Dick Van Dyke is 88 years old today. Ordinarily, when someone you like hits a number like that, you politely don't mention how old they are but in Dick's case…well, the guy doesn't look 88 and he sure doesn't act 88. I'd say "I hope I'm that fit when I'm 88" but the truth is I'd like to be that fit today.
He's been my favorite performer for an awfully long time. I've written here before about how attending a filming of The Dick Van Dyke Show when I was 13 changed my life an awful lot. I'd already decided I wanted to be a writer if and when I grew up but it was that evening I decided I wanted to be, at least some of the time, a comedy writer.
And part of me wanted to be Rob Petrie because he got to sleep with Laura, while part of me wanted to be Dick Van Dyke because he was just so cool and likeable. He just lit up the set when he appeared and it was like that every moment he was there, even when he wasn't in character. During one lull in the filming, he entertained the audience by palming a business card. The next day, thanks to a magic book from the library, I learned how to palm a business card.
It's darn near the only thing I can do almost as well as Dick Van Dyke. I sure can't sing or dance or act or trip over an ottoman…and my English accent makes his sound like Rex Harrison's.
In the last few years, I've gotten to know Dick a little…a lovely man. He has a lovely wife, too…someone who knows how to take real good care of a National Treasure.
Meeting an idol can sometimes be a major letdown but that has not been the case here. He's funny and charming and just as nice as you'd want the guy to be. There's also a very nice aura of happiness about him. He's usually happy — a mutual friend says, "Well, since he married Arlene" — but unlike some happy people, he has a way of spreading his happiness to others around him.
I suspect that's a lot of the reason he doesn't look 88 or act 88. I also suspect it's a better thing to learn from him than how to palm a business card. Happy Today, Dick!