Dick Van Dyke, 99, was forced to skip his annual Vandy Camp comedy event due to a mystery illness.
The comedian’s wife, Arlene Silver, broke the news of his absence on Saturday, telling audience members at the Arlene & Dick Van Dyke Theater at Malibu High School that he had to drop out at the last minute.
“I have to inform you that Dick is not up to coming to celebrate with us today. I’m sorry,” said Silver, per People.
“When you’re 99 and a half years old, you have good days and bad days … and unfortunately, today is not a good day for him, and he’s sick that he can’t be here.”
Van Dyke instead made a cameo via a livestream, but Silver, 53, told the crowd she’s “pretty confident” the actor would be at the next Vandy Camp event “in person.”
As she explained his absence, Silver shared how deep her husband’s love for the event is.
“It is a celebration of your childhood, all of our childhoods, the music that’s in the fabric of all of us, [and] Dick Van Dyke is a big part of that,” she added, stating that the star’s fans “are the greatest human beings I’ve ever known.”
“These Vandy Camp [events] are a wonderful opportunity to have you all in the same room and meet each other.”
While the onstage address was “out of [her] comfort zone,” Silver credited her husband and their musical group, The Vantastix, for giving her “so much confidence to be able to stand up here right now.”
“I would never be able to do this maybe, like, a year ago, but I’ve had so many experiences pushing myself out of my comfort zone, and right now I’m out of my comfort zone,” she shared.
“But I have to wear my big girl pants and hold the reins without Dick here as the safety net that he’s always here with me.”
At 99 years old, the movie star has continued to live a full life that includes working. In 2018, he made an appearance in “Mary Poppins Returns.”
However, in May, he also opened up about the “curse” of living to his elderly age as he reflected on the 2021 death of his longtime pal Ed Asner before their remake of “The Odd Couple” came to fruition.
“That would’ve been such fun, and we lost it. I’ve lost a lot of friends,” Van Dyke said, per People, during a Q&A in Malibu, Calif.
“He’s outlived everybody,” Silver chimed in. “That’s the curse of living to almost 100.”
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