Van Dyke is best known for his decades of comedy shows, movies and TV appearances- all of which allowed him to become one of the most revered actors of today.
Of course, many of us know him for starring in childhood favorites like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, Curious George and The Secret Squirrel Show.
It almost seems like he’s just always been in Hollywood, and that’s probably because he’s not that much younger than Hollywood itself.
Born in 1925, he’s just on the cusp of turning 100 in December and with that, comes some setbacks in life.
The star revealed all in an interview with People, explaining he had a very special project in the works with his late longtime friend, Ed Asner.
Dick Van Dyke opened up on his age (Monica Schipper/Getty Images)
He shared during a Q&A with his wife, Arlene Van Dyke, that he and Asner were going to make a remake of The Odd Couple classic.
But Asner’s death in 2021 halted the plan.
As with time, things tend to come and go – such as friends and loved ones who grow old.
Van Dyke commented on his situation of having lost a close friend at the Dick & Arlene Van Dyke Present Vandy Camp event: “That would’ve been such fun, and we lost it. I’ve lost a lot of friends.”
“He’s outlived everybody,” Arlene, 53, noted of her husband. “That’s the curse of living to almost 100.”
However, she shared that he’s still ‘positive’ despite having lost so many friends.
To this, Van Dyke said: “Well, life’s been good to me. I can’t complain.”
The Odd Couple was first introduced to fans in the form of a Broadway play in 1965, created by Neil Simon.
He explored the ‘curse’ of living so long (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Then, it went on to become a movie just three years later, starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.
Essentially, it depicts two people, Felix (a clean freak) and Oscar (a very messy man) after his divorce.
What follows is a slew of hilarious moments as the pair clash over their differing cleanliness.
It also went on to become a TV series in 1970, where Jack Klugman took on the role of Oscar, while Tony Randall played Felix.
So, it’s been a popular concept for quite some time.
After reflecting on his long career, Van Dyke spoke about his hit film, Mary Poppins, in which he starred alongside Julie Andrews, 89.
Having played two roles in the movie (Bert and the bank chairman), he went on to share that Andrews was ‘as sweet as she could be and so patient with me’ while he struggled with the singing aspect.
“I’m not a real singer, so I tend to be under, fighting to get up there and sing on top of the note. Just took me forever in the recording,” he said. “But [Andrews] was just patient as could be and kept helping me, saying, ‘Think high. Think up there.’ And it turned out great. She was wonderful. We had a wonderful time together.”
Featured Image Credit: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
Topics: Celebrity, Health, Film and TV
Britt Jones
Dick Van Dyke reveals his one secret to a long life as he nears 100 years old
Veteran actor Dick Van Dyke celebrated his 99th birthday last month
99-year-old Hollywood veteran Dick Van Dyke has revealed his secret to a long life.
Dozens of people who have made it their 100th birthdays have been asked the age-old question of how they managed to live so long, and a lot of them have different answers.
101-year-old Ruth Goldberg Jaskow says she’s always eaten whatever she wants and doesn’t follow a specific diet, while 100-year-old Albert Stiles swears by eating a lot of beetroot.
Later this year, Dick Van Dyke will join the likes of Goldberg Jaskow and Stiles in becoming a centenarian. He marked his 99th birthday on December 13, 2024.
Dick Van Dyke recently marked his 99th birthday (JC Olivera/Variety via Getty Images)
With his big birthday nearing, Dyke has revealed what he’s done over the course of his life to make it to 99 years old.
Chatting on the Everybody Knows Your Name podcast, the Diagnosis: Murder star labeled it ‘insane’ that he’s turning 100 this year.
Dyke went on to explain that when he’s asked what he attributes to his age and physical condition, he said that he’s ‘always exercised’.
“Three days a week, we go to the gym, still. Three days a week,” he said of his fitness regime.
Dyke shared a snippet of one of his workouts last month to his 203,000 Instagram followers, and fans were quick to hail him an ‘inspiration’.
In the video, the actor can be seen doing single-leg presses on a resistance machine.
One person commented: “Such an inspiration! Keep moving.”
Echoing similar sentiments, someone else added: “This is one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever seen. What an inspiration!”
“I can’t even do that at 38 lol,” joked another of Dyke’s social media followers.
A fourth gushed: “Wow I can only dream of even getting to this age and being able to do that.”
Others went on to call the actor an ‘icon’.
While Dyke is indeed fitter than your average 99-year-old, he did have to cancel an appearance last year after seemingly taking on too much work.
The actor says he still exercises three times a week (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
“We are sorry to announce that Dick Van Dyke is not able to travel to FanX at this time,” producers of FanX, the Utah-based event he was supposed to be appearing at, said in September.
“He expresses his gratitude to all of those who continue to support him but, at almost 99 years of age, traveling and interacting with thousands of people is more than he is able to do at this time.”
While Dyke is nearing his 100th birthday, the star has previously said that he’s not scared of dying.
While appearing in Coldplay’s seven-minute-long music video for their song ‘All My Love’, he shared: “I don’t know why, it doesn’t concern me, I’m not afraid of it.
“I have that feeling totally against anything intellectual I have, that I’m going to be alright.”
Featured Image Credit: Christopher Polk/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Niamh Shackleton
People are saying limited ’11/10′ series was ‘so perfect’ they’re still waiting for season 2 years on
Fans are demanding that a second season get underway
A series that starred Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington has got fans confused as to why a second season never got under way.
TV shows often hope to form a dedicated and active fan base that is willing to tune in each week or binge a series in one sitting, but sometimes, this still isn’t enough.
In fact, a 2020 miniseries was so well received that fans are still demanding a second season.
While streaming platforms (looking at you Netflix) often greenlight shows and quickly cancel them, this happening to one particular show proved confusing for fans on social media.
Led by the star power of Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington many were sure that they would get more when the first season was over. And to top things off, the show was received by fans and critics alike.
The show is Little Fires Everywhere, that was based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Celeste Ng.
The series, which originally aired on Hulu, follows the story of how the picture-perfect Richardson family has their lives upended when they open it up to an enigmatic mother and daughter.
As well as this, the show explores the impacts of secrets, art identity and motherhood.
The show faired well on IMDB, receiving a rating of 7.7 out of 10 after almost 60,000 reviews and on Rotten Tomatoes, maintains an average tomatometer score of 79 percent and a slightly lower popcorn meter score of 61 percent.
The series got brought up on Twitter when users were asked to drop an ‘drop an 11/10 TV show’, and fans took it as a great chance to vent their annoyance.
One frustrated fan wrote: “Where the hell is season 2 it’s been years.”
While another said: “This limited series gave me LIFE during the pandemic… I need to do a rewatch to feel something…”
Fans have demanded more of the show since it came out in 2020 (Hulu)
And a third wrote: “I just finished reading the book because I wanted a little rush again and i was like damn the miniseries knocked it out the park.”
With another adding: “I was mad they couldn’t just give us a season 2 idc if it was limited series.”
Another fan simply wrote: “The perfect series with an even more perfect title. Truly was.”
Hulu was also well aware of the show’s popularity as they stated that in its first 60 days online, Little Fires Everywhere was the most-watched drama ever on the streaming service.
While the streaming platform has never given a reason for not doing a season 2, it seemed that the mini-series was able to adequately capture and convey the conclusion of the story from the book.
Featured Image Credit: Hulu
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity, Social Media
Gerrard Kaonga
Keira Knightly has stunned her fans as they only now realize just how old the actress was when she starred in the franchise that would help propel her career to astronomic heights.
If you can think back to 2003, the world was a very different place.
Social media looked nothing like it did now, there was no Netflix or home streaming to speak of… gosh, we really did live in the dark ages.
But good cinema is what the early 2000s certainly had. With one of the biggest global franchise’s about to take off. I’m talking obviously about the Pirates of the Caribbean.
Now, the first three films are just a bonafide good time with hilarious performances, iconic moments and a kick-ass soundtrack.
One of the reasons for the franchise’s success is one of its main character, Elizabeth Swann, played by British actress Kiera Knightley.
But recently, some fans have just realized how young she was when she took up the role, and when they found out, many couldn’t believe it… and I don’t blame them.
How old did you think she was? Mid 20s? Early 20s? Well either guess and you are well off. Knightley was actually only 17 when they began filming the flick.
One Twitter user wrote: “This must be a LIE,” while another wrote: “Wtf, I never knew.”
The actor played Elizabeth Swann in the film franchise. (Disney)
And a third wrote: “When I watched the movie I thought she was older than me.”
“Can you believe Keira Knightley was only 17 when Pirates of the Caribbean the Curse of the Black Pearl was filmed,” someone else said as they shared images of the star in the role.
“The fact Keira Knightley gave us these two iconic characters in the same year WHILE SHE WAS ONLY 17,” commented another referencing her being in Love Actually that same year.
With the success of the first film and its subsequent sequels came fame and celebrity status, something Knightley has spoken out about, with her arguing it hasn’t always been a good thing.
Knightley told Variety in a 2016 interview: “I found it pretty horrific. I’m not an extrovert, so I found that level of scrutiny and that level of fame really hard.
Keira Knightley has spoken out about the issues she had with fame. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for 20th Century Studios)
“It was an age where you are becoming, you haven’t become, and you need to make mistakes. It’s a very precarious age, particularly for women.
“You’re in some ways still a child. It was traumatic, but it set up the rest of my career.”
Despite the struggles then and the ones that followed in the next few years, the actress also said she wouldn’t take anything back.
Speaking to Variety in 2018 she said: “I’m unbelievably lucky now, and my career is in a place where I really enjoy it, and I have a level of fame that’s much less intense,”
“I can deal with it now, and that’s great. But at the time, it was not so great, and took many years of therapy to figure it out.”
Featured Image Credit: Disney
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV
Gerrard Kaonga
Dick Van Dyke gives brilliant response after being asked for secret to a long life
The actor has just turned 97 and is sharing his secrets to living such a long time
Dick Van Dyke just turned 97 years old and the legendary star has shared some of his secrets behind living a long life.
The icon of the silver screen hit the new milestone on 13 December and reckons he’s on track to reach the big 100.
Remembered for his incredible dancing routines, dazzling performances and slightly questionable cockney accent, Van Dyke has been a famous face in the lives of generation after generation.
That he’s still going as he gets closer to 100 is an inspiration to us all, but it might be worth working out just how he manages to still do it.
In a video acquired by the Daily Mail, the performer was recently stopped for a bit of a chat about the secret behind living so long and he shared some pearls of wisdom, though was mostly in a joking mood.
REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo
The Mary Poppins star joked that if he’d ‘known I was going to live this long I’d have taken better care of myself’, though he’s certainly in better shape than most 97-year-olds.
The cinematic legend still has a spring in his step, which he proved a few years back in Mary Poppins Returns with his own dancing scene.
He was so eager to prove he still had the old magic in his feet that when offered three versions of the dance he would do in the movie he picked the one he thought was toughest just to prove he could still do it.
When asked what his secret to living so long was he joked that he didn’t know the answer but that ‘all my friends are dead so I’m not going to complain’.
In high spirits after turning 97, Van Dyke was asked if he stays in touch with Mary Poppins co-star Julie Andrews and said: “I don’t know, I don’t know where she is these days, that’s why she’s still alive.”
Everett Collection Inc / Alamy Stock Photo
Perhaps the real reason is that he stays healthy and active even in his 90s, still keeping up a basic exercise routine to keep himself active and mobile.
Earlier this year Van Dyke said he was ‘just glad to still be here’ when asked if he was going to be treated to big plans on Father’s Day.
A prolific performer even into his later years, the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star doesn’t work as much as he used to now so he can spent more time with his family.
Here’s hoping he makes it to 100 like he wants to do, especially as he’s living proof you can still have a spring in your step well into your 90s.
