Comedy legend Dick Van Dyke turns 100
Comedy icon Dick Van Dyke celebrated his 100th birthday on Saturday, reaching his century of life some six decades after singing and dancing with Julie Andrews in "Mary Poppins" and starring in her eponymous comedy.
"The funny thing is, it's not enough. One hundred years is not enough. You want to live longer, which I plan to do," Van Dyke said in an interview with ABC News from his home in Malibu, California.
As As part of Van Dyke's birthday celebration this weekend, movie theaters across the country are showing a new documentary about his life, “Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration.”
Van Dyke became one of the greatest actors of his era with “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” which aired from 1961 to 1966 on CBS; he appeared with Andrews as a chimney sweep with a Cockney English accent in the 1964 Disney classic “Mary Poppins” and, in his 70s, played a doctor and detective in “Diagnosis: Murder.”
Also a Broadway star, Van Dyke won a Tony Award for “Bye Bye Birdie” along with a Grammy and four Primetime Emmys. In 1963, he starred in the film version of “Bye Bye Birdie.”
Last year, he became the longest-reigning winner of a Daytime Emmy, for a guest role on the soap opera “Days of Our Lives.”
In the 1970s, he found sobriety after battling alcoholism and spoke out about it at a time when it was uncommon to do so.
Now that he's reached triple-digit age, Van Dyke said he's gained some perspective on how he used to play older characters.
“You know, I played a lot of old men, and I always played them as angry and grumpy,” he told ABC News. "It's really not like that. I don't know other centenarians, but I can speak for myself."
He recently shared his wisdom about reaching the century mark in his book, "100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life." He credited his wife, 54-year-old makeup artist and producer Arlene Silver, for keeping him young.
“She gives me energy. It gives me humor and all kinds of support," he told ABC News.
Van Dyke was born in West Plains, Missouri, in 1925, and grew up as “the class clown” in Danville, Illinois, while admiring and imitating silent film comedians.
He told ABC News that he began acting when he was about 4 or 5 years old in a Christmas play. He said he was the baby Jesus.
“I did some kind of joke, I don't know what I said, but it made the congregation laugh,” he said. “And I liked the sound of that laugh.”
And what's hard about being 100 years old?
“I miss being mobile,” he told ABC News. “I have problems with my leg for I don't know what.”
“I still try to dance,” he said, laughing.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.