Blast From the Past: Dick Van Dyke Schlepped Here

Although Colorado is known for its stunning scenery, it hasn’t had as many starring roles in TV shows and movies as states like New Mexico and Utah, which offer much larger economic incentives for production companies. Still, a few obscure TV shows have filmed in Denver, which for a time in the late ’80s also became the unlikely setting for the revived Perry Mason series. (Man mountain Raymond Burr did a heroic acting turn in one episode, persuading a jury that he was in a wheelchair because of a ski accident.)

But then, for two glorious seasons three decades ago, Dick Van Dyke — the iconic star who just turned 100 — filmed Diagnosis: Murder in Denver, providing dozens of jobs for residents (as well as his own relatives, including son Barry Van Dyke, who played a police detective) and giving the city another turn in the spotlight.

It started fairly ignominously: Dr. Mark Sloan, a former United States Army doctor who had a yen for solving crimes, was introduced in a 1991 episode of the forgettable Jake and the Fatman. From there, the doc moved into three made-for-TV movies, the first two made in Vancouver. But Viacom filmed the third in Denver, taking advantage of the soundstages it had built in the old Lowenstein Theater (today the Tattered Cover) and actual Denver courtrooms spruced up for Perry Mason.

The weekly Diagnosis: Murder series debuted on CBS in October 1993. The first eight episodes were not only shot here but set here, giving viewers a look at the old St. Luke’s Hospital (Community General Hospital on the show) and other familiar settings. And the cast and crew frequented local establishments; Van Dyke reportedly stopped by the legendary Bar Bar.

Then, suddenly, it was over. The entire show picked up and shifted to Los Angeles with no explanation for the new setting. Diagnosis: Murder went on for six more seasons, as well as two additional TV movies.

In Dick Van Dyke’s long career, his time in Denver was barely a blip. But for a time, Dr. Mark Sloan was very good for what ails our local film industry.

An only-in-Denver footnote: Unfortunately, Dick Van Dyke’s celebrity was not enough to save the oldest house on Stoneman’s Row, a historic block at the start of Highland, from the wrecking ball. Although his Diagnosis: Murder stand-in had lived in that Victorian bungalow, and even fought to get the block on the history registry, the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission did not consider that connection culturally significant. The home was delisted in 2007, and soon demolished. There’s no cure for that…