Almost 60 years since he appeared as Bert, the lovable chimney sweep in Mary Poppins, Dick Van Dyke and his younger wife Arlene Silver paid homage to the movie’s creator with a casual visit to Disneyland.
On October 2, the 97-year-old Van Dyke — escorted in a wheelchair by a Disney cast member — was spotted by starstruck fans who went wild after seeing the legendary actor having some fun at the theme park in Anaheim, California.
Less than two months before his 98th birthday, Dick Van Dyke and wife Arlene Silver, 52, thrilled park goers with a rare public outing at Disneyland, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
The couple — who wed in 2012 — made their appearance at the theme park only months after a March 2023 accident, when Van Dyke crashed his car into a gate.
Only needing stitches on his chin, the star walked away with minor injuries, even joking at the time, “I’m doing okay. I’m 97–all my friends are dead.”
Forever young
“Put me on solid ground and I’ll start tapping,” Van Dyke told Closer in 2019.
Crediting his youthfulness to singing, dancing and the “beautiful, young wife” he met in 2007, the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star said, “Everyone should dance. And everyone should sing. People say, ‘Well, I can’t sing.’ Everybody can sing. That you do it badly is no reason not to sing. I have a beautiful, young wife who sings and dances, so there’s a lot of duetting going on at my house.”
Referring to the age difference between him and Silver, the multiple award winner continued, “I sometimes forget that we’re doing a great experiment here, 46 years difference. And we work at it to some extent…It takes some adjusting and fitting in, but that’s part of the fun of it.”
Their visit to Disneyland, where they were the main attraction, is a great example of how he stays young.
Disney star spotted
The star of the Dick Van Dyke Show was seen in a wheelchair, beaming with happiness as he caught a performance of the barbershop quartet, the Dapper Dans on Main Street U.S.A.
Sporting a shaggy gray beard, the actor was wearing a blue sweater and matching ball cap. Silver, who was celebrating her 52nd birthday, opted for black pants and shirt with “Churros and the Haunted Mansion” written across the front.
Sharing a clip of Van Dyke bopping along to the tunes of the Dapper Dans, one TikTok user writes, “Who else saw [Bert] yesterday…living his best life at Disneyland on a jolly holiday!?!?”
One user, referring to Van Dyke’s co-star in Mary Poppins, said “He was there on Julie Andrews birthday, I’m sobbing.” Andrews, who played the magical nanny in the 1964 musical fantasy, turned 88 on October 1.
Another netizen writes, “Can you imagine the quartet on break after this??? The conversation would be insane,” while another shares, “We saw him but didn’t get pics!!! I told my mom who was with us and she didn’t believe it was him!! I’m glad you’re all validating me!”
Disney travel planner Phili Chavez also captured a video of the iconic actor smiling and waving to fans from a balcony in New Orleans Square.
Referring to the Mary Poppins song “Spoon Full of Sugar,” one cyber fan writes about the clip, “I would have lost my collective spoon full of sugar if I saw the absolute legend there.” A second shares, “TRUE DISNEY LEGEND!”
Meanwhile, many fans were commenting on his positive energy, which echoes the characters he’s played.
“He is just an amazing, talented man. 97 and still enjoying life, always with a smile,” said one. A second writes, “An absolute magical moment being able to see the one and only D.V.D!”
“He’s always so happy! He’s got a secret stash from the fountain of youth,” writes a third about the Bye Bye Birdie star.
What a great surprise it must have been for park goers to see this Disney legend at the park! Mary Poppins is an all-time classic and it’s safe to say that the majority of us know at least some of the words to all of the songs.
We’re so happy to see Dick Van Dyke is enjoying his life and still spreading the happiness to others.
Please share this story about this incredible human and let’s send him some love!
If you enjoyed reading this story, you’ll definitely love reading about his performance on Masked Singer:
READ MORE
- Dick Van Dyke, 97, returns to acting as guest star on ‘Days of Our Lives’
- Dick Van Dyke, 97, offers update on condition after single-car crash in Malibu
