Dick Van Dyke’s been in the news a lot lately. Not only because he is rapidly approaching a major age milestone, but also because he is also a national treasure, and he was supposed to appear at the 2024 Emmys earlier this month, but ultimately bowed out. Aging is a fact of life and can sometimes get in the way of plans, but at nearly 99, fans are clearly interested in what the almost centenarian has going on these days, particularly given he has a big birthday coming up.
In fact, a member of the paparazzi recently caught him out and about on the street and asked him if he had plans for his 99th birthday. His response was merry but also a little morbid, with the actor stating:
Just praying that I make it.
Unexpected right? Having said that, hitting one’s 98th birthday is no mean feat, and Dick Van Dyke is rapidly on the way to turning 99. His birthday will come around again on December 13.
Ninety-nine is actually a milestone that Van Dyke’s TV contemporary Betty White actually hit back in 2021 (it was in the middle of Covid so she spent the day feeding her ducks and doing other stuff around the house). At the time she was looking forward to celebrating the big 1-0-0, but White passed away a mere 17 days before she would have hit that goal.
From the looks of things (via Page Six), Mr. Van Dyke is just putting his best foot forward every day and seeing where life goes. He was even still driving before an accident in 2023. Though lately, it does seem as if he’s taken a step back from public life. When he missed the 2024 Emmys after being scheduled to present, people were a little bit concerned. That narrative continued in September when Mr. Van Dyke also canceled an appearance at a FanX fest in Salt Lake City. Organizers at the time said the actor was “not able to travel” to the event.
We are sorry to announce that Dick Van Dyke is not able to travel to FanX. He expresses his gratitude to all of those who continue to support him but, at almost 99 years of age, traveling and interacting with thousands of people is more than he is able to do at this time.
It’s worth pointing out that Van Dyke has been forced to cancel appearances due to health prior to this year, including a time in 2018.
In addition, we can say the number 99 a bunch of times, but really to hit home the idea further, I just found out the other day that Dick Van Dyke landed his first role on television 75 years ago. Yes, 75.
The mid-fifties are actually around the time TV’s were becoming more common in homes. His career has been long, storied and quite prolific. He’s been a constant companion to many of us on the big and small screen. He deserves a rest from the limelight, but it’s nice to see that he’s still out and about.
