Dick Van Dyke Is ‘Praying’ He Makes It to His 99th Birthday After Canceling Public Appearance

Dick Van Dyke was seen out in public in Malibu, California, after canceling an upcoming public appearance.

The legendary performer, 98, chatted with paparazzi during his latest outing on Monday, September 23, in which he was escorted by a helper to his car while walking with a cane. When asked how he planned to celebrate his upcoming 99th birthday, he said, “Just praying that I make it,” in the video obtained by Page Six.

When asked how he was doing, he said, “I’m pretty old.”

Dick was also asked about his decision to cancel his appearance at FanX in Salt Lake City, Utah. He remained mum on the subject. Earlier that day, FanX released a statement on their website saying that the Mary Poppins actor would not be making his scheduled appearance at the fan convention slated from September 26 to September 29.

“We are sorry to announce that Dick Van Dyke is not able to travel to FanX at this time,” the statement said. “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.”

Dick was initially announced as one of the presenters for the 2024 Emmys on September 15; however, he did not appear at the ceremony. He has not publicly spoken out about his absence from the event.

The Bye Bye Birdie actor did attend the 2024 Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 7 with his wife, Arlene Silver. He accepted the award for Outstanding Variety Series for Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic at the ceremony.

Backstage, the iconic performer was asked how he wants to be remembered by the public.

“I can’t believe that I’m still here and performing,” he said. “I’m looking for work if anybody is asking.”

He also opened up about one of his most memorable and favorite projects to date — working on The Dick Van Dyke Show.

“The five years on The Dick Van Dyke Show was the most fun I ever had. It was a pleasure to come to work,” he said. “It was that group: [costars] Mary [Tyler Moore], Morey [Amsterdam] and Rosie [Marie]. We just had a ball every day. Half the show was ad-libbed. We did it in front of an audience which most sitcoms don’t and it makes all the difference. You know what? Our laugh track is now being rented to other sitcoms, which means a lot to me.”

In June, Dick became the oldest Daytime Emmy winner when he won the award for Guest Performer in a Daytime Drama Series for his role of Timothy Robicheaux on Peacock’s Days of Our Lives.

“I don’t believe this. I feel like a spy from nighttime television,” he said while accepting the award. “I’m 98 years old. Can you believe it? This really tops off a lifetime of 80 years in the business. If I had known I would have lived this long I would’ve taken better care of myself.”