorado. The family was not wealthy, and she only had one sibling. Her mother manufactured their garments to sell at local markets while her father worked as a bartender on the weekends. It’s unclear if they were ever close. But they were far enough apart that Margie had to move away from home at the age of 15. Live in Denver with a relative who could look after her and work to support the family.
The decision to leave was made because Mary was not being well cared for by the relative. She was staying with, and Margie’s mother had become more belligerent and demanding. The parents did not want their daughters to work despite their struggles. Even though they would typically be at home on Friday nights. They were forbidden from working since they could be seen in Denver markets and someone would recognise them. They were still required to cover all costs, including a school uniform.
There were numerous advertisements portraying stunning ladies in military uniforms posing with guns and stretchers with the tagline “Join the Navy Nurse Corps” during the early stages of the war as Americans prepared to send young men to battle in Europe. Margie made the decision to sign up as one of these girls after seeing one of these adverts. She was used as a model for Navy Nurse Corps clothing and appeared in a number of highly effective advertisements, some of which ran in Life Magazine.
She first met actor and singer Richard Van Dyke while he was performing at a Denver nightclub while she was working as a model. They left the club and went to her cousin’s place. They met Mary, Margie’s sister, who had been told she might leave her relative’s home and return to live with the parents if things at home got better. The situation didn’t improve much however, and Margie later discovered that her mother had sent her father on a business trip so that she could return immediately away.
A press conference with Margie Willett and Dick Van Dyke:
Dick Van Dyke and Margie Willett made the decision to rent a house and let Mary stay with them till things improved after Margie informed them of the difficult living conditions in her home and the fact that Mary was not receiving sufficient care at the place she was staying at. When this failed to materialise, they went Mary to a lawyer in an effort to have a legal guardian appointed for her.
Dick Van Dyke once stopped by Margie’s dressing area at the nightclub where she had worked merely to say hello because there was a poster of him there. Margie responded that she was unfamiliar with him and enquired as to how he had heard of her. While Margie was performing, they began dating after she gave him her phone number and he admitted that he had seen her poster.
Dick made the decision to pop the question to Margie despite the unsanitary living circumstances in her home and the fact that she was earning thousands of dollars each week working as a model. Dick was earning just about $75 for a personal appearance at this time and was not highly known. Margie inquired, “How can you afford to take care of me and pay my bills?” when he first proposed to her. Dick responded that he would worry about the money later; for now, all he needed was her response.
Dick Van Dyke and Margie Willett Marriage, Work, Death
On June 20, 1949, Margie and Dick were wed in Los Angeles. They relocated to New York and then to Hollywood to be around other people who worked in the entertainment industry as Dick’s career grew and they both began to earn more money than they’d ever imagined. They acquired a house in Hollywood that Margie had designed, and she furnished it with Wayne Coyne furnishings. The couple didn’t have kids, but they did adopt a few animals.
Dick Van Dyke and Margie Willett were wed for how long? Margie Willett, a dancer, was Dick Van Dyke’s first wife, and they were married for 15 years. From June 20, 1949, until just before their divorce was finally formalised in November 1964, they were married. Age 73, Margie Willett passed away on February 5, 1998.
In November 1964, Margie Willett and Dick Van Dyke got divorced. Before the divorce was officially formalised, they had been living apart for about five years. After their divorce was formalised, the couple remained friends and shared property up until Margie’s passing on February 5, 1998, at the age of 73. Her sister Mary Tisdale Miskulin, who also passed away in 1998, was left to care for her.
Richard was always referred to as “Dick” by Margie Willett. She spent nearly a year working as a nurse at Women in Distress, also known as Women’s Emergency Shelter, an agency that took in battered women and their children. She also briefly attended nursing school.
Margie Willett, who had long battled Alzheimer’s disease, passed away on February 5, 1998, at the age of 73. Alzheimer’s and pneumonia-related problems led to Margie Willett’s death in Los Angeles. Margie Willett’s remains were burned and dispersed in the water off Malibu, California.
Conclusion-
Margie Willett was a great model and actress, but she will be best known for her role as Dick Van Dyke’s wife. We send her family, friends, and supporters our sincere sympathies.
When Margie Willett worked as a model and made appearances in a few television programmes, she briefly worked in the entertainment industry. She and her husband Dick Van Dyke also collaborated on the well-received movie “Gay Purr-ee.”
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