As Dick Van Dyke approaches his 100th birthday on December 13, the legendary performer has opened up about the painful realities of aging, admitting he often feels “diminished” physically and socially.
In a candid diary entry for The Times, the 99-year-old reflected on the emotional and physical weight of reaching such an advanced age. Though loved for his energy and iconic roles, he revealed that age has changed him in ways fame cannot shield.
“It’s frustrating to feel diminished in the world,” he wrote, noting that he now mostly stays at his California home because travel exhausts him. Recent Southern California wildfires and troubling world events have also left him discouraged. “I suppose at certain times of day I am the grumpy old man who yells at the TV,” he admitted.
Van Dyke also shared the deep loneliness of outliving nearly everyone close to him, including his first wife, Margie Willett, and longtime partner, Michelle Triola. “Every single one of my dearest lifelong friends is gone,” he wrote.
Still, he insists that sadness isn’t the core of who he is. He credits his wife, Arlene, 54, with keeping him youthful and grounded: “Our ongoing romance is the most important reason I have not withered away.”
Despite loss and age, Van Dyke continues to embrace life. “No one is genetically miserable,” he wrote. “I’ve made it to 99 because I refuse to give in to the bad stuff—loneliness, bitterness, and the pains of aging.” Life, he said, remains “a giant playground.”
As he enters his next chapter, Van Dyke chooses joy, honesty, and love, even as the spotlight grows softer.
