How old is Dick Van Dyke?
DICK Van Dyke will always be known for playing the cheeky jack-of-all-trades Bert in Mary Poppins.
He may now be well into his 90s but that hasn't slowed the legendary actor down.
How old is Dick Van Dyke?
Actor Dick was born on December 13, 1925, which makes him the grand age of 95-years-old.
When Mary Poppins was originally released in 1964, he was 39-years-old.
In 1961 he starred in comedy series The Dick Van Dyke Show, which made him a household name.
He starred as comedy writer Rob Petrie with Mary Tyler Moore playing his wife Laura. The show won a handful of Emmy Awards during its five-year run.
How did Dick Van Dyke land the role of Bert in Mary Poppins?
After starring in the film version of Bye Bye Birdie in the role of Albert J. Peterson, which he played on Broadway, he was cast by Disney in Mary Poppins in 1964.
His main role was as Bert, a jack-of-all-trades who is very good friends with Mary Poppins, but he was also cast as the doddery old bank chairman Mr Dawes Senior.
The film, which starred Julie Andrews in the lead role, was a huge success and Chim Chim Cher-ee, which Bert sings in the movie, went on to win the Oscar for Best Original Song.
However, to this day, Dyke’s Cockney accent is lambasted as the accent in film history, and according to Dyke, no one on the set of the film told him how bad it was.
But to this day it is still his best-known role and on his 90th birthday, he was surprised by a flash-mob at The Grove shopping mall in Los Angeles.
Dyke also starred in Disney’s 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in the lead role of Caractacus Pott, after he turned down the role of Fagin in the 1968 musical Oliver!
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What is Dick Van Dyke's backstory?
Dick Van Dyke was born Richard Wayne Van Dyke in West Plains, Missouri on December 13 1925 to mother Hazel, a stenographer, and father Loren, a salesman.
He considered becoming a minister but after attending a drama class in high school, he realised his true calling.
After he left school in 1944, Dick tried to join the US Air Force for pilot training during World War Two but he was denied for being too underweight.
Instead he became a radio announcer before transferring to the Special Services – the entertainment branch of the US military – to perform to the troops.