Opening up in his new autobiography My Lucky Life In And Out Of Show Business, he explained: “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was a movie that I repeatedly turned down. He also felt that there were several 'plot holes' and 'unanswered questions' During production, the twice-married star’s first wife Margie Willett was taken seriously ill forcing Dick to return to his native US, something he claimed that film bosses had been fine with, but later went back on. He recalled: “As we shuttled between London and the South of France, Margie suffered health problems.
A local doctor surmised she might have cervical cancer. She took the kids back home to California and underwent a series of medical tests.
Sally Ann Howes took on the female lead and Dick's love interest of Truly Scrumptious after Julie Andrews turned it down “”When I told Cubby that I needed to go home and be with my wife while she had more examinations, he understood and wished me well. “I was gone only a few days. Margie’s tests came back negative and I jetted back to Europe, only to have my agent inform me that Cubby had docked me $80,000 for missing work. Furious, I didn’t want to talk to him after that, which wasn’t good since I was already unimpressed with the director, Ken Hughes. Quite simply, I thought he was wrong for the picture. One day I heard him grouse that he had to rewrite Roald Dahl’s script. Who rewrote Roald Dahl?” He surmised: “I know the film is beloved by many but for me it lacked the magic of Mary Poppins, which its producer had hoped to emulate.” Dick's other film credits include Bye Bye Birdie, Dick Tracy, plus, Night At The Museum and its two sequels.
Dick Van Dyke’s book My Lucky Life In And Out Of Show Business is released on August 4 by John Blake Publishing. ©News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. 'The Sun', 'Sun', 'Sun Online' are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's in accordance with our.