Dick Van Dyke Actor
Kennedy Center Honoree
“Many years ago, I was the host of a similar event held, as I recall, in private with the Kennedy family. I saw the care with which the recipient was chosen from an impressive list of nominees. Since the creation of the Kennedy Center Honors, just over 200 have been honored with equal care. Being included in that small, illustrious group, is the thrill of my life.”
— Dick Van Dyke
In an unparalleled career that has spanned more than seven decades and earned him five Emmys, a Tony®, a Grammy®, a BAFTA, the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award, induction into the Television Hall of Fame, recognition as a “Disney Legend,” a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the adoration of generations of fans, Dick Van Dyke has remained one of the most popular and beloved performers in show business history. In 1960, he starred in the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie, earning a Tony Award®. He returned to the stage in the 1970s and 80s with national tours of The Music Man and Damn Yankees.
In 1961, his superstar status was solidified with the debut of The Dick Van Dyke Show on CBS. Winning three Emmys® for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy over the course of its six-season run, the series’ 158 episodes have since aired every single day somewhere in the world. In 1991, his character, Dr. Mark Sloan, in TV’s Jake And The Fatman, was so popular that a spin-off series, Diagnosis: Murder, was created and ran from 1993 to 2001.
On the big screen, he starred in Bye Bye Birdie and Mary Poppins (1964), one of the most beloved films of all time. Other films include Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), The Comic (1969), Dick Tracy (1990), the Night At The Museum films, the HBO documentary If You’re Not In The Obit, Eat Breakfast (2017), and Mary Poppins Returns (2018).
Van Dyke is also the author of two New York Times bestselling books, My Lucky Life In And Out Of Show Business and Keep Moving: And Other Tips And Truths About Aging. A song and dance man at heart, he has been harmonizing with his acapella quartet The Vantastix for the past 20 years. In 2018, Van Dyke released a full-length jazz album, Step (Back) In Time.
Recent Kennedy Center history: Dick Van Dyke was among the guest cast paying tribute to previous Mark Twain Prize recipient Carl Reiner (2000).