Dick Van Dyke Opens Up About Death Ahead of 100th Birthday

Dick Van Dyke will be celebrating his centennial birthday in a matter of weeks and the star got honest about his mortality.

The 99-year-old Hollywood legend – who recently broke his silence on the legendary role he regrets turning down – will turn 100 on December 13 and though many do not even want to think about life without him, the star talked openly about the matter.

‘The end of my life is so much closer,’ Van Dyke told People on Tuesday. 

‘When you expire, you expire.  I don’t have any fear of dearth for some reason. I can’t explain that but I don’t. I’ve had such a wonderfully full and exciting life. That I can’t complain.’

The A-lister also talked about how he feels going into his mega milestone birthday as he said: ‘The fact that I made it.

‘I feel really good for 100. Sometimes I have more energy than others — but I never wake up in a bad mood.’

One of his secrets to longevity has been to rely on his optimism and have an overall sunny outlook on life.

Van Dyke said: ‘People say “What did you do right?” I don’t know. I’m rather lazy. I’ve always thought that anger is one thing that eats up a person’s insides — and hate. 

‘And I never really was able to work up a feeling of hate. I think that is one of the chief things that kept me going.’

He went on to say that there were things he didn’t like and people he doesn’t like and even disapproves of but he never let that consume him.

The Mary Poppins star explained: ‘But I never really was able to do a white heat kind of hate. My father (Loren Van Dyke) was constantly upset by the state of things in his life and it did take him at 73 years old.’

Van Dyke also expressed his gratitude for his wife Arlene Silver, 54, as he has previously said that marrying her in 2012 was the only thing he did ‘right.’ 

He revealed that she keeps him young at heart as he said: ‘She’s responsible for keeping me in the moment. 

‘She kept me happy every day of my life, every day. She’s a joy. She can get me singing or dancing and she carries so much responsibility … I’m just lucky.’

He married Arlene in 2012 — and earlier this year, he made a rare remark on their 46-year age gap as he opened up about how they ‘get along so well.’ 

Meanwhile leading up to celebration,  the silver screen legend showed off his still-sharp sense of humor while making an appearance at an event last month.

‘That’s right. I’m not officially 100 until December. Two months,’ he said, according to People. ‘It’d be funny if I didn’t make it.’ 

He also reflected on his secret to living a long life but said he should have ‘taken better care’ of himself. 

This comes after the Mary Poppins star opened up about the reality of living to be a nonagenarian. 

‘I brag sometimes about how I made it to a hundred and the truth is, if I had known I Was going to live this long, I would’ve taken better care of myself,’ he said. 

‘And it is frustrating because I don’t know what I did right. Other than her, I didn’t do anything right.’ 

At the event, he also reportedly sang happy birthday for a six-year-old fan and performed Chitty Chitty Bang Bang from his same-name movie. 

He also sang Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from Mary Poppins as well as the theme from The Dick Van Dyke Show for his fans. 

The High Tea event, which was produced by Chris Isaacson Events, comes after Rick Springfield shared a post with the movie star at the gym last month. 

‘Filming an episode of Men’s Health and I went to the gym and who should be there but 99-year-old Dick Van Dyke working out on every machine,’ he wrote in his caption alongside a photo of them posing together. 

‘I thought I was doing well at 76 but Dick got up from the chest press machine and did a little dance step before I left! Amazing!’ 

Earlier this year in January, the comedian opened up about his fitness regime during an episode of the Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast.

‘When you think… I go back to 1925, I’m almost 100. This is insane. I’m going to have a big party,’ Van Dyke expressed.

‘Somebody said, “To what do you attribute your age and physical condition?” And I said, “I’ve always exercised.” Three days a week, we go to the gym, still. Three days a week.’

One of the podcast hosts Ted Danson also recalled seeing Van Dyke at a gym in Malibu.

‘If I got there early enough, I would see you literally work out on some weight machine,’ the Cheers alum said. 

‘Then, almost like you were doing circuit training, you would not walk to the next machine, but dance. You literally danced to the next machine and I watched that for a couple of weeks.’ 

Back in May, the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star revealed what the ‘curse’ of living to almost 100 is during a Q&A at the Dick & Arlene Van Dyke Present Vandy Camp event. 

At one point, the actor explained how both he and late friend Ed Asner had planned to do a remake of The Odd Couple before his passing in August 2021, per People. 

‘That would’ve been such fun, and we lost it. I’ve lost a lot of friends,’ Van Dyke said. 

His wife then cut in to add: ‘He’s outlived everybody. That’s the curse of living to almost 100.’