CelebVet: Dick Van Dyke
Publicity photo of Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore used for the premiere of the television program The Dick Van Dyke Show, 1961.
“I'm looking for work if anybody has,” joked the now 100-year-old comedian and entertainer Dick Van Dyke.
Best known for his iconic roles in films like Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and the classic television series The Dick Van Dyke Show, the beloved actor has officially joined the centenarian club. Van Dyke celebrated his 100th birthday on December 13, a milestone marked not by a lavish Hollywood gala, but in true Van Dyke fashion: with a low-key day at home watching Jeopardy! reruns with his wife, Arlene Silver.
While the actor opted for a quiet birthday, the world celebrated with him. A new documentary, Dick Van Dyke 100th Celebration, was released in theaters nationwide to honor his century of life.
Despite his age, Van Dyke’s recent years have been filled with historic achievements. In 2024, at age 98, he made history twice. First, he became the oldest person ever to win a Daytime Emmy for his guest appearance as amnesiac Timothy Robicheaux on Days of Our Lives. Later that year, he tied television legend Norman Lear as the oldest person to win a Creative Arts Emmy for his CBS special, Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic.
“I’ve been in the business 75 years. I can’t believe that I’m still here and performing,” Van Dyke said after his historic wins. Though he missed the 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards due to health concerns, he has remained active, crediting his longevity to his “brighter outlook” and refusal to hold onto anger. “I never really was able to do a white heat kind of hate,” he explained.
He also credits his physical routine. In a reflective essay published just weeks before his 100th birthday, Van Dyke revealed he still hits the gym three days a week. "If I miss too many gym days, I really can feel it — a stiffness creeping in here and there," he wrote, noting that he still performs a full circuit of leg machines and sit-ups.
From the Air Force to the Stage
Like many of his generation, Van Dyke’s path to stardom began in uniform. Born Richard Wayne Van Dyke, he attended Danville High School before leaving early to join the military in 1944. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces, where he worked as a radio announcer and later performed in service shows. He was discharged in 1946.
The centenarian explained how the military accidentally led him to entertainment in a video interview promoting the film Capture the Flag.
“I trained to be a fighter pilot. It’s an 8 hour exam, and you have to have a certain IQ, and the physical exam is incredible. I took the physical three times,” Van Dyke laughed. “When I got in they said some of you will be going overseas as tailgunners and B-24s. The rest of you will be assigned according to your abilities. I tap danced and sang right on the spot. I got into USO shows. Cowardice got me into show business.”
Getting into Special Services was the best thing that could have happened to me -- and the Air Force," Van Dyke wrote in his in his memoir, My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business.
A Century of Smiles
Van Dyke has enjoyed decades of success. He has won a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award for his role in the original Broadway cast of “Bye Bye Birdie”, and six Emmy Awards.
Van Dyke made guest appearances on television programs Columbo (1974) and The Carol Burnett Show (1977), and he starred in The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971–74), Diagnosis: Murder (1993–2001), and Murder 101 (2006–08). Van Dyke has also made appearances in the films Dick Tracy (1990), Curious George (2006), Night at the Museum (2006), its 2014 sequel, and Mary Poppins Returns (2018).
“It’s such a blessing to find a way of making a living that you love, that you’d do for nothing. I feel so sorry for people who hate their jobs. I look forward to going to work every morning,” he told CBS News.
When asked recently how he would like to be remembered after a century of life, his answer was simple: "I hope for making people laugh for 75 years."
