Entertainment legend Dick Van Dyke joked about being bewildered by his long and healthy life, less than fours months after celebrating his 95th birthday in December.
The five-time Emmy winner, known for his performances in Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as well as The Dick Van Dyke Show, admitted he ‘never thought’ he would ‘live this long.’
‘I’m circling the drain,’ he quipped during an interview with Showbiz411 on Thursday, when asked how he was doing amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Doing well: Entertainment legend Dick Van Dyke joked about being bewildered by his long and healthy life, less than fours months after celebrating his 95th birthday in December; seen in 2019
While he said he doesn’t ‘know how’ he has managed to outlive so many of his peers, he previously credited embracing the moment as the ‘ultimate elixir of youth’ in his 2016 memoir, Keep Moving: And Other Tips and Truths About Living Well Longer.
In the book, he wrote: ‘If I am out shopping and hear music playing in a store, I start to dance. If I want to sing, I sing. I read books and get excited about new ideas. I enjoy myself. I don’t think about the way I am supposed to act at my age — or at any age.’
Similarly, in his 2011 autobiography, My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business, he advised fans to travel, be curious, eat light and to enjoy a dessert each night.
Healthy: The five-time Emmy winner, known for his performances in Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as well as The Dick Van Dyke Show, admitted he ‘never thought’ he would ‘live this long’ (seen in 2004)
‘I’m circling the drain,’ he quipped during an interview with Showbiz411 on Thursday, when asked how he was doing amid the COVID-19 pandemic; seen in 1963
Dyke, according to The Washington Post, was told by a doctor at age 40, he ‘had such severe arthritis that he probably would be in a walker or wheelchair within five to seven years.’
Upon receiving the news, the star said: ‘I lit into a dance, as if proving to myself I could still order my body to do a soft shoe anytime I wanted, despite the pain in my leg.’
55 years later, he does not the require the use of a walker or wheelchair and, most recently, made headlines last month for handing out wads of cash to people in need amid the COVID-19 pandemic
‘I’m circling the drain,’ he quipped during an interview with Showbiz411 on Thursday, when asked how he was doing amid the COVID-19 pandemic (seen in 1964)
Sense of humor: While he said he doesn’t ‘know how’ he has managed to outlive so many of his peers, he previously credited embracing the moment as the ‘ultimate elixir of youth’ in his 2016 memoir, Keep Moving: And Other Tips and Truths About Living Well Longer (Dyke as a sad clown in a scene from the film The Comic, 1969)
‘I usually hand out coats. Sometimes I give out cash. This time, the paparazzi found me,’ he told Showbiz411.
He has continued to star in films and television roles even as a nonagenarian.
Besides his standout role in Poppins, Missouri-born Dick is known for a string of other huge hits during his glittering career that has spanned seven decades.
Enjoying his golden years: Similarly, his 2011 autobiography, My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business, advised fans to travel, be curious, eat light but enjoy a dessert at the end of the day
He played major roles in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, What A Way To Go, The Morning After, The Dick Van Dyke Show alongside Mary Tyler Moore and The Carol Burnett Show, to name a few.
He has been married to second wife Arlene Silver, who is 46 years his junior at 49, since 2012.
Van Dyke was previously married to Michelle Triola Marvin until her death in 2009.