Dick Van Dyke turns 100: 5 things to know about the Mary Poppins star
We look back on what the actor – best known as chimney sweep Bert in Mary Poppins – has said about Walt Disney, James Bond and the key to ageing gracefully
Dick Van Dyke turns 100 today, on December 13, and the world is celebrating this milestone with him. The Mary Poppins icon and author of 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life recently admitted to The New York Times that while he’s “super old ... sometimes I feel like I’m 15 again”.
Here are five interesting facts about the star.
His parents weren’t in showbiz
Dick Van Dyke was born in West Plains, Missouri, to Loren “Cookie” Van Dyke and Hazel Van Dyke. His father was a minor-league baseball player and musician who became a salesman to support his family, he told The Guardian. His mother was a stenographer. His younger brother, Jerry Van Dyke, was a comedian.
Before becoming an actor, Van Dyke served as a radio announcer in the US Army Air Corps during the Second World War and briefly ran an ad agency, according to CNN.
He once didn’t know his real birthday
In his memoir My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business, Van Dyke revealed that just before turning 18, he was contemplating joining the US Air Force. That’s when his mother told him he was actually already 18 and that his date of birth had been pushed forward from December to March because he was born premature. However, his grandmother later disclosed that the date was altered because he was born out of wedlock – a scandal in 1925 and especially in their small town.