Comedy icon Dick van Dyke celebrates turning 100: "I still try to dance"

3 days ago 14

Actor and comedic icon Dick Van Dyke is 100 years young today.

The famed prima sang and danced his mode into America's bosom done his illustrious vocation that has spanned astir 8 decades.

As portion of the solemnisation this weekend, theaters crossed the state are showing a caller documentary astir his life, "Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration."

Van Dyke's enactment helped specify a generation. He became 1 of the biggest actors of his epoch with the eponymous amusement "The Dick Van Dyke Show," which ran for 5 years connected CBS.

Van Dyke & Moore In 'The Dick Van Dyke Show'

Early successful his career, Van Dyke was quoted arsenic saying helium wanted to marque films his children could watch. And helium got his imagination erstwhile Walt Disney formed him successful "Mary Poppins" – atrocious cockney accent and each – alongside the incomparable Julie Andrews. He besides appeared successful the arsenic kid-friendly "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang."

"Yeah, I could person been James Bond. When Sean Connery left, the shaper said, 'Would you similar to beryllium the adjacent Bond?' I said, 'Have you heard my British accent?' Click! That's a existent story!" Van Dyke told CBS Sunday Morning successful 2023.

During his career, Van Dyke won 4 Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award and a Grammy Award. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame successful 1995.

Just past year, helium became the oldest victor of a Daytime Emmy, for a impermanent relation connected the soap "Days of Our Lives."

"I'll beryllium darned. I deliberation I'm the past of my generation. I'm 98. I person — astir — each my marbles. I can't retrieve what I had for breakfast," helium told Entertainment Tonight earlier his win.

Van Dyke, who is conscionable an Oscar shy of the elusive EGOT title, said helium would emotion a changeable astatine the Academy Award.

"I anticipation it's not posthumous," helium joked.

In the 1970s, Van Dyke recovered sobriety aft battling alcoholism.

"I'm connected my 3rd generation," helium told CBS Sunday Morning successful 2023. "I'm getting letters from small kids, and that is what I love, that they ticker the movies implicit and over. I'm getting truthful overmuch much message contiguous than I did during the heyday of my career."

Now that helium has deed triple digits, Van Dyke said he's gotten immoderate position connected however helium utilized to play older characters.

"You know, I played aged men a lot, and I ever played them arsenic aggravated and cantankerous," helium told ABC News ahead of his milestone birthday. "It's not truly that way. I don't cognize immoderate different 100-year-olds, but I tin talk for myself."

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He has agelong credited his wife, 54-year-old constitution creator and shaper Arlene Silver, with keeping him young.

"As I've said, if I had known I was gonna unrecorded this long, I would've taken amended attraction of myself!" Van Dyke told CBS Sunday Morning. "Yeah, 'cause I went done that full play of alcoholism. But my wife, God bless her, makes definite that I spell to the gym 3 days a week and bash a afloat workout."

Van Dyke was calved successful West Plains, Missouri, successful 1925, and grew up "the people clown" successful Danville, Illinois, portion admiring and imitating the soundless movie comedians.

Five years ago, portion celebrating getting a Kennedy Center Honor, Van Dyke told CBS Mornings that helium was looking guardant to hitting the 100-year-old mark.

"George Burns made it, and I'm gonna bash it too," helium said.

And now, helium told ABC News that helium feels fortunate astir turning 100. But what's hard astir being 100?

"I miss movement," helium told the outlet. "I've got 1 crippled limb from I don't cognize what."

"I inactive effort to dance," helium said with a laugh.