This evening, a group of my friends and I — and a surprising number of folks who told me they bought tickets after reading the announcement on this blog — packed the Catalina Bar and Grill up on Sunset for a performance by Dick Van Dyke. Boy, did we have a good time. At the age of 92 years, 2 months and 14 days, Dick is still a great entertainer. No, he can't dance like he used to but he can still light up a stage just with his smile and style. Just try to think of a more beloved star. I'll wait.
Can't name one, can you?
Dick didn't do it alone on the Catalina stage, of course. His wonderful wife Arlene came up to sing a little…and to surprise Dick by noting that tomorrow — i.e., today by the time I post this — is their sixth wedding anniversary. Also up there at times was Dick's singing group, The Vantastix, and a great band…and we all had a rousing good time.
Here's a video of the last 50 minutes of the show so you can see why we all had that rousing good time. Depending on your browser, you may have to click off a little "X" next to the audio icon to hear the audio.
If you don't have time to watch the whole thing, move the slider over and start at the 44 minute mark and watch my favorite part of the evening. We all got to sing with Dick Van Dyke on the song you'd most want to sing with Dick Van Dyke. Gee, we love that man…