Dick Van Dyke was forced to pull out of a comedy event this weekend due to an unspecified illness, People reported on Saturday, June 28.
Van Dyke, 99, was meant to host Vandy Camp with his wife Arlene Silver at the Arlene & Dick Van Dyke Theater at Malibu High School on Saturday. Unfortunately, the actor ended up having to back out of the event.
Silver, 53, still reportedly showed up and delivered a speech to attendees to explain her husband’s absence. “I have to inform you that Dick is not up to coming to celebrate with us today. I’m sorry,” she said, per the outlet. “When you’re 99 and a half years old, you have good days and bad days.”
Silver also said she is “pretty confident” Van Dyke will be at the next Vandy Camp.
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This isn’t the first time Van Dyke has had to abruptly cancel an appearance. On September 23, 2024, organizers at Fan X in Salt Lake City were forced to tell attendees Van Dyke would not be at the year’s event.
“We are sorry to announce that Dick Van Dyke is not able to travel to FanX,” the company’s statement read. “He expresses his gratitude to all of those who continue to support him but, at almost 99 years of age, traveling and interacting with thousands of people is more than he is able to do at this time.”
Earlier this year, Silver told attendees at another Vandy Camp that her husband’s advanced age is both a blessing and a curse.
The actor told the crowd that he and Ed Asner planned to remake the 1970 film The Odd Couple together, but the project was canceled after Asner died in 2021. ‘That would’ve been such fun, and we lost it,” Dick said. “I’ve lost a lot of friends.”
Silver then added that her husband has “outlived everybody” he’s known. “That’s the curse of living to almost 100,” she continued.
Despite the downside of growing older, the actor has maintained his iconic sense of humor, including ahead of his 99th birthday. After being spotted in Malibu ahead of his big day, Van Dyke told Page Six he was simply “praying I make it” to age 99.
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Van Dyke celebrated his 99th birthday on December 13, 2024. The actor appeared in a Coldplay music video filmed at his home in Malibu in honor of the huge milestone. He spoke to the BBC about filming the video for “All My Love” and explained, “I’m acutely aware that I could go any day now but I don’t know why it doesn’t concern me. I’m not afraid of it. I have the feeling that I’m gonna be alright.”
