Dick Van Dyke Turns 100: A Century of Laughter and Legend

Actor Dick Van Dyke will turn 100 on December 13, 2025. A singer, entertainer, comedian, and television producer, he is best known for his roles in Mary Poppins (1968) and The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966). Born to a stenographer and a traveling salesman, he joined the Air Force as a pilot during World War II, leaving high school early. After the war, he worked in radio before making his Broadway debut in The Girls Against the Boys (1959). He won a Tony Award in 1961 for Bye Bye Birdie. The Dick Van Dyke Show, created by Carl Reiner for CBS, ran for 158 episodes over five seasons, with Van Dyke playing Rob Petrie, a comedy writer balancing work and family. The show mixed slapstick, satire, and modern marriage portrayal. Van Dyke later appeared in series such as Columbo, Highway to Heaven, The Golden Girls, Matlock, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Scrubs, and The Middle. From 1993, he starred in the medical drama Diagnosis: Murder alongside his son Barry Van Dyke. In 1964, he starred in Mary Poppins, playing both Bert and the elderly bank director (credited as 'Navckid Keyd'). He returned for the 2018 sequel Mary Poppins Returns as Mr. Dawes Jr. Van Dyke authored the autobiography Keep Moving: And Other Tips and Truths About Aging in 2015.