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The Dick Van Dyke Show

A Bird in the Head Hurts

  • Episode aired Dec 5, 1962
  • TV-GTV-G
  • 30m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
192
YOUR RATING
S2.E11
  • S2
  • E11
All episodes
All
  • Cast & crew
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Morey Amsterdam in The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)
  • Comedy
  • Family
Ritchie claims he keeps being attacked by a giant woodpecker.Ritchie claims he keeps being attacked by a giant woodpecker.Ritchie claims he keeps being attacked by a giant woodpecker.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
192
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • John Rich
  • Writer
    • Carl Reiner
  • Stars
    • Dick Van Dyke
    • Rose Marie
    • Morey Amsterdam
Top credits
  • Director
    • John Rich
  • Writer
    • Carl Reiner
  • Stars
    • Dick Van Dyke
    • Rose Marie
    • Morey Amsterdam
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

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    Top cast

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    Dick Van Dyke
    Dick Van Dyke
    • Rob Petrieas Rob Petrie
    Rose Marie
    Rose Marie
    • Sally Rogersas Sally Rogers
    Morey Amsterdam
    Morey Amsterdam
    • Buddy Sorrellas Buddy Sorrell
    Larry Mathews
    Larry Mathews
    • Ritchie Petrieas Ritchie Petrie
    Mary Tyler Moore
    Mary Tyler Moore
    • Laura Petrieas Laura Petrie
    Ann Morgan Guilbert
    Ann Morgan Guilbert
    • Millie Helperas Millie Helper
    Cliff Norton
    Cliff Norton
    • Game Wardenas Game Warden
    • Director
      • John Rich
    • Writer
      • Carl Reiner
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit
    Ritchie comes running into the house scared and in tears. He claims that he was being eaten by a giant woodpecker. Laura knows he is obviously crying wolf - or in this case crying woodpecker - but she does whatever she can to calm him down. When a concerned Laura, not knowing what to do, tells Rob, they try to figure out the cause for Ritchie needing this attention. Regardless, Rob believes that playing along with Ritchie and saying that he killed the woodpecker may finally calm Ritchie down for good, but when what they believe the cause for needing that attention no longer exists (a fight with neighbor Freddie Helper) and Ritchie again comes crying into the house saying that he was being eaten by that giant woodpecker, Rob and Laura come to a different conclusion based on information from Millie. Rob and Laura's problem then becomes how not to sound like they too are crying wolf - or crying woodpecker - without sounding crazy. Rob ultimately feels he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. —Huggo
    • woodpecker
    • cage
    • game warden
    • hair
    • deductive reasoning
    • 14 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Genres
      • Comedy
      • Family
    • Certificate
      • TV-G
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      The woodpecker that attacked Richie's head is not a woodpecker but appears to be a troupial, either a Venezuelan troupial which is the national bird of Venezuela or the Campo troupial which is native to eastern Brazil. These birds are members of the Icterid family, New World passerines that include blackbirds, orioles, meadowlarks, etc There are three species of troupial found in the world, at one time all three species were thought to be con-specific and were lumped under the common name Orange-backed troupial. None of these birds are native to the US. These birds are orange and black which is in line with what was mentioned about the bird in the show.
    • Quotes

      Buddy Sorrell: You know why your kid makes up these weird stories about being attacked by big birds?

      Rob Petrie: Why?

      Buddy Sorrell: 'Cause you live in the suburbs.

      Sally Rogers: What're you talking about?

      Buddy Sorrell: Well, if he lived in the city like any normal kid, he'd be attacked by a nice street gang.

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • December 5, 1962 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Desilu Cahuenga Studios, 846 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Calvada Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      30 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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