Dick Van Dyke. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP/Shutterstock
Supercalifragilistic! Dick Van Dyke is proving that a spoon full of sugar really does help the medicine go down — no matter how old you are!
The Bye Bye BirdieAlumnus enjoyed lunch with his wife Arlene SilverFriday, May 20, 2012, Malibu California. After working out at the gym. Photos by Page Six, the legendary actor can be seen rocking black sweatpants and a “spoonful of sugar” sweatshirt — a call back to his iconic 1964 film Mary PoppinsHe played Mr. Dawes the local chimney sweep in this film.
The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang50-year-old star and New York Native, 50 were initially concerned about how the public would respond to their 46 year age gap.
“I thought there would be an outcry about a gold digger marrying an old man,” Van Dyke admitted during an interview with Closer WeeklyMarch “But no one ever took that attitude.”
The Missouri native, who began his Broadway career more than half a century ago, credits his vitality to Silver’s like-mindedness and energy.
“We share an attitude,” the Emmy Award-winner said. “She can go with the flow. She loves to sing and dance, which she does almost every single day. She’s just delightful.”
Silver, for her part echoed the Matlock actor’s sentiment. “He is the most perfect human being,” she gushed at the time. “I’ve never met anyone so happy, so genuine, so amazing. He’s just like a happy pill.”
The couple met at Screen Actors Guild Awards 2007, where the Diagnosis MurderStar presented the award for lifetime achievement to Mary PoppinsCostar Julie AndrewsHe was also asked to powder his nose by a makeup artist.
“He said, ‘Hi, I’m Dick,’ and the first thing I asked him was, ‘Weren’t you in Mary Poppins?’” Silver recalled of meeting her husband. “We got along immediately as friends, so it didn’t feel like he was so much older than me.”
The performer spoke out about how he keeps his youthful spirit in a CNN interview in November 2015. “Don’t do anything that isn’t fun,” he advised. “I may have reached that point in life where I don’t have to do anything that isn’t fun.”
He went on to joke about his age: “It’s such a surprise. I remember at 80 I said this is acceptable, this is fine, I didn’t know it was a very slippery slope after that.”
In Beverly Hills, California, he attended a flashmob at The Grove to celebrate the Tony Award-winner’s 90th birthday celebration.
The performers, dressed like chimney sweeps just like Van Dyke’s character Bert from the Disney classic, delivered his trademark songs, including “Step In Time,” “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” “Jolly Holiday” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
At the tail end, he joined the group and delivered “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” from Poppins. The crowd then sang the actor’s birthday song.
Van Dyke posted a video via social media of the event at the time, tweeting: “I am very grateful that at 90 years old, I can still go out and play.”
