Dick Van Dyke got his start in the entertainment business as a DJ in the 1940s.
His career is still going strong at 98 years old.
And Dick Van Dyke had one message about longevity that no one saw coming.
Dick Van Dyke is still acting nearly 100 years old
Actor Dick Van Dyke made his debut on network TV in 1954 on the talent show, Chance of Lifetime.
He became a household name playing comedy writer Rob Petrie on the CBS sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, which ran from 1961 to 1966.
But Van Dyke is still entertaining audiences at 98 years old.
He appeared as one of the contestants on the Fox reality show The Masked Singer last year.
This year he became the oldest actor to ever win a Daytime Emmy Award for his guest role on the long-running NBC soap opera, Days of Our Lives.
And recently he talked with Entertainment Tonight about what the secret to his longevity is as he approaches 100.
“Attitude about life I think has a lot to do with it,” Van Dyke said. “I’ve always looked at the good side, I guess, and expected good things to happen.”
Van Dyke is married to makeup artist Arlene Silver who is 46 years younger than him.
He pointed to one thing that he thought helped him with aging.
“I’ve often tried to think what did I do to live this long?” Van Dyke asked. “And I can’t figure out – I’ve always exercised. We still go to the gym three days a week. And I can still, you know, move pretty well.”
“I don’t really watch my diet or anything,” Van Dyke added. “Stayed skinny, that helps.”
Van Dyke recommended that everyone try to go to the gym.
And he also credited his chosen profession, which he’s been having fun at for nearly 70 years.
“It isn’t work, it’s play” Van Dyke stated. “Actors are so lucky. I’ve had such a good time.”
Having a beautiful, young wife helps
Van Dyke has credited “having a beautiful young wife half my age to take care of me” as a key to aging successfully.
Silver said that the age difference hasn’t been an issue in their relationship.
“We were friends for so long that when I told people that I know [about our relationship], they were happy,” Silver told Entertainment Tonight. “I was scared. I mean, the facts are our age difference. But it’s so irrelevant. I think, when you see us together, it’s like you don’t even think about it. We don’t think about it.”
Van Dyke joked, “I was fortunate that I didn’t grow up.”
The couple met at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards in 2011.
“I’d never met anybody like him,” Silver said. “He was always happy and just positive. Always singing. He’s just the most joyful person. He influences everybody else to be more joyful, playful.”
Dick Van Dyke has become an institution in entertainment with a career that’s spanned seven decades.
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