Living to the ripe old age of 100 is no mean feat, with fewer than one in 100 men and one in 50 women making it to this major milestone.
But for soon-to-be centenarian Dick Van Dyke, growing so long in the tooth comes with a dark side.
The Hollywood legend, 99, has opened up about the downsides of his age reaching triple digits in a starkly honest interview, where he outlines feeling ‘diminished’ both ‘physically and socially’ because of his extreme longevity.
Van Dyke, who is set to turn 100 next month, December 13, wrote in the Times of London about the deep sadness caused by outliving so many loved ones, including his first wife Margie Willett, who he divorced in 1984 after 36 years and four children, and his then-partner Michelle Triola who he spent the next three decades with.
Both women died within two years of each other, in 2007 and 2009 respectively.
“Every single one of my dearest lifelong friends is gone, which feels just as lonely as it sounds,” the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang actor told the publication.
Van Dyke lived with his second partner Michelle Triola for 33 years, but the pair never married (Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)
He sadly also shared how he felt ‘diminished’ as he looks forward to his 100th birthday, with age-related infirmity preventing him from living the gregarious star-studded life he has experienced since his breakthrough singing and dancing success on The Dick Van Dyke Show, which first aired in black and white in 1961.
This success would see him cast in the smash hit films that would make him a household name the world over, Mary Poppins and Chitty, both of which were shot between 1963 and 1967.
An astonishing six decades of regular work later, Van Dyke shared how his age meant he could no longer leave his California home to take up any acting roles, or attend any glitzy parties, despite retaining a sharp mind.
“That kind of travel takes so much out of me that I have to say no,” the star said.
But with so many age-related difficulties, the 99 year old has also shared his secret to keeping active and finding the will to carry on – a wife half his age.
He wrote: “Without question, our ongoing romance is the most important reason I have not withered away into a hermetic grouch… Arlene is half my age, and she makes me feel somewhere between two thirds and three quarters my age, which is still saying a lot.”
Van Dyke remarried in 2012, at the tender age of 86, to TV producer Arlene Silver, who is 46 years his junior. The actor cited their relationship as the main source of his positivity.
However, with 100 years of experience under his belt, the star admitted that the current state of the world made it hard to remain upbeat, saying it could ‘turn anyone sour and dark – young and old’.
Dick Van Dyke is married to a woman almost half his age, which is less of a feat when youre closing in on 100 (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
The 99-year-old, who has expressed his dislike of Donald Trump in the past and separately stood on a stage with veteran socialist Senator Bernie Sanders during a rally, said that the present state of reality was particularly cruel.
He said: “I just lived through two Southern California wildfires in less than a month, right out my front door, including the worst one in history. Daily, I spiral into anguish over the mayhem and cruelty being inflicted on the entire world by those in power. So yes, I suppose at certain times of day I am the grumpy old man who yells at the TV.”
But with his centenary coming up, Van Dyke added that he keeps joy in his life through those two talents that made him famous in the first place, singing and some light dancing.
Reflecting on his six decades stardom, he said: “I have been in what I can only describe as a full-on bear hug with the experience of living. Being alive has been doing life not like a job but rather like a giant playground.”
