Comedy icon Dick Van Dyke celebrated his 100th birthday on Saturday, hitting the century mark some six decades after he sang and danced with Julie Andrews in “Mary Poppins” and starred in his self-titled sitcom.
“The funniest thing is, it’s not enough,” Van Dyke said in an interview with ABC News at his Malibu home. “A hundred years is not enough. You want to live more, which I plan to.”
Van Dyke became one of the biggest actors of his era with “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” which ran from 1961 to 66 on CBS, appeared with Andrews as a chimney sweep in the 1964 Disney classic “Mary Poppins,” and at an older age, played a physician-sleuth on “Diagnosis: Murder.”
Also a Broadway star, Van Dyke won a Tony Award for “Bye Bye Birdie” and has a Grammy and four Primetime Emmys to his name. He starred in the film version of “Bye Bye Birdie” in 1963.
Just last year, he became the oldest winner of a Daytime Emmy for a guest role on the soap “Days of Our Lives.”
In the 1970s, he found sobriety after battling alcoholism, speaking openly about it at a time when that was less common.
Now that he has reached triple digits, Van Dyke has reflected on how he portrayed older characters. “You know, I played old men a lot, and I always played them as angry and cantankerous,” he noted. “It’s not really that way. I don’t know any other 100-year-olds, but I can speak for myself.”
He shared wisdom about reaching the century mark in his book, “100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life,” attributing much of his youthful spirit to his 54-year-old wife, Arlene Silver. “She gives me energy, humor, and all kinds of support,” he mentioned.
Born in West Plains, Missouri, in 1925, Van Dyke grew up admiring silent film comedians and discovered his love for acting at an early age, performing in a Christmas pageant where he played baby Jesus.
On the drawbacks of his age, he humorously stated, “I miss movement. I’ve got one game leg from I don’t know what,” adding, “I still try to dance.”
