Actor and comedic icon Dick Van Dyke is 100 years young today. The famed star sang and danced his way into America’s heart during a career spanning nearly eight decades. To mark the milestone, theaters nationwide are screening a new documentary, “Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration.”
Van Dyke became a defining figure of his era with “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” which ran five years on CBS. Early in his career he said he wanted to make films his children could watch; that wish came true when Walt Disney cast him in Mary Poppins — accent and all — opposite Julie Andrews. He also appeared in the family favorite Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
“Yeah, I could have been James Bond. When Sean Connery left, the producer said, ‘Would you like to be the next Bond?’ I said, ‘Have you heard my British accent?’ Click! That’s a true story!” Van Dyke told CBS Sunday Morning in 2023.
Over his career he has won four Primetime Emmys, a Tony and a Grammy, and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995. Last year he became the oldest winner of a Daytime Emmy for a guest role on Days of Our Lives. “I’ll be darned. I think I’m the last of my generation. I’m 98. I have — almost — all my marbles. I can’t remember what I had for breakfast,” he told Entertainment Tonight before that win.
Van Dyke, who is one Oscar short of EGOT status, joked he’d prefer any Academy Award “not [be] posthumous.” He battled alcoholism earlier in life and found sobriety in the 1970s. Reflecting on his lasting appeal, he told CBS Sunday Morning that he now gets letters from children who watch his films repeatedly, and he receives more mail today than during his heyday.
Approaching triple digits has given him perspective on roles he once played. “You know, I played old men a lot, and I always played them as angry and cantankerous,” he told ABC News ahead of his birthday. “It’s not really that way. I don’t know any other 100-year-olds, but I can speak for myself.”
Van Dyke credits his wife, 54-year-old makeup artist and producer Arlene Silver, with helping keep him active. “If I had known I was gonna live this long, I would’ve taken better care of myself!” he said. “My wife, God bless her, makes sure that I go to the gym three days a week and do a full workout.”
Born in West Plains, Missouri, in 1925 and raised in Danville, Illinois, he was the class clown who admired silent film comedians. Five years ago, after receiving a Kennedy Center Honor, he said he was aiming to hit 100 like George Burns did. Now, at 100, he says he feels lucky but misses movement. “I’ve got one game leg from I don’t know what,” he told ABC News. “I still try to dance,” he added with a laugh.