Dick Van Dyke has appeared in a number of popular movies and television shows throughout his illustrious career, including The Comic and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, television series including Diagnosis Murder and his own Dick Van Dyke Show and Disney films such as Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. and Never a Dull Moment. However, he is probably best known for his role as Bert in Mary Poppins, where he became one of the few actors to appear within a Disney animated world, dancing alongside some whimsical penguins. Dick has remained in the Disney family over the decades, continuing to appear in various documentaries and television specials, all of which has earned him the company’s highest honor, the prestigious Disney Legends Award. Born on this day in 1925, Dick still fondly recalls the day he saw the first Mickey Mouse cartoon short, Steamboat Willie. He later remembered,
“I was captivated by that.
I didn’t know how they did it, but I made up my mind right then and there I was going to be an animator, and I spent my childhood with Geppetto and Pinocchio and the dwarfs and all those people and I practiced every day. I drew and I drew and I got to the place where I could draw them pretty good! Little did I know I was going to grow up and be one of those characters! Talk about a dream come true!” Today, Dick continues to make public and television appearances, performing with his barbershop quartet, The Vantastix, and singing some of his favorite songs, including one that describes him perfectly, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
