Dick Van Dyke at the opening reception for Dick Van Dyke - Moments in Time.Photo:SplashNews
SplashNews
Dick Van Dykemade a rare public appearance in Southern California on Sunday to attend a special exhibition honoring his life.
According to the event’s website, Van Dyke met Johansen in 2015 when she took some photos of him and his family at a fan art exhibit. Van Dyke then asked the visual artist to become his “personal photographer.”
“Laura Johansen’s photographs are pure artwork, almost like paintings,” Van Dyke said, while his wife, who spoke on stage with her husband on Sunday to a packed crowd, noted that she was a “master of shadow and light.”
Dick Van Dyke and wife, Arlene Silver (left), leaving the Moments in Time portrait exhibition on Nov. 19 in Malibu.SplashNews
The special, which the network announced on Thursday, will feature music and dance performances, special guests, along with a festive holiday number to honor theMary Poppinsstar, who officially turns 98 on Dec. 13.
“I started with CBS under contract in 1955 with the CBS morning show, thenThe Dick Van Dyke ShowandDiagnosis Murder,” Van Dyke said in a statement. “I’ve been with the CBS family for almost 70 years, and I couldn’t be prouder.”
“I’m incredibly honored that CBS will be throwing a 98th birthday special for me,” the four-time Emmy Award winner added. “Can’t wait to be part of the show!”
Dick Van Dyke answers questions for fans at the Moments in Time portrait series exhibition on Nov. 19 in Malibu.SplashNews
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“When we made those, [there] were three commercials in a half an hour. Now there’s about six commercials in a half an hour. So our old show is just cut to pieces,” he shared ahead of his appearance onThe Masked Singer. “I can’t bear a look at it.”
When he does happen to come across his work, however, “he’ll talk about himself as if he’s another person,” Silver added to PEOPLE. “When he’s watchingThe Dick Van Dyke Show, he’ll talk about it like, ‘Look at him doing whatever.'”
Van Dyke also expressed to PEOPLE that he would like to return to the stage. “I would like to go back and do a play,” he said. “I’ve got enough material together to sit down to a one-man show, which I think I may do just for fun. I love to do that.”
In 2021, Van Dyke toldTodaythat he doesn’t see himself slowing down anytime soon, saying, “I don’t think I’ll ever retire, unless they made me. It’s too much fun! It’s such a good life.”
Dick Van Dyke -Moments in Time,which opened on Nov. 19, will run through Jan. 5, from 8:00 a.m. - 4 p.m. local time at Malibu City Hall.
source: people.com
