Staying Fit! 96-Year-Old Dick Van Dyke Leaves the Gym Sporting a ‘Mary Poppins’ Sweatshirt
21.05.2022 - 00:59
/ usmagazine.com
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 Birdie alum enjoyed a lunch date with wife Arlene Silver on Friday, May 20, in Malibu California, after exercising at the gym. In photos obtained 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 Poppins in which he portrayed the local chimney sweep, Mr. Dawes.
The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star and New York Native, 50, who tied the knot in February 2011, were originally concerned about how the public would react 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 Weekly in March. “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 we do almost every 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 in 2007 at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where the Diagnosis Murder star presented the lifetime achievement award to Mary Poppins costar Julie Andrews and the makeup artist was tasked with powdering his nose.
“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