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 98-year old comedian and entertainer Dick Van Dyke recently. Best known for his iconic roles in television shows and films like “Mary Poppins,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” the actor also served in World War II like most of his generation.

Dick Van Dyke recently tied Norman Lear as the oldest person to receive a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special last month for his CBS special, Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic. He will celebrate his 99th birthday in December of this year. After winning his Emmy, Van Dyke said, "I've been in the business 75 years. I can't believe that I'm still here and performing." He also became the oldest person to win a Daytime Emmy for his guest appearance on Days of Our Lives earlier this year. 

“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.

Born Richard Wayne Van Dyke, he attended Danville High School and left 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 near-centenarian explained how the military 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 book, "My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business: A Memoir." 

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).

There was concern about his health recently as he canceled appearances at the 2024 Emmy Awards on September 15. When asked recently about how he’d like to be remembered, he answered, "I hope for making people laugh for 75 years."