The Dick Van Dyke Show centered on the work and home life of television comedy writer Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke), the head writer for the fictional Alan Brady Show in New York, who lived in suburban New Rochelle, New York with his stylish wife Laura Petrie (Mary Tyler Moore) and young son Ritchie (Larry Mathews).
In 1944, Van Dyke enlisted in the Army Air Corps to help with the war effort. He was stationed in Frederick, Oklahoma. While there, Van Dyke met Byron Paul, a fellow Air Force cadet and radio showman who was looking for an announcer.