Dick Van Dyke, 98, ‘can’t figure out’ secret to longevity, but says one thing is key

As he ages, beloved performer Dick Van Dyke is regularly questioned about his longevity. People are keen to learn his secret to staying spry and making 98 years old look young.

And while Van Dyke won’t directly say it’s a spoonful of sugar or his love to laugh that keeps him so sharp, the “Mary Poppins” actor can admit his positive mindset is an essential ingredient in his recipe for success.

“Attitude about life I think has a lot to do with it,” he told Entertainment Tonight in a joint interview with his wife, Arlene Silver, a makeup artist 46 years his junior. “I’ve always looked at the good side, I guess, and expected good things to happen.” 

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But even “The Dick Van Dyke Show” star admits he’s perplexed by his agility. “I’ve often tried to think what did I do to live this long?” he asked. “And I can’t figure out – I’ve always exercised. We still go to the gym three days a week. And I can still, you know, move pretty well.”

“I don’t really watch my diet or anything. Stayed skinny, that helps.”

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Dick Van Dyke has some pep in his step on the red carpet for Carol Burnett’s Hand and Footprint Ceremony in June. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

“Attitude about life I think has a lot to do with it. I’ve always looked at the good side I guess, and expected good things to happen.”

— Dick Van Dyke on the secret to his longevity

Van Dyke previously attributed “having a beautiful young wife half my age to take care of me,” as the key to his ongoing good fortune. Even with nearly five decades’ difference, Van Dyke and Silver say age is not a barrier between them.

“We were friends for so long that when I told people that I know [about our relationship], they were happy,” Silver told ET. “I was scared. I mean, the facts are our age difference. But it’s so irrelevant. I think, when you see us together, it’s like you don’t even think about it. We don’t think about it.”

Dick Van Dyke and his wife Arlene Silver are 46 years apart in age, something the couple doesn’t even notice. (Monty Brinton/CBS via Getty Images)

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“I was fortunate that I didn’t grow up,” Van Dyke teased.

Silver noted that her husband is “always humming and singing.” The couple, who met backstage at the SAG Awards in 2011, “got along almost immediately.”

Dick Van Dyke’s wife, Arlene Silver, says their age difference isn’t relevant in their relationship. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

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“I’d never met anybody like him,” Silver said. “He was always happy and just positive. Always singing. He’s just the most joyful person. He influences everybody else to be more joyful, playful.”