The Hollywood legend Dick Van Dyke is celebrating his 99th birthday. Unfortunately, this comes after quite a difficult week for him, as he was forced to “crawl” to safety in order to escape a wildfire surrounding his home in Malibu, California just a few days ago.
Van Dyke Escapes Wildfire
Van Dyke could see the wildfires blazing around his home on Tuesday. He tried to make his way outside to get to his firehose, but he soon had to resort to crawling. Thankfully, his neighbors caught sight of him and ran outside to help the Mary Poppins star.
“It was coming over the hill. You [could] see it,” he later recalled. “I was trying to crawl to the car. I had exhausted myself, I couldn’t get up. And three neighbors came and carried me out… came back and put out a little fire in the guest house… saved me.”
Van Dyke went on to say that he was “soaking wet” as he made his escape.
Find out more about this in the video below.
Related: Dick Van Dyke Forced To Flee Malibu Fire Days Before His 99th Birthday
Van Dyke Gets Good News
Once he was safe with his wife Arlene Silver, 53, Van Dyke took to social media to update his fans.
“Arlene and I have safely evacuated with our animals except for Bobo escaped as we were leaving,” he wrote. “We’re praying he’ll be ok and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires.”
Bobo is one of Van Dyke’s cats. Luckily, they were eventually reunited when Van Dyke was able to return home.
“There was so much interest in his disappearance that Animal Control was called in to assist,” Van Dyke said afterwards. “But, thankfully he was easy to find and not harmed.”
Van Dyke went on to say that his home was spared from the flames of the wildfire. That and finding Bobo must have been the best birthday presents that Van Dyke could ask for!
Related: Dick Van Dyke Reveals He’s ‘Not Afraid’ Of Death Days Before 99th Birthday
Van Dyke Is ‘Not Afraid’ Of Death
Days before the wildfire, Van Dyke starred in the music video for Coldplay’s new song, “All My Love.” The music video was filmed at Van Dyke’s Malibu home, and it took a look back at his iconic Hollywood career. In the video, Van Dyke revealed 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.”
In the video, Van Dyke showed that he’s still got it after all these years by dancing. Indeed, he recreated some of his most legendary moves from Mary Poppins, The Dick Van Dyke Show and more.
Check out the touching music video for yourself below.
Making it to the age of 99 is quite an achievement. After such a crazy week, we can only hope that Van Dyke is enjoying a peaceful birthday today.
Happy birthday, Dick Van Dyke!
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