Dick Van Dyke is 98 years old, and he couldn’t be happier.
He and his wife, Arlene Silver, met at the SAG Awards in 2006 and tied the knot in 2012, despite Silver being 46 years younger. For Van Dyke, that didn’t matter. He recalled meeting Silver, 52, during a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight’s Kevin Frazier.
“I never approached a strange woman in my life,” he said. “And she walked by and I jumped and I said, ‘Hi, I’m Dick.’ I had no idea she was half my age. Beautiful.”
Silver was a makeup artist, and the actor used that as a reason to get her business card.
“She had one card left, which I took and hired her,” he said.
What started as a friendship eventually became more, and as the two bonded, Silver said, their romance began to seem more natural.
“We were friends for so long that when I told people that I know, they were happy about [our relationship], and I was scared,” Silver said. “I mean, the facts, our age difference. But it’s so irrelevant. I think when you see us together, it’s like you don’t think about it.”
Van Dyke jumped in, adding, “I was fortunate that I didn’t grow up.”
The Mary Poppins star’s acting career has spanned more than 70 years as he became known as a comedian, singer and dancer. His self-titled sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke Show, ran from 1961 to 1966, concluding 13 years before Silver was born.
Silver says Van Dyke taught her the joys he had shared with TV and movie audiences for decades.
“I’ve never met anyone like him,” she said. “He’s always happy and just positive. Always singing, and I would never sing in public. He got me to sing. He got me to sing up on a stage and sang in front of 1,500 people for the first time. He’s just the most joyful person. He influences everybody else to be more joyful, playful.”
Even at his age, Van Dyke isn’t ready to slow down. He credited exercise for helping to keep him going.
“I’ve often tried to think what did I do to live this long and I can’t figure out,” he said. “The only thing is I’ve always exercised. We still go to the gym three days a week and work out. And I believe that’s the secret. Most people at 98 years old don’t really feel like working out and they seize up, you know?”
