Dick Van Dyke’s life – ‘shark assault’, heartbreaking losses and well-known co-star son
Hollywood icon Dick Van Dyke has been delighting fans with his performances for more than seven decades.
From Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to Mary Poppins and Diagnosis: Murder to Night At The Museum, the actor has been a part of the lives of generations of fans.
That’s not all, his children and grandchildren have also followed in his footsteps – and Dick has worked with all of them on and off screen.
READ MORE: Insight into Julie Andrews’ childhood – parents’ divorce and birth father revealed
Away from the limelight, however, Dick has also experienced heartbreaking losses and horrific ordeals in his life.
As part of our Golden Icons series, the Daily Star takes a closer look at the life of one of Hollywood’s greats.
Hollywood icon
(Image: Archive Michael Ochs)
There is no doubt that Dick Van Dyke is one of the greatest actors of all time, having starred in some of the most famous TV shows and films in the world.
The star has been wowing generations of fans since the late ’40s, when he began his entertainment career first as a radio DJ for WDAN in Illinois, USA – before making his Broadway debut in 1959’s The Girls Against The Boys.
After winning the 1961 Tony Award for Best Actor for his role in Bye Bye Birdie, he switched to television to star in his own series, The Dick Van Dyke Show, until 1966.
(Image: Disney/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
He also played two of his most popular and famous roles in the 1960s, as chimney sweep Bert in 1964’s Mary Poppins and inventor Caractacus Potts in 1968’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
The star also won a Grammy Award for her performances in the film alongside Mary Poppins co-star Julie Andrews, with Dick later appearing in the 2018 sequel Mary Poppins Returns – this time as bank owner Mr Dawes Jr.
(Image: Warfield/United Artists/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
In addition to appearances in the hit TV series “Diagnosis Murder”, “The Golden Girls” and “Matlock” as well as in the Hollywood blockbuster “Night At The Museum”, the golden icon continues to share her talents more than seven decades since the beginning of her career with the world.
It’s no surprise, then, that the actor reportedly has an estimated net worth of £40.7 million ($50 million).
Looking back on his life and career, the actor told Closer Magazine, “My life has been a great treat.
“I could do what I love and share it. Who would want to quit anyway?”
Terrible accident and frightening “attack”
(Image: Getty Images)
Dick was involved in a horrific accident in 2013 when his car caught fire on a Los Angeles freeway.
A bystander rescued the actor from the car and Dick was unharmed, but the car is said to have burned down to the frame.
However, the actor made a surprising joke about the harrowing situation after posting a photo of the blacked-out, totally burned-out car on Twitter with the caption: “Used Jag for sale REALLY CHEAP!!”
That wasn’t the actor’s first death, as Dick revealed in 2010 that he almost died after falling asleep on his surfboard and being circled by what he thought were sharks.
(Image: Getty Images)
He told talk show host Craig Ferguson: “I woke up out of sight of the land.
“I started paddling with the waves and started seeing flippers floating around me and I was like, ‘I’m dead!'”
Although he initially thought he was being surrounded by sharks, the creatures turned out to be targets, helping to save his life in the water.
The star continued, “Turns out they were porpoises. And they pushed me all the way to shore!”
Marriage
(Image: Getty Images)
During his life, Dick has been married twice – his first wedding was broadcast live on the Bride and Groom radio show.
While performing at the Chapman Park Hotel in Los Angeles, Dick married Marjorie Willett on February 12, 1948 and the couple had four children together named Christian, Barry, Stacy and Carrie.
Dick also has seven grandchildren.
(Image: CBS via Getty Images)
It is reported that the couple divorced in 1984 after a long period of separation after Dick fell in love with his agent’s secretary, Michelle Triola.
In his memoir, My Lucky Life In and Out Of Show Business, Dick wrote, “You [Michelle] was easy to talk to, she understood me.
“I was drawn into a relationship. I was in a relationship with a woman other than my wife. It was amazing. I writhed with guilt. By 1976 I had to do something. I had to be honest.”
Marjorie died of pancreatic cancer in 2008, and Dick said he “lost a part of me” after her death.
Heartbreaking losses
(Image: WireImage)
In 1976, Dick met his longtime partner, Michelle Triola Marvin, who had worked as a lounge singer and dancer before becoming his agent’s secretary.
After separating from wife Margerie, he and Michelle remained together for more than 30 years until Michelle died of lung cancer on October 30, 2009 at the age of 76.
Of her death, Dick said in his memoir: “She spent her last week in a coma.
“Her doctor said she could still hear, so I sang and talked to her until the hospice orderlies told me she was gone.”
Along with the heartbreaking deaths of his first wife Margerie and longtime partner Michelle, Dick also suffered another loss when his granddaughter Jessica died of Reyes Syndrome in 1987.
famous son
(Image: CBS via Getty Images)
A talent for performing certainly runs in the family, as Dick’s son Barry Van Dyke is also a famous Hollywood star.
Diagnosis Murder fans regularly saw him and his father as Lieutenant Detective Steve Sloan and Dr. Mark Sloan perform.
That’s not all, Barry has starred in some of the biggest television series of all time including The Love Boat, Magnum PI, The Dukes Of Hazzard, The A-Team, Airwolf and Mork and Mindy.
(Image: CBS via Getty Images)
Many of Dick’s children and grandchildren, including film producer Shane Van Dyke, have also followed in his footsteps in the entertainment industry — and guest-starred on Diagnosis: Murder.
Best Life Online also reported that Barry’s children, Shane and Carey, are talented screenwriters, with the two writing The Silence and the original screenplay for Olivia Wilde’s film Don’t Worry Darling in 2019.
Stunning wife
(Image: Getty Images)
Away from the limelight, Dick is married to his stunning wife, Arlene Silver, who works as a makeup artist.
The couple reportedly met at the 2006 Screen Actors Guild Awards before wedding six years later on February 29, 2012.
In March 2022, Dick and Arlene celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary together – but the actor made a surprising revelation to Closer Weekly when he said he was concerned fans would mistake Arlene for a gold digger given their 46-year age difference.
He gushed about Arlene during the interview, saying: “We share an attitude. She can go with the flow. She loves to sing and dance, which we do almost every day. She is just lovely.”
However, he added: “I thought there would be an outcry about a gold miner marrying an old man, but no one ever took that stance.”
Arlene also praised her husband during the interview, saying, “He’s the most perfect human being.
“I’ve never met anyone so happy, so real, so amazing. He’s like a happy pill.”
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