Concerns for Dick Van Dyke, 99, as Hollywood legend drops out of event

Daily Mirror

14 hours ago

Hollywood legend Dick Van Dyke will turn 100 in December but he is still working and says that and going to the gym keeps him young
Dick Van Dyke had to drop out of a event last minute, sparking concerns from fans. The 99-year-old was due to host a music fundraising event in Malibu on Saturday.
But his 53-year-old wife Arlene Silver was forced to step in when her husband - star of legendary films like Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - could not attend due to illness. Addressing the audience Arlene said she was 'not the Van Dyke you were expecting'.
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She went on to say that Dick - who will turn 100 on December 13 - was not having a good day. Offering her apologies, Arlene explained: ''I have to inform you that Dick is not up to coming to celebrate with us today. I'm sorry.
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'When you're 99-and-a-half years old, you have good days and bad days. And unfortunately, today is not a good day for him, and he's sick that he can't be here.'
READ MORE: Hollywood legend Dick Van Dyke shares his secret to staying youthful at 99
It comes weeks after the Hollywood icon - who is still working - revealed the curse of what living to almost 100 is.
In a recent Q& A with fans, the nonagenarian said that although "life's been good to me" the sad thing about living to the age he has is losing his loved ones, particularly his peers.
He revealed how he and good friend Ed Asner were set to do a remake of the 1970s American sitcom The Odd Couple before Ed's death at the age of 91 in August 2021. Dick said: "That would have been such fun - and we lost it. I've lost a lot of friends."
His wife Arlene previously said: "He's outlived everybody. That's the curse of living to 100." Asked what the secret to a long life is, Dick said his work and continuing to perform keeps him young because it "energises" him - as well as regularly working out.
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Sharing his secrets to staying youthful as he approaches his centenary, Dick shared he follows a strict regime of regular workouts. He likes to workout for an hour, swim laps in the pool, then take a nap at home.
And, his famous all-singing and all-dancing act even shines through at the gym - because he 'literally' dances between weight machines instead of walking.
He said: "I've always exercised. Three days a week we go to the gym, still. Three days a week. And I think that's it - why I'm not stove up like my equals."
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Fellow actor Ted Danson, 77, who is known for Cheers and more recently in Netflix series A Man on the Inside, recalled seeing Dick at the gym in Malibu. He shared: "If I got there early enough I would see you literally workout on some weight machine and then - almost like you were doing circuit training - you would not walk to the next machine, but dance. You literally danced to the next machine and I watched that for a couple of weeks." His wife Arlene said: "He still does that."
Despite his age, Dick still regularly performs with his musical group, barbershop quartet The Vantastix and says still working also keeps him youthful. He said: "I'm a ham. I love it. I get a jolt of energy from an audience."
And though he's been in some of the best musicals ever made, Dick says he's not really a singer. Opening up on what it was like to work with co-star Dame Julie Andrews, 89, in the classic 1964 film Mary Poppins, he shared: "I'm not a real singer, so I tend to be under, fighting to get up there and sing on top of the note. Just took me forever in the recording.
"Julie was just patient as could be and kept helping me, saying, 'Think high. Think up there.' And it turned out great. She was wonderful. We had a wonderful time together."