Dick Van Dyke is turning 100. Here’s what he’s been up to lately

By Dan Heching, CNN

(CNN) — The phrase “they don’t make ‘em like they used to” has never proven more accurate than with respect to legendary actor and comedian Dick Van Dyke, who turns 100 on Saturday.

The momentous occasion comes after a notable several years for the “Mary Poppins” actor, whose passion for comedy and performing has shown no signs of aging.

Van Dyke often appears as part of Vandy Camp, a carnival-like performance troupe that includes his wife Arlene Silver, in Malibu, California near their home. The group features dancing, a cappella and songs from the iconic star’s oeuvre, including hits from his 1960s musical films “Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” Vandy Camp and Van Dyke often associate themselves with charities, helping local causes in Malibu and Los Angeles as part of their programming.

A new documentary celebrating Van Dyke’s life, titled “Dick Van Dyke: A 100th Celebration,” will also be in theaters Saturday and Sunday.

It features enlightening interviews with Van Dyke and several of his most famous costars and colleagues – including the late Betty White, Carl Reiner, Chita Rivera and Mary Tyler Moore. It tracks his beginnings, success on the Broadway stage in shows like “Bye, Bye Birdie,” and historic contributions on both the small and silver screens.

The legend prefers to stay busy.

In 2023, Van Dyke lent his voice to “The Simpson” playing himself, and he also made a wildly unexpected appearance on the Season 9 premiere of “The Masked Singer.” The show’s oldest contestant ever, Van Dyke was masked as Gnome, and sang a rendition of Billie Holiday’s “When You’re Smiling.”

Then last year, the Emmy-winner appeared in the music video for the Coldplay song “All My Love,” in which he was seen dancing barefoot, singing alongside Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, and even performing some physical comedy.

Filmed at Van Dyke’s home, the video is interspersed with old photographs and props from the beloved entertainer’s seven-decade career, including publicity stills alongside Mary Tyler Moore for “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and one of his four Primetime Emmy statuettes. (Earlier that year, Van Dyke made history as the oldest Daytime Emmy winner ever, nabbing a statuette for a guest role on four episodes of “Days of Our Lives.”)

At one point, Van Dyke remarks that his favorite lyrics in “All My Love” – off of Coldplay’s tenth studio album “Moon Music” – are “Until I die, let me hold you if you cry.” In an interview, he shares, “I’m acutely aware that I could go any day now, but I don’t know why, it doesn’t concern me, I’m not afraid of it. I have that feeling, totally against anything intellectual, that I’m going to be alright.”

The funnyman also displayed his still-sharp sense of humor, when an interviewer asks him in the video to close his eyes and think about all the people that have meant something to him over the course of his life. After a beat with his eyes closed, Van Dyke says, “I’m too old for this, I’ll pass out and go to sleep” as he play-acts nodding off in his chair.

Days after the music video’s release, Van Dyke was forced to flee his home as a result of the Franklin Fire, which affected parts of Malibu roughly one month before the Palisades Fire that took place in January.

“I think I’m one of those lucky people who got to do for a living what I would have done anyway,” Van Dyke remarked in last year’s Coldplay clip, as scenes from his screen career played. “When you think how lucky I am – I got to do what I do, play and act silly.”

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.