Entertainment
Dick Van Dyke, 98, becomes oldest Daytime Emmy award winner: ‘I don’t believe this!’
Talk about supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
On Friday, Dick Van Dyke became the oldest winner of a Daytime Emmy award, when he collected a trophy for his guest performance as Timothy Robicheaux on four episodes of Days of Our Lives.
“I’m the oldest nominee in history — I can’t believe it,” the 98-year-old Mary Poppins actor said in his acceptance speech. “If I had known I was gonna live this long, I would’ve taken better care of myself.”
Van Dyke — who also starred on The Dick Van Dyke Show, Diagnosis Murder, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang — appeared on four episodes of the soap last year.
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He was excited as he appeared on stage with his wife, Arlene Silver, as seen in the video above.
“I don’t believe this. I feel like a spy from nighttime television,” he said. “I brought this lady up because she, by trouble and strife, is the love of my life, but because she was also on the show — she played the cop who arrested me.” He joked, “She looks better than she did in that cop outfit.”
Van Dyke thanked the academy for being so warm to him: “You guys are a real family and just took me in and treated me so nicely.”
He added, “Thank you so much! This really tops off a lifetime of 80 years in the business.”
Van Dyke can add the hardware to his collection of the four Primetime Emmys and other awards that he’s won over the years. The prolific star is this close to joining the ranks of those with an EGOT, or having received at least one competitive Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. For that, he would need an Oscar.
One of the biggies that he does have is one of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors awarded in 2021. His remarkable career was celebrated by his Mary Poppins costar, Julie Andrews, as well as Steve Martin, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bryan Cranston, and the late Chita Rivera.