Beloved Hollywood icon Dick Van Dyke has candidly discussed the profound financial hardships he faced at the dawn of his career, revealing he took on a string of unusual jobs to keep his young family afloat.
The Gruelling Hustle to Escape Poverty
In a revealing interview with People magazine, the 99-year-old star of Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang reflected on a time when success seemed a distant dream. "In the beginning, I was [raising] a family with no money, so the whole thing was getting some money together and getting a home," Van Dyke explained. He admitted that his relentless work ethic to escape poverty sometimes came at a personal cost, stating, "[My family] probably got neglected at some point because I was really working hard to get out of poverty, so to speak."
The entertainer, who shared four children—Christian, 75, Barry, 74, Stacy, 70, and Carrie, 64—with his late first wife Margie Willett, described an exhausting routine. "I did game shows. I played nightclubs. I did about everything," he recalled. "At one point, I was doing a disc jockey show at 5 in the morning, and then at night I was working with a partner in nightclubs." Surviving on just three or four hours of sleep between gigs, his sole focus was to "get a foothold" in the industry.
Finding Joy and a Lasting Legacy
Once he achieved stability, famously purchasing a home using the GI Bill, Van Dyke says he "enjoyed every minute of it." The veteran performer, who will celebrate his landmark 100th birthday on 13 December, remains profoundly grateful for his career. "Most people have to go sit in an office. I never forgot that I look forward to getting up every morning and going to work, because it's what I would've done for nothing," he shared.
He credits his wife, 54-year-old Arlene Silver, whom he married in February 2012, with keeping his spirit youthful. "She's responsible for keeping me in the moment," he said. "She kept me happy every day of my life... She's a joy." Van Dyke humorously noted that marrying Arlene is "the only clever decision" he feels he has made.
Approaching a Century with Humour and Reflection
With his centenary on the horizon, Van Dyke has joked about the milestone. At a recent event in California, he quipped, "I'm not officially a hundred until December. Two months. It'd be funny if I didn't make it." In a more reflective moment, he added, "If I had known I was going to live this long, I would've taken better care of myself."
The star, whose new book Keep Moving: And Other Tips and Truths About Aging is now available, never planned his iconic career. "My whole life was unplanned," he told New York Magazine. "Just the next opportunity that came along — one great thing after another... I'm a ham. I don't know, something happens and I come alive and I want to perform." His enduring passion for entertainment remains the cornerstone of his remarkable life and career.
