A hundred years old, lucid and still standing firm on his legs, which, he says, "are my most precious asset": Dick Van Dyke, the unforgettable chimney sweep from Mary Poppins, has reached the halfway point of his century.
A Midwesterner born on December 13, 1925, in West Plains, Missouri, Van Dyke is celebrating this important anniversary at home with his family, who, despite his age-related ailments, are still in good shape: just a few days ago, he was photographed in high spirits around Los Angeles, pushed by his wife, Arlene Silver, who at 54 is almost half her husband's age, in a wheelchair-mounted office chair.
Van Dyke, who briefly sang and danced in a Coldplay video filmed a year ago in his Malibu home, which he was later forced to flee due to the raging fires that engulfed Los Angeles, has revealed, in numerous interviews conducted recently, the reasons for his active longevity : among them, his three-weekly gym sessions to keep his bones and muscles in shape, but also his relationship with his wife. "We'll celebrate by watching old episodes of Jeopardy on TV," she said. She is a makeup artist he met at the 2006 SAG Awards and who entered Van Dyke's life after the death of his second partner.
In the video with Chris Martin, the actor reflected on his advanced age: "I know full well that I could leave any day, but, for some reason, I'm not afraid. I know that everything will be okay."
Meanwhile, between one memory and another, on the occasion of the centenary, Bert from Mary Poppins (1964) has given away his pearls of wisdom in a book, 100 Rules to Live to 100 (subtitle, an optimist's guide to a happy life) and in the documentary Dick Van Dyke 100th Celebration, distributed today and tomorrow in US theaters by Fathom Entertainment.
Two weeks ago, the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star opened his villa for a charity event dedicated to his foundation, featuring chit-chat and sing-alongs. "The important thing is to keep talking. People don't talk anymore. They go to dinner and look at their cell phones. I think I'm the only person in the entire United States over ten who doesn't have a cell phone," said the actor, who, in addition to six Emmys and two Grammys, also won a Tony in 1961 for the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie, which was adapted to film two years later.
