Dick Van Dyke's 100th birthday is coming up soon—just two months away—and he says he'd laugh if he missed it. The famous performe...
The famous performer said, "I'm not officially 100 until December." He was speaking at Vandy High Tea on Sunday, which is held every year at the Vandy Manor in Malibu, Calif., to raise money for his Van Dyke Endowment of the Arts and the new Dick Van Dyke Museum. Van Dyke then joked, "It'd be funny if I didn't make it." This is the kind of sharp wit that has won him friends for nine decades. The former host of the Dick Van Dyke Show told stories and sang songs with his wife of 13 years, Arlene. His singing group, Dick Van Dyke and the Vantastix, also performed, and Vantastix himself sang songs from his hit films like Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. "I brag sometimes about how I made it to a hundred, and the truth is, if I had known I was going to live this long, I would've taken better care of myself," he said later in the event
Van Dyke must have done something right because he is now 99 years old and still looks good enough to go to fancy charity events and become a real gym bro. But he thought about how "frustrating it is because I don't know what I did right" as he got closer to 100 years old. "I did nothing right besides Arlene." Van Dyke is from the Midwest of the United States. He started his work as a radio DJ in Danville, Ill., which is only a few hours from where he grew up in West Plains, Miss. Van Dyke became the famous and loved actor he is today after serving in the Air Force and entertaining troops during the Second World War. He rose to fame on radio, stage, TV and in films.
Van Dyke became famous after his show The Dick Van Dyke Show, which aired on CBS from 1961 to 1966 and earned him three Primetime Emmys. During that time, his work on Mary Poppins (the movie) and Bye Bye Birdie (the stage show) earned him a Tony Award and a Grammy. Van Dyke set a new record last year when he became the oldest winner in the history of the Emmys for his special role on Days of Our Lives. He failed to win an Oscar and, by extension, the EGOT.