At 97, ‘Lucky’ Dick Van Dyke Is ‘Grateful’ To Have Celebrated Father's Day With His Kids & Grandkids

Jun 21, 2023 by apost team

Actor Dick Van Dyke has been a long-standing industry treasure since he first graced our screens in the 1940s. Memorably, he starred in the original 1961 production of "Bye Bye Birdie," which earned him a Tony Award. Van Dyke also starred in his series, "The Dick Van Dyke Show," which ran throughout the early '60s, making the actor a television staple in households across the country. Audiences would later see Van Dyke perform in such classics as "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and "Mary Poppins," two roles that endeared him to a generation of children.

Van Dyke's career would go on to span a staggering seven decades, with the seasoned actor continuing to work well into his golden years. Over time, this dedication to his craft earned Van Dyke countless awards, including five Primetime Emmy Awards, one Tony, and a Grammy Award. Additionally, Van Dyke was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995 and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993. In 2013, Van Dyke received the Screen Actor Guild's highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award. 

With a career spanning seven decades, it's no surprise that Van Dyke has won a handful of awards and has made a positive impact on others in the industry, his fans at home and even his own family. Van Dyke has four children and seven grandchildren and has incorporated his family into his television endeavors. 

At 97, Van Dyke celebrated Father's Day 2023 in the comfort of his home around the people that he loved. In a cute Instagram post that he shared to celebrate the occasion, Van Dyke made everyone's hearts flutter with joy in seeing the sweet moment his family spent with him. Keep on reading to learn more about Van Dyke and his mini-celebration. 

Van Dyke is known for his physical comedic acting abilities, and CBS This Morning described him as elastic-limbed with impeccable timing. Van Dyke told the program, "I had always been an admirer of Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy. So as a kid I practiced falling. And I had worked it all out."

The actor's initial claim to fame was performing in "Bye Bye Birdie" on Broadway and then in the "Dick Van Dyke Show," but he is most well-known with younger audiences for appearing in "Mary Poppins." 

Van Dyke has been married to his current wife, Arlene Silver, since February 29, 2012. The pair met six years prior at the SAG Awards. Van Dyke was 86 at the time, while Silver – a make-up artist – was 40.

When questioned on their age gap, Van Dyke said: "I sometimes forget that we're doing a great experiment here — 46 years difference. And we work at it to some extent, there's got to be some understanding, find out what old habits don't work anymore. It takes some adjusting and fitting in but that's part of the fun of it."

Van Dyke has been very honest about his life, specifically his struggle with alcoholism. He spoke about the addiction on "The Dick Cavett Show" in 1974. 

"By the time I realized I was in trouble I was too deluded, like most alcoholics are, to understand what was wrong with me. I had friends who said, 'You're crazy.' But it seemed to — it seemed to help a lot of people. I got a lot of mail from people who said, 'You know, if you can do it, I can do it,'" Van Dyke told Cavett.

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Today, Van Dyke is 97 and has been healthy and sober for years. In 1967, Van Dyke was named Father of the Year by the National Father's Day Committee. The National Father's Day Committee, an entity of the Father's Day/Mother's Day Council, each year confers Father of the Year Honors on contemporary lifestyle leaders of our culture whose lives are dedicated to family, citizenship, charity, civility, responsibility and reverence.

Speaking to The Guardian in 2016, Van Dyke confessed that his parenting wasn't all a walk in the park. 

"I tried to be a good role model to my children, but I was an alcoholic for 25 years. When I went into therapy, I realized I was repeating my father's mistakes," he admitted to the publication. 

In a touching Instagram post, the television icon shared that he was in the company of his family. In a video, Van Dyke and his family gathered around the living room for a photo, followed by a photo of them together. 

In the caption, Van Dyke wrote his realizations:

"I never realized when I was first having kids what I was starting. But, I'm amazed and grateful to have lived long enough to spend Father's Day with some of my kids, grandchildren AND great grandchildren!! All wonderful, non-toxic people!! And to share it all with my greatest gift @bijoubox in our magical fairyland @vandymanor I'm a very lucky boy!! @wesvandyke_fineart."

Notably, Van Dyke has four children, all from his late ex-wife Margie Willet. They were Christian, Barry, Stacy Van, and Carrie Beth. They all made their respective Hollywood debuts early in their life on their father's shows – "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "Diagnosis: Murder," and "The New Dick Van Dyke Show."

Happy Father's Day, Dick Van Dyke! Are you a fan of Dick Van Dyke? What can you say about his Father's Day realizations? Let us know, and pass this on to your family, friends, and other loved ones out there!