For years, Larry Mathews was known to viewers as Richie Petrie, the young son on The Dick Van Dyke Show.
When the Emmy-winning sitcom ended in 1966, Mathews’ time in front of the camera paused—and his path back to Hollywood wasn’t as simple as he had expected. In an interview with PEOPLE shared on Saturday, October 24, he said, “I basically started from scratch.”
Mathews was 10 when the show wrapped. He returned to school and eventually earned a theater degree from UCLA. With his former agents representing him again, he updated his headshots and went on auditions, believing his childhood role would give him a leg up against other actors.
Instead, he said he often found himself competing with dozens of others for a part. The experience was a far cry from his audition for creator Carl Reiner, who had worked with him one-on-one. Mathews later described the crowded rooms and cold readings as discouraging. “I just got very, very discouraged and very down,” he recalled to the outlet.
Rather than keep pushing through auditions, Mathews looked for another way to stay in the entertainment business. He approached Ryan Jacobs, an associate producer who led Danny Thomas Productions, and asked for a chance to work behind the scenes.
READ MORE: Dick Van Dyke Says These Two Habits Helped Him Reach 100 Years Old
He started as a production assistant, taking on basic tasks and reading scripts, then moved into post-production. Mathews worked on the sitcom Soap and its spinoff Benson, eventually becoming a post-production manager.
When Soap was canceled and his position ended, he picked up freelance work and odd jobs, including audiovisual assignments. A job opportunity at Consolidated Film Industries eventually led him into sales. He spent much of his career in post-production sales and management, working with film labs and video facilities.
Mathews also occasionally returned to performing through voiceover work, including jobs for Family Guy. His career took a different shape than the one he imagined after college, but the former child star still found a long-running place in the entertainment world.
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