Charles "Chuck" Van Dyke

Longtime Journalist, U.S. Air Force Veteran, and SAG-AFTRA Member

Charles "Chuck" Van Dyke, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, passed away on Monday, June 16, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio. He was 86.

A proud U.S. Air Force veteran, Chuck began his broadcasting career overseas, serving as a radio announcer at Osan Air Base in South Korea and anchoring the evening news at an Armed Forces television station in Western Germany. After leaving the service in 1965, he transitioned seamlessly into civilian journalism, beginning as a reporter at WICU-TV/Radio in Erie, Pennsylvania. Chuck’s dedication and talent soon brought him to Washington, D.C., where he built a distinguished career as a political correspondent and anchor. When the Associated Press launched a radio network, Chuck became its first reporter assigned to the U.S. House of Representatives and substituting at the White House as needed. Over the years, he covered the administrations of Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan.

In the early 1980s, he moved on to work with Dick Clark's United Stations and the UPI Radio Network before concluding his radio career delivering hourly newscasts for the NBC Radio Network. He retired from news in 1998.

Never one to slow down, Chuck launched a second act in Florida, appearing in television commercials and films. He was a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and embraced this creative chapter with the same passion he brought to journalism.

Chuck is survived by his beloved wife of 43 years, Adrienne Rich Van Dyke; his sister, Susan Van Dyke; brother-in-law Charles Rich (Sally); nieces Judy Mangoni, Nancy Drehs, and Elizabeth Hamblin; nephews Michael Rich, Jonathan Platt, and Thomas Platt; and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews. His warmth, wit, and unwavering curiosity will be missed by all who knew him.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made to an Alzheimer’s Association or a charity of your choice in Chuck’s memory. A celebration of this life will be held at a later date.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Berkowitz Kumin and Bookatz Memorial Chapel, Cleveland Heights, OH.