By the D23 Team
This Saturday, December 13, Disney Legend Dick Van Dyke turns an incredible 100 years old! Inducted as a Legend in 1998, Van Dyke is perhaps best known to Disney fans as Bert in 1964’s Mary Poppins, starring fellow Disney Legend Julie Andrews. (He would later memorably appear in the film’s sequel, 2018’s Mary Poppins Returns.) But that wasn’t Van Dyke’s only adventure through the worlds of Disney… He’s starred in several other Disney films; hosted an installment of ABC’s The Wonderful World of Disney; gave voice to a Disney Junior animated character; and more!
To mark such an auspicious occasion, we’re “stepping in time” down memory lane and looking at some of Van Dyke’s Disney history.
Mary Poppins (1964)
Around the same time Van Dyke was starring in his hilarious and successful ’60s sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, Walt Disney approached him about playing Bert in his big-screen adaptation of P.L. Travers’ beloved book. Good news for Walt—not only did the actor want to portray the chimney sweep, he also wanted to play Mr. Dawes, Sr., the chairman of the bank who eventually succumbs to laughter.
Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. (1966)
Forced to ditch his plane in the Pacific, this modern-day Navy pilot (Van Dyke) winds up spending a year on a tropical island—missing his own wedding in the process. This film is especially notable as it’s the only one on which Walt received a story credit (as “Retlaw Yensid”—Walt Disney spelled backwards).
Never a Dull Moment (1968)
Co-starring Edward G. Robinson, Never a Dull Moment starred Van Dyke as Jack Albany—a television actor mistaken for a hired killer. He winds up having to impersonate the man to save his own live… and in the meantime, he’s forced to join a gang of hoodlums attempting to steal a painting from the Manhattan Museum of Art. Then the real killer shows up—and shenanigans, as they so often do, ensue.
Dick Tracy (1990)
Van Dyke featured as D.A. Fletcher in this unique Touchstone Pictures film starring (and directed by) Warren Beatty, based on the comic strip that first debuted in the 1930s. The cast was a veritable who’s-who, also starring the likes of Al Pacino, Madonna, Dustin Hoffman, Mandy Patinkin, and James Caan. It went on to win three Oscars®, including Best Song for “Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man),” written by Stephen Sondheim.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (2014)
The Disney Legend lent his iconic voice to Goofy’s pirate grandpappy, Captain Goof–Beard, in a special tune–filled episode of Disney Junior’s Emmy®–nominated animated series Mickey Mouse Clubhouse back in 2014, telling D23 at the time: “It’s a lot of fun. I haven’t done this kind of voice-over thing. I’m anxious to see the finished product. I have great grandkids who watch the show.”
The Wonderful World of Disney: Mary Poppins (2015)
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Van Dyke was tapped to host an evening of ABC’s The Wonderful World of Disney back in 2015, when the network aired the original Mary Poppins. Not his first foray into The Wonderful World of Disney, Van Dyke also narrated a 2001 documentary about Walt aired as part of the long-running series, entitled Walt: The Man Behind the Myth.
Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Van Dyke was already a nonagenarian when he appeared as Mr. Dawes, Jr. (the son of the cameo character he portrayed in the original film) in Mary Poppins Returns—starring Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Fans were thrilled to see the Disney Legend kicking up his heels once again!