Dick Van Dyke Turns 99

With "All My Love" + Birthday Wishes

Waking up to see Dick Van Dyke trending, I feared the worst.

Luckily, this living legend soldiers on, celebrating his 99th birthday today.

In just the last week, he’s also starred in a new hit Coldplay music video, survived the fires threatening his Malibu home, and even been reunited with his beloved cat. It’s a week of milestones and miracles worth celebrating.

Lovingly directed by Spike Jonze and Mary Wigmore, the new Coldplay music video, All My Love, is less a traditional music video and more a heartfelt documentary short and family reunion tribute about the birthday boy.

At 99 years old, he exudes the same joy and spirit that made him a household name in Bye Bye Birdie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and countless other films, musicals, plays, and tv shows.

Watching him dance, even now, feels like witnessing magic. He makes you believe in the impossible—whether it’s stepping into a chalk drawing or defying time itself.

But life hasn’t always been a song and dance for Van Dyke. He’s lived through battles with alcoholism, the loss of loved ones, and just this week, the very real danger of the wildfires devastating California.

Yet, he’s faced it all with grace and honesty, sharing his struggles publicly to help others. His candor about his imperfections only makes him more beloved.

Van Dyke’s enduring positivity feels almost superhuman.

As he approaches his centennial year, he’s not just surviving but thriving. He’s living proof that age is no barrier to creativity…or hope. The man who taught generations how to laugh, sing, and dance is still teaching us—this time about living your best life.

So here’s to Mr. Dick Van Dyke. In order to help him save his breath, I’m more than happy to help him blow out those 99 candles on his birthday cake. And if he needs help making a wish, I’d like to suggest more years of lessons and life for this man of honor and talent. As many as he’s able and willing.

However long or short the rest of Mr. Van Dyke’s life may be, I’m eternally grateful for his lifetime of entertainment, inspiration, and heart.

Thanks for reading and subscribing!
Clint

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ON COMMENTS + COMMENTARY

After removing several comments that didn’t follow the “rules for engagement,” I’m reposting them as a friendly reminder. They’re designed to help keep my Substack more civil and less Sybil:

1. Be Kind…Or Rewind (Elsewhere).

2. Keep It Above The Belt.

3. Opinions And Tastes Are Not Facts.

4. Celebrate Differences—Don’t Debate Them.

Please help me keep this a safe and sane adults-only space. Thanks.

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FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

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• 100 Years Of James Baldwin: We Are Our History

• UnitedHealthcare's Leaked Talking Points

• Recommended Reading = If United We Stand, Healthcare Will Fall? 🌈✌️

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ON THIS DAY = DECEMBER 13

BIRTHDAYS

• 1925 = Dick Van Dyke = American actor, singer, and dancer ❤️

• 1929 = Christopher Plummer = Canadian actor and producer

• 1934 = Richard D. Zanuck = American film producer

• 1950 = Wendie Malick = American actor

• 1957 = Morris Day = American musician and actor

• 1957 = Steve Buscemi = American actor and director

• 1962 = Jim Fall = American film and tv director-producer 🌈

• 1967 = Jamie Foxx = American actor, singer, and comedian

• 1967 = NeNe Leakes = American tv personality and actor

• 1975 = Tom DeLonge = American singer-songwriter and filmmaker

• 1981 = Amy Lee = American singer-songwriter

• 1989 = Taylor Swift = American singer-songwriter

• 1990 = Anton Hysén = Swedish soccer player 🌈

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

• National Day of the Horse

• National Guard Birthday

• National Violin Day

EVENTS

• 1577 = Sir Francis Drake sets sail from Plymouth, England, on his round-the-world voyage.

• 1623 = The Plymouth Colony establishes the system of trial by 12-men jury in the American colonies.

• 1920 = The League of Nations establishes the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

• 1973 = Washington, D.C. passes Title 34, an expansive human rights law that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

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PHOTO + QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Just knowing you don't have the answers is a recipe for humility, openness, acceptance, forgiveness, and an eagerness to learn - and those are all good things.”
Dick Van Dyke

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