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Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Acting legend Dick Van Dyke, 99, shares the biggest curse of being nearly 100
Dick Van Dyke will turn 100 later this year but the Hollywood icon revealed the sad thing about being an almost centenarian Dick Van Dyke has revealed what the biggest curse of being almost 100 is. The Hollywood legend, who is famous for films like Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, will reach the milestone birthday in December this year. But in a Q&A with his producer and actress wife Arlene, 53, the 99-year-old - who is still working - shared that although "life's been good to me" the sad thing about being an almost centenarian 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 cut in and 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. PEOPLE magazine reported the star told the audience at the special Q&A event in Malibu, California: "I'm a ham. I love it. I get a jolt of energy from an audience." Despite his age, Dick still regularly performs and did on the night with his musical group, barbershop quartet The Vantastix. He also opened 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." Earlier this year, the screen icon said the secret staying so youthful at his age was also down to his strict regime of regular workouts. And his famous all-singing and all-dancing act still shines through at the gym because he 'literally' dances between weight machines instead of walking. He revealed how he likes to workout for an hour and swim laps in the pool before taking a nap at home. 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." 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 said: "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 added: "He still does that."
Daily Mail
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Dick Van Dyke, 99, makes rare remark on his and wife Arlene's 46-year age gap
Beloved actor, singer and dancer, Dick Van Dyke, shared some rare insight into his relationship with wife Arlene Silver. While reflecting on their 13-year marriage, the Hollywood legend, 99, gushed to People that he and his spouse, 53, 'get along so well.' 'Everybody said it wouldn't work,' Van Dyke recalled, before Silver chimed in to say. 'Yeah, I mean it's like eerie how well it works. People the same age don't last.' She also raved that they 'just care about each other so much' and are 'very supportive of each other.' 'He's made me feel like I can do anything,' she said. Van Dyke noted that they both 'just love being home' and described Malibu as their 'favorite place.' 'We're so grateful. Our house did get hit by the Franklin fire, but in the scheme of things, we got very lucky,' he said at Dick & Arlene Van Dyke Present Vandy Camp. On Sunday, the couple hosted the second 'Vandy Camp' to aid fire relief in Malibu. During the fundraiser, Van Dyke took to the stage in front of a sold out crowd with his wife Arlene and his a cappella band, The Vantastix. The group sang songs, answered audience questions and shared memories of the 99-year-old's life and career. Ticket proceeds benefitted the Community Brigade and CA Wildlife relief - as efforts to rebuild continue after the devastating fires in Los Angeles earlier this year. For the occasion, he sported a 'Spoonful of Sugar' sweater and opened the show singing about senility and joking about how he struggled to remember things. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight last year, Van Dyke recalled his first encounter with Silver. 'I never approached a strange woman in my life,' the legendary Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star said. 'And she walked by and I jumped and I said, "Hi, I'm Dick." I had no idea she was half my age. Beautiful.' The Dick Van Dyke show actor said he later found out Arlene was a makeup artist. 'She had one [business] card left, which I took and hired her,' he added. 'I had never seen the Dick Van Dyke Show, I never saw anything he was in,' Silver said while speaking about meeting her husband for the first time. But they didn't start dating right away. They developed a friendship and by the time things turned romantic between them, their big age difference didn't matter to them or to any of Arlene's friends. 'We were friends for so long that when I told people that I know, they were happy about [our relationship], and I was scared,' Silver admitted. Meanwhile, Silver previously told The Huffington Post that she remembers seeing Van Dyke for the first time 'at the catering table with his bow tie and his big smile.' 'Right when I sat down, he was sitting next to me. He said, "Hi, I'm Dick." The first thing I asked him was, "Weren't you in Mary Poppins?"' During his career, that spans more than seven decades, Van Dyke earned five Emmys, a Tony, a Grammy, a BAFTA, the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award, and induction into the Television Hall Of Fame, which was due in large part to his role as Rob Petrie in The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966), as well as The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971-1974) and The Carol Burnett Show (1977). The actor's most recent project is a role in the upcoming film, Capture The Flag, which is currently in pre-production. Van Dyke and Silver will celebrate 10 years of marriage next February. He has four children: sons Barry and Christian and daughters Stacy and Carrie that were born during his first marriage to Margie Willett, which lasted from 1948 until their divorce in 1984. The proud family man now also has five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. The acting icon will turn 100 in December.
Fox News
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Dick Van Dyke channels ‘Mary Poppins' character as he performs at fundraiser for California wildfires
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.
