Legendary actor Dick Van Dyke has been in the business for more than seven decades, and at 98 years old, he just made history — as the oldest actor to win an Emmy.
“Am I really the oldest?” Van Dyke said during an interview with Entertainment Tonight ahead of the Daytime Emmy Awards last week. He was shocked to find out he was the oldest person to earn a nomination from the long-running television awards show. “I’ll be darned. I think I’m the last of my generation. I’m 98. I have — almost — all my marbles. I can’t remember what I had for breakfast,” he joked.
Van Dyke earned the nomination for his appearance on Peacock’s “Days of Our Lives.” His soap opera role was a departure from his usual comedic and musical roles in movies like “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”
He said doing serious scenes in the soap opera was different for him – and at one point he started giggling. “I said, ‘What are you doing?’” he said.
Van Dyke also shared how he got the guest role on “Days of Our Lives,” revealing he still goes to the gym three days a week and one of the show’s stars, Drake Hogestyn, goes to the same gym as him. The soap actor told Van Dyke he should come on the show.
“I said I’d love to,” he said. “But look, it snowballed into this [nomination].”
He has previously won four Emmys and received one honorary award, entering into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. His own sitcom, “The Dick Van Dyke Show” ran from 1961 to 1966 and earned 25 Emmy nominations.
With his sixth Emmy win, Van Dyke is just behind Ed Asner, who has seven. “I’m after him,” he joked.
Van Dyke said retirement isn’t even on his mind. “It isn’t work, it’s play,” he said. “Actors are so lucky. I’ve had such a good time.”
In fact, Van Dyke still has some projects in the works, including a one-man show, during which he will answer audience questions.
He’s also close to being an EGOT winner, with an Emmy, Grammy and Tony to his name. He said he wants a shot at the Oscar, “now that I’m a dramatic actor.”
“I hope it’s not posthumous,” he laughed.
He calls his time in the gym his “secret weapon” and the reason for his longevity.
Caitlin O’Kane is a New York City journalist who works on the CBS News social media team as a senior manager of content and production. She writes about a variety of topics and produces “The Uplift,” CBS News’ streaming show that focuses on good news.
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