Dick Van Dyke's wife issues health update after actor pulls out of event
1 July 2025, 15:52
The Mary Poppins actor, 99, was forced to cancel his appearance over the weekend due to health concerns.
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Dick Van Dyke was forced to pull out of a public appearance over the weekend due to poor health, his wife has revealed.
The 99-year-old Mary Poppins actor was set to appear at a Vandy Camp event held at the Arlene & Dick Van Dyke Theater in Malibu, USA, on Saturday night but cancelled last minute because he wasn't well.
During a speech at the meet-up, his spouse of 13 years, Arlene Silver, apologised to fans who were expecting the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star and acknowledged that she wasn't the "the Van Dyke you're expecting".
Instead, the make-up artist explained why her elderly husband, who turns 100 on 13th December this year, was struggling to rally for the 'carnival-meets-convention-like experience'.
According to People, she told the crowd: "I have to inform you that Dick is not up to coming to celebrate with us today. I’m sorry.
"When you’re 99 and a half years old, you have good days and bad days.
"Unfortunately, today is not a good day for him, and he’s sick that he can’t be here."
Dick Van Dyke managed to make an appearance via a live-stream on 28th June after Arlene assured attendees she was "pretty confident" he would attend the next Vandy Camp session "in person".
She also opened up about how her famous husband had given her the "confidence to be able to stand up here right now" and deliver a speech in front of an audience.
Arlene, who is 46 years his junior, admitted: "I would never be able to do this maybe, like, a year ago, but I've had so many experiences pushing myself out of my comfort zone, and right now I'm out of my comfort zone.
"But I have to wear my big girl pants and hold the reins without Dick here as the safety net that he's always here with me."
Later in her speech, Arlene talked about how their joint venture had grown over the years and was now more than "just Dick Van Dyke".
She beamed: "It is a celebration of your childhood, all of our childhoods, the music that's in the fabric of all of us, [and] Dick Van Dyke is a big part of that."
Previous Vandy Camp events have seen the legendary entertainer perform some of his famous songs for fans, including live renditions of the theme tune for The Dick Van Dyke Show, plus the famous Mary Poppins tongue twister Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Arlene, who first met Dick at the SAG Awards in 2006, then praised the actor's fans by labelling them as "the greatest human beings I've ever known", adding: "These Vandy Camp [events] are a wonderful opportunity to have you all in the same room and meet each other."
- Read more: Disney World to introduce its first ever Mary Poppins attraction - and Dick Van Dyke helped
- Read more: Mary Poppins age rating raised to PG due to 'discriminatory language'
