Dick Van Dyke channels ‘Mary Poppins' character as he performs at fundraiser for California wildfires

Fox News

11-03-2025

Dick Van Dyke is raising money while also bringing joy to his fans.
The 99-year-old Hollywood legend hosted an intimate event called Vandy Camp, in an effort to raise money for California's Community Brigade, an organization which helps train volunteers to be better prepared to respond to wildfires and other emergency situations.
Van Dyke, alongside his wife, Arlene Silver, and his a capella singing group, The Vantastix, took the stage at Aviator Nation Dreamland in Malibu to sing a few iconic songs from some of his most well-known movies.
Prior to the event, the actor shared video of him and his band onstage during a soundcheck on Instagram, in which they can be heard singing the titular song from his 1968 movie "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and other songs.
While on stage, the actor and his wife paid tribute to one of Van Dyke's most popular films, "Mary Poppins," as they both wore T-shirts featuring an illustration of his character in the movie, along with the title of one of the songs he sings, "Step In Time."
He shared more photos and videos from the event on Facebook, including a parody of the song "Bare Necessities" from "The Jungle Book," in which he changed the lyrics to poke fun at his old age.
Despite warning the crowd, "I really don't sing anymore, so this is going to be something," before singing "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," the audience erupted in applause when he finished the song. During a break in the performance, he also sat down and discussed his experience dealing with the recent fires in LA.
"Somehow our house survived. We got singed a little bit on the garage but we almost, but we almost, almost," he told the crowd, later revealing he has survived five fires, most notably in 1961.
"Back in the '60s, I lived in Mandeville Canyon, up on the ridge. That big Bel-Air fire came in and we had to leave," he explained. "We came back and our house was standing there, the houses on both sides of us had burned down. It's fate. Somebody's looking out for me."
Van Dyke and his wife were forced to evacuate their home during the Franklin Fire in December 2024, but did not have to during the Palidades Fire in January 2025.
He spoke about his experience evacuating during the Franklin Fire during an appearance on "Today" in December 2024, sharing he tried to protect his home from the raging fire himself, and only narrowly escaped.
"It was coming over the hill. You [could] see it," he explained. "I was trying to crawl to the car. I had exhausted myself. I couldn't get up. And three neighbors came and carried me out… came back and put out a little fire in the guest house… saved me."
Prior to the "Today" appearance, the actor shared on Facebook that he and his wife "safely evacuated with our animals." The fires began shortly after Van Dyke's home was featured in a music video for Coldplay's song, "All My Love," which also starred the actor and celebrated his decades-long career in Hollywood.