Dick Van Dyke may be turning 100 later this year, but that doesn’t mean that he’s lost his love for performing in any way!
Van Dyke Performs At California Wildfire Fundraiser
On Saturday, Van Dyke hosted a fundraiser to benefit victims of the California wildfires. There, Van Dyke and his wife Arlene Silver, 53, both wore “Step in Time” T-shirts referencing his classic 1964 movie Mary Poppins. The shirt featured an illustration of Van Dyke’s iconic chimney sweep character of Bert.
Despite his advanced age, Van Dyke performed at this event with his a cappella group, The Vantastix. Indeed, they sang the legendary Mary Poppins song “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” They also sang “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” from Van Dyke’s 1968 movie of the same name.
“I really don’t sing anymore, so this is going to be something,” Van Dyke said before the latter song began. He quickly proved his own word wrong, however. Indeed, it was immediately clear that he still sings just as well as he did when the movie came out!
Check out Van Dyke’s performances for yourself here.
Van Dyke’s Wildfire Experience
While Van Dyke’s $8 million Malibu home was threatened by the Palisades Fire earlier this year, he and Silver didn’t end up having to evacuate. Silver took to Instagram Live at the time to tell fans that while their guesthouse caught fire, it only sustained minimal damage. She also revealed that she and Van Dyke were living on a gas generator while the fires continued to blaze in their area.
“Keeping Dick warm and entertained has been the two things that have been my top priority, so, you know, we don’t have power […] or regular electricity, so we don’t have Wi-Fi,” Silver stated. She added that they were relying on her camper to cook and charge their devices.
Despite the danger of the danger and trauma of the wildfires, Silver made it clear that she and Van Dyke have no plans to relocate.
“Dick is more comfortable here than anywhere else,” she said. “It’s easier to take care of him here.”
Silver then described Van Dyke as being a “trooper.”
“I don’t know of any other person of, you know, senior citizen age that would put up with this,” she gushed.
Full Story: Dick Van Dyke, 99, Defiantly Refuses To Evacuate Home Amidst Wildfires
Van Dyke Evacuated During Franklin Fire
Just before he turned 99 in December, Van Dyke was evacuated from his Malibu home, as it was threatened by the Franklin Fire. This was a harrowing experience, to say the least.
“We got out of here,” Van Dyke told Today at the time. “I was trying to crawl to the car, I had exhausted myself, I couldn’t get up.”
“Three neighbors came and carried me out and came back and put out a little fire in the guest house and saved me,” he continued.
Thankfully, Van Dyke’s home did not end up being damaged in that fire either. Watch Van Dyke talk more about this in the video below.
Full Story: Dick Van Dyke Turns 99 Days After ‘Crawling’ To Safety To Escape Massive Wildfire
Van Dyke Is ‘Not Afraid’ Of Death
Van Dyke turned 99 on December 13. To mark this occasion, he and Silver starred in the music video for Coldplay’s new song, “All My Love,” which was filmed at their Malibu home. In the video, Van Dyke stated that he is “not afraid” of death.
“I’m acutely aware that I could go any day now. But I don’t know why it doesn’t concern me. I’m not afraid of it,” Van Dyke said. “I have that feeling, totally against anything intellectual, that I’m going to be all right.”
“I think I’m one of those lucky people who got to do for a living what I would have done anyway,” he continued. “When you think how lucky I am — I got to do what I do, play and act silly.”
Check out that music video for yourself below.
Van Dyke is a true legend, and there will never be another one like him. God bless him for stepping up to use his incredible talent to help raise money for wildfire victims!
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