Hollywood has seen countless stars come and go over the decades.
But one legend just accomplished something that defies belief.
And Dick Van Dyke just hit this jaw-dropping milestone that left Hollywood stunned.
A century of entertainment excellence
Dick Van Dyke turned 100 years old on Saturday, hitting the century mark six decades after he danced across rooftops with Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins and became a household name in The Dick Van Dyke Show.
"The funniest thing is, it's not enough," Van Dyke told ABC News from his Malibu, California home. "A hundred years is not enough. You want to live more, which I plan to."¹
The entertainment icon was born in West Plains, Missouri in 1925 and grew up as "the class clown" in Danville, Illinois.
He told ABC News he started performing when he was about 4 or 5 years old in a Christmas pageant where he played the baby Jesus.
"I made some kind of crack, I don't know what I said, but it broke the congregation up," Van Dyke recalled. "And I liked the sound of that laughter."²
From that moment, a legend was born.
From Broadway to television immortality
Van Dyke's career exploded in 1960 when he starred in the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie, earning him a Tony Award.
The following year changed everything when CBS launched The Dick Van Dyke Show, which ran from 1961 to 1966 and earned Van Dyke three Primetime Emmy Awards.
Creator Carl Reiner had originally cast himself as TV writer Rob Petrie but CBS insisted on recasting, and Reiner chose Van Dyke to replace him.
The Dick Van Dyke Show became required viewing for American families, making Van Dyke a television icon.
Then Walt Disney came calling in 1963, casting Van Dyke as the chimney sweep Bert in Mary Poppins alongside Julie Andrews.
Despite Van Dyke's notoriously terrible Cockney accent – which came in second place in a 2003 Empire magazine poll of the worst-ever accents in film – Mary Poppins became one of the most beloved films of all time.
"Chim Chim Cher-ee," one of the songs Van Dyke performed in Mary Poppins, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.³
The film earned 13 Academy Award nominations and took home five Oscars.
Van Dyke won a Grammy Award in 1964 along with Andrews for his performance on the Mary Poppins soundtrack.
He followed that success with another Disney musical, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 1968.
The battle that nearly destroyed him
Behind the charm and the dancing, Van Dyke fought a private war against alcoholism that almost destroyed everything he built.
Van Dyke publicly revealed he was dealing with alcoholism and checked himself into a hospital for three weeks in 1972 to be treated for his addiction.
He spoke out about it at a time when that was uncommon to do for celebrities.
"It's a physical disease," Van Dyke said on The Dick Cavett Show in 1974. "It has nothing to do with the person not being mature enough not to drink too much. It's a true addiction, like a heroin addiction."⁴
Van Dyke admitted he had been an alcoholic for 25 years and described being "locked up with the psychos" during his rehab stay.
"I remember going to rehab and it being nothing like today," Van Dyke said. "In my day they used to lock you up with the psychos! Down in St. Luke's, in Phoenix – they didn't have any special rehab place."⁵
The facility was "locked up and you were in there with the loony people," Van Dyke recalled.
But he got sober and stayed that way for the rest of his life.
Van Dyke was also a heavy smoker for most of his adult life, admitting "I think I was probably in my 50s before it dawned on me that I had an addictive personality."⁶
He quit both vices decades ago, crediting that decision for his remarkable longevity.
"So I got rid of booze and cigarettes and all that stuff, which is probably why I'm still here," Van Dyke stated.⁷
The secret weapon keeping him young
Van Dyke credits his wife, 54-year-old makeup artist and producer Arlene Silver, with keeping him active and energized at age 100.
The couple married in 2012 when Van Dyke was 86, a 46-year age difference that raised eyebrows in Hollywood.
But their relationship has been the key to Van Dyke's remarkable vitality in his later years.
"She gives me energy. She gives me humor, and all kinds of support," Van Dyke told ABC News about Silver.⁸
The couple goes to the gym together three times a week where Van Dyke still does a full workout routine.
"My wife, God bless her, makes sure that I go to the gym three days a week and do a full workout," Van Dyke said.⁹
Even more remarkably, Van Dyke still dances while at the gym.
"At the gym, I usually do a circuit, going from one machine to the next without a break, in a circle," Van Dyke explained. "By 'going' I mean dancing. You heard me – dancing! And if I'm really feeling it, I'm a Broadway belter."¹⁰
Silver led a flash mob dancing to a medley of Van Dyke's songs during his 100th birthday party at their Malibu home.
"It went so perfect – just everything," Silver told People magazine. "And he was so happy. His face, I love to make him have that face."¹¹
A career that refuses to end
Van Dyke hasn't slowed down in his later decades.
From 1993 to 2001, he starred as Dr. Mark Sloan in the medical crime drama Diagnosis: Murder, which also featured his son Barry Van Dyke.
Just last year, Van Dyke became the oldest winner of a Daytime Emmy at age 98 for a guest role on the soap Days of Our Lives.
He appeared in films like Night at the Museum and even returned to the world of Mary Poppins in 2018's Mary Poppins Returns.
In December 2024, Van Dyke starred in the music video for the Coldplay song "All My Love," which went viral on his 99th birthday.
Theaters across the country are showing a new documentary about his life, Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration.
Van Dyke also released a new book in November called 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life.
In it, he attributes his longevity to avoiding anger and hate, saying a "brighter outlook" is key to aging gracefully.
"I feel really good for 100," Van Dyke stated. "Sometimes I have more energy than others – but I never wake up in a bad mood."¹²
When asked what's hard about being 100, Van Dyke acknowledged his physical limitations with characteristic humor.
"I miss movement," Van Dyke said with a laugh. "I've got one game leg from I don't know what."¹³
"I still try to dance," he added.¹⁴
Van Dyke has outlived nearly everyone from his generation of entertainers, becoming the oldest living Disney Legend following the death of Glynis Johns in 2024.
He's won a Tony Award, a Grammy, four Primetime Emmys, and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2021.
More remarkably, Van Dyke has lived long enough to inspire multiple generations – from baby boomers who watched him in the 1960s to Gen Z fans discovering Mary Poppins today.
"I'm on my third generation," Van Dyke said. "I'm getting letters from little kids, and that is what I love, that they watch the movies over and over."¹⁵
At 100 years old, Dick Van Dyke remains proof that talent, determination, and a positive outlook can carry you through a century of life.
And he's not done yet.
¹ Associated Press, "Affable comedy acting legend Dick Van Dyke turns 100 years old," Breitbart, December 13, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Dick Van Dyke, Wikipedia, accessed December 15, 2025.
⁴ Today, "Dick Van Dyke's Health at 98: Alcoholism, Headaches And Exercise," September 23, 2024.
⁵ Inkl, "Dick Van Dyke 'locked up with the psychos' in rehab," December 13, 2025.
⁶ Fox News, "Dick Van Dyke, 99, credits ditching two bad habits for his near-century longevity," December 10, 2025.
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ Associated Press, "Affable comedy acting legend Dick Van Dyke turns 100 years old," Breitbart, December 13, 2025.
⁹ CBS News, "Comedy icon Dick van Dyke celebrates turning 100: 'I still try to dance,'" December 13, 2025.
¹⁰ Fox News, "Dick Van Dyke's wife Arlene keeps him active daily as he reaches 100," December 13, 2025.
¹¹ Coming Soon, "Dick Van Dyke's Wife Shares Details on 'Perfect' 100th Birthday," December 14, 2025.
¹² People, quoted in Coming Soon, "Dick Van Dyke's Wife Shares Details on 'Perfect' 100th Birthday," December 14, 2025.
¹³ Associated Press, "Affable comedy acting legend Dick Van Dyke turns 100 years old," Breitbart, December 13, 2025.
¹⁴ Ibid.
¹⁵ CBS News, "Comedy icon Dick van Dyke celebrates turning 100: 'I still try to dance,'" December 13, 2025.
Related posts:
Tim Allen revealed one secret about his new show that his fans never expected
Beloved “Young Sheldon” star’s fans are heartbroken after loss of Valerie Mahaffey
Billy Joel reveals the awful secret that almost ended his life
