Dick Van Dyke is reflecting on life, aging, and everything in between as he prepares to celebrate his 100th birthday next month. In a candid new essay for The Sunday Times, published Nov. 13, the Hollywood icon shared how his body has changed at 99 and how he’s learning to navigate this chapter of his life while staying grateful and grounded. He admitted that it has become “frustrating to feel diminished in the world, physically and socially,” describing the experience as both humbling and eye-opening.
Van Dyke explained that travel has become difficult, so most visits now happen at home. His eyesight has worsened, balance is harder to maintain, and he jokes that he has become “a stooper, a shuffler and a teeterer.” Even simple tasks like keeping his shirt clean during meals can be a challenge, and he often relies on gentle reminders from his wife, Arlene Silver. Still, he said the physical changes haven’t affected how he feels on the inside. “The superficial stuff, the physical decay, is about the only thing I share with the old guys I played way back when,” he wrote.
He Credits His Wife Arlene for Keeping Him Young and Moving
Through all the shifts that come with aging, Van Dyke said his marriage to Arlene, 54, has been one of the biggest reasons he still feels upbeat and connected, per Daily Mail. The two met in 2006 and married in 2012, creating one of Hollywood’s biggest age-gap relationships. Their bond remains strong, and Van Dyke said she “quickly became my soulmate” and keeps him “bright and hopeful.”
Arlene encourages him to stay active, whether that means dancing together in the mornings or making sure he gets up and moves throughout the day. Van Dyke said their romance is the main reason he hasn’t “withered away into a hermetic grouch,” adding that her support helps him push through the tougher parts of aging. He also joked that being married to someone much younger makes him feel “somewhere between two thirds and three quarters” of his actual age.
Van Dyke Still Hits the Gym and Stays Playful Despite Mobility Challenges
Even at 99, Van Dyke is committed to staying active. He still goes to the gym three times a week, doing full circuits with sit-up machines, leg exercises, and upper-body workouts. He said he can feel stiffness creep in whenever he skips too many sessions, which motivates him to keep going. Music also keeps him energized, and he often hums, sings, or even dances between machines.
Aside from exercise, Van Dyke performs with his a cappella group, The Vantastix, and practices staying lighthearted and playful — habits he believes have helped him reach this milestone and enjoy it fully. He summed up his outlook simply: “Being alive has been doing life, not like a job but rather like a giant playground.”
