Dick Van Dyke on Being Honored at 98, What’s Still on His Bucket List and What He Hopes His Legacy Will Be
variety.comEmily Longeretta Dick Van Dyke hasn’t worked a day in his life. At least, that’s how it feels to him now. “Everything I did was play.
I didn’t grasp that until I watched that whole show,” he said of sitting in the audience for his recent CBS special, “Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic.” The comedy legend added: “I enjoyed everything I did, and not a lot of people can say that.” His enjoyment is evident in his projects — from “Bye Bye Birdie” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show” to “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” — and, he believes, the audience can see it. “People can tell how you’re feeling.
They can see beyond an actor’s performance. People sense if you’re having a good time. I try to avoid things that aren’t any fun,” he said in our interview, conducted before the June 7 Daytime Emmys ceremony. “I’m up for an Emmy for a part I did on a soap opera.
And although it was a serious part … if I win for a soap opera, that’ll kind of be the cherry on top.” That evening, Van Dyke became the oldest-ever Daytime Emmy winner — his sixth — for his guest role in Peacock’s “Days of Our Lives.” And a soap wasn’t something he ever thought he’d do. “They called me out of the blue, and I liked the part,” he said. “I played a father, and I’m a great-grandpa in real life!
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