At 99, Dick van Dyke has outlived just about all of his contemporaries.
“That’s the curse of living to almost 100,” his wife, Arlene, 53, said during a recent Q&A.
During a conversation at the Dick & Arlene Van Dyke Present Vandy Camp event in Malibu, California, Dick revealed he and Ed Asner were planning to remake the classic comedy The Odd Couple before the latter’s death in August 2021 at the age of 91.
“That would’ve been such fun, and we lost it. I’ve lost a lot of friends,” Dick said, according to People.
“He’s outlived everybody,” Arlene chimed in.
However, she noted that the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star is “still so positive” despite losing so many friends over the years.
“Well, life’s been good to me. I can’t complain,” Dick replied.
Dick is preparing to celebrate his 100th birthday in December.
Ahead of his 99th birthday last year, the Mary Poppins star said he wasn’t afraid of dying.
“I’m acutely aware that I could go any day now,” Dick said in a music video for Coldplay’s “All My Love,” “but I don’t know why it doesn’t concern me. I’m not afraid of it. I have the feeling that I’m gonna be alright.”
Dick and Arlene have been married for the last 13 years.
The couple first met at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2006 where Silver was working and Van Dyke was appearing during the ceremony. Although Van Dyke was 81 and she was 35 at the time, the two didn’t strike up a romance until after Van Dyke’s longtime partner Michelle Triola Marvin died from lung cancer in 2009.
“Everybody said it wouldn't work,” Dick told People in April this year.
“Yeah. I mean it's like eerie how well it works. People the same age don't last,” added Arlene.
Dick previously admitted in an interview with People in 2013 that he was initially afraid his relationship wouldn’t be accepted due to the 46-year age gap, but he was surprised by his family’s reaction.
“My grandkids call her Grandma. My four kids just love her,” he said at the time.
The actor also joked about Arlene keeping him young. When speaking to Yahoo in 2023, he was asked about his “secret for staying so youthful.”
“Having a beautiful young wife half my age to take care of me — that works!” he replied.
Van Dyke was previously married to Margie Willett from 1948 to 1984. Together, the former couple had four children: Christian, Barry, Stacy, and Carrie Beth. In 1976, Van Dyke began dating his longtime partner Michelle Triola Marvin, who would live with Van Dyke for more than 30 years until her death.
