Dick Van Dyke explains what keeps him going at age 93 in Hollywood
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}At age 93, Dick Van Dyke is still keeping busy in Hollywood — and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I just love what I do,” the actor recently told Closer Weekly. “I’ve been one of those lucky people that got to do something for a living that he would have done for nothing. That’s why I’m still here… They can’t get me off the stage.”
'DICK VAN DYKE' SHOW CREATOR CARL REINER SAYS HE CELEBRATED TURNING 97 'BY STAYING ALIVE'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The star credited his stamina to “good genes and not getting hit by a bus.”
Dick Van Dyke accepting an award in 2014. (Reuters)
“I’ve always been an exerciser and still am,” the actor told the outlet. “I go to the gym three days a week, get in the pool and exercise. At my age, they say to keep moving. Put me on solid ground and I’ll start tapping.”
Van Dyke shared he does water aerobics, lifts weights and walks on a treadmill. And these days, he’s currently working on a film titled “Capture the Flag,” which stars Louis Gossett Jr. and John Amos.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Back in 2015, Van Dyke published a book titled “Keep Moving and Other Tips and Truths About Aging,” where he candidly shared his advice about enjoying old age.
RARE DORIS DAY INTERVIEW REVEALED
“Keep moving is the main thing,” Van Dyke told NPR at the time. “I think I reiterate three or four times in the book, ‘Do not start going down the stairs sideways.’ It feels good on your knees but it throws the hips out and the back starts to go out, the next thing you know, you’ve fallen down and broken your hip. So even if it hurts a little, go down the stars front-ways.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“It’s more in my nature to be optimistic, I think,” he continued. “I’m one of those people who gets up on the right side of the bed in the morning. I get up and have a cup of coffee and go to the gym because I talk myself out of it because I will as anybody will.”
Van Dyke also pointed out that his love of performing has kept him feeling young for decades. And one doesn’t have to be an entertainer to get in on the fun.
“Everybody should dance,” he explained. “And everybody should sing. People say, ‘Well, I can’t sing.’ Everybody can sing. That you do it badly is no reason not to sing. I have a beautiful, young wife who sings and dances, so there’s a lot of duetting going on at my house.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}'DICK VAN DYKE' ACTRESS BARBARA PERRY DEAD AT 97
Still, Van Dyke admitted he does have regrets — but he doesn’t let the past prevent him from enjoying his life today.
“Well, I would not have smoked or drunk anything,” said Van Dyke on what he would have done differently. “I think that set me back. There are times that I feel like apologizing to my body for the way I treated it… I have arthritis and all those things, but I keep moving… I didn’t discover dancing and singing until I was in my 30s. It just happened out of nowhere. I regret that I didn’t train a little or take some vocal coaching or something. But I just enjoyed what I had and had fun with it. If I had to go back, I’d train.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Van Dyke told the outlet that his wife Arlene Silver, 47, also keeps him on his toes. The couple tied the knot in 2012.
“I sometimes forget that we’re doing a great experiment here — 46 years difference,” said Van Dyke. “And we work at it to some extent. There’s got to be some understanding, find out what old habits don’t work anymore. It takes some adjusting and fitting in but that’s part of the fun of it.”
'DICK VAN DYKE' STAR ROSE MARIE DEAD AT 94
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}However, accepting the idea of getting older isn’t as simple as breaking a sweat at the gym or sharing a duet with Silver. Van Dyke did tell the outlet that there are some difficult aspects of getting old that he cannot ignore.
“Giving up the things that you enjoy doing,” he admitted. “I can’t handle the tennis court anymore. I can still run and dance and sing… [But] the point is to enjoy. You have to pick what you enjoy doing, what fulfills you, what interests you. And I realize that’s not possible for a lot of people. As Thoreau said, a lot of people are living lives of quiet desperation. But almost anyone can find that one immersing hobby or pastime that they love to do… and someone.”