Actor Dick Van Dyke’s wife Arlene Silver has issued a health statement after the actor missed a comedy event due to illness.
The 99-year-old Mary Poppins actor, who has been married to Silver, 53, for the last 13 years, was slated to host his event Vandy Camp at Malibu High School on Saturday, 28 June, but dropped out last minute.
During a speech, Silver acknowledged she was “not the Van Dyke you’re expecting” and told the audience, “I have to inform you that Dick is not up to coming to celebrate with us today. I’m sorry,” People reported.
“When you’re 99 and a half years old, you have good days and bad days,” she explained. “Unfortunately, today is not a good day for him, and he’s sick that he can’t be here.”
The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star instead made an appearance at the event via livestream, with Silver saying she is “certain” he would make the next Vandy Camp in person, a date for which is yet to be announced.
Van Dyke, who will turn 100 this December, revealed at a Vandy Camp event last month that he and Ed Asner were planning to remake the comedy The Odd Couple before the latter’s death in 2021 at the age of 91.
“That would’ve been such fun, and we lost it. I’ve lost a lot of friends,” Van Dyke said. To which, Silver chimed in: “He’s outlived everybody.”
However, she noted that the 99-year-old is “still so positive” despite losing so many friends over the years. “Well, life’s been good to me. I can’t complain,” the star replied.
Van Dyke became a household name in the United States when he starred in sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show from 1961 to 1966, and went on to appear in beloved movie musicals such as the 1964 adaptation of Mary Poppins, in which he played Cockney chimney sweep Bert, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
More recently, he has starred in the Night at the Museum movies and also made a cameo in 2018 sequel Mary Poppins Returns. In 2023, he appeared on the US edition of The Masked Singer, surprising viewers and leaving the judges in tears when he was unmasked as Gnome.
As the winner of a Grammy, a Tony Award and multiple Emmys, Van Dyke would only need to win an Oscar to become one of the few performers to secure EGOT status.
