Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic

Dick Van Dyke is without a doubt one of the greatest entertainers to ever grace the big or small screens. I grew up idolizing him in Mary Poppins, and I'm sure everyone has a similar story about one of his iconic roles or another. In this TV special, a musical tribute is given to Van Dyke on his astounding 98th birthday--and it is truly magical!

The basic format of this CBS special is a series of musical tributes from the likes of Zachary Levi, Rita Ora, Amber Riley, JoJo Siwa, and Jason Alexander (to name just a few) set to his many classic TV/movie song numbers. Interspersed are clips from Van Dyke's illustrious career, as well as video tributes and live interviews with the man himself. Because Dick was involved in so many iconic properties, every note and word is moving.

It is also a joy to see Van Dyke's reaction to the proceedings! His energy at 98 is quite literally unmatched and he is equal parts excited and touched here. Every time the camera turns to him, there is a smile on his face that lights up the entire venue.

Despite only being alive for half (if that) of Dick Van Dyke's storied career, I was as moved as anyone, I think, by this tribute. My childhood came to life in the Mary Poppins numbers, and I was able to see the entire breadth of Dick's body of work. There is not a person alive today I couldn't recommend "98 Years of Magic" to!

Dick van dyke is one of my favorite actors ever. But CBS ruined this otherwise great tribute to dick van dyke by having jojo sewa on here she is far from wholesome family friendly entertainment. Otherwise excellent show. Great to see dicks contemporaries talking about him. The musical tributes were excellent and great to hear dick sing, his voice is still really good. I hope he does some more acting my favorite show is diagnosis murder and chitty chitty bang bang. Dick has inspired so may people and so many people laugh. It's to bad Julie Andrews wasn't there live and they could've done a number together.

I have probably been a fan my whole life. He is certainly one cool dude. Heard a couple of songs I hadn't heard before. Mary Poppins & Chitty Chitty Bang are two of my favorites. I have only seen part of the Dick Van Dyke Show and found it very entertaining. I vaguely remember the variety show he had. I loved Diagnosis Murder, which they didn't feature much.

I didn't realize Jason Alexander could sing.

It would have been nice to hear from his children & grandchildren.

As for Julie Andrews, she doesn't sing anymore due to a botched operation she had after doing Victor/Victoria on Broadway. It makes me sad. I'm a big fan of hers too.

What an absolutely wonderful show. Perfectly assembled, great numbers, so full of joy. Sometimes when you watch shows like this the entertainers that appear seem to be going through the motions, just looking for personal publicity. But in this case was absolutely clear how much they appreciated being there it was just so dripping with good cheer. Dick Van Dyke's happiness at being there was just overwhelming. A day later I'm still enjoying it. He has brought so much ,entertainment (even Diagnosis Murder!) to our lives for 60 years. He has outlived all of greats he ever knew, but still manages to have a joyful outlook. Outstanding!

This special just aired on CBS on June 2 2024. Dick's 98th birthday was in December, 2023. So I wonder if there are 2 more big parties the next 2 years. Dick is a survivor of an era from the great depression through to now.

All the resume is here from Mary Poppins to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Amazingly Dick's energy seems really great for a 98 year old. He recently became the oldest sing unmasked on the Masked Singer. What is amazing is how sharp he is at this advanced age.

It was great that so many stars were gotten to appear either live or video clip. Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett appear via remote feeds. Dick's second wife is the one who is said to have arranged this. Considering she is in her early 50's, Dick even proves he has energy for younger women.

He has outlived so many that Rob Reiner appears as Carl is gone. Other than Dick, the only person in the main cast of the TV sitcom who does not appear is Larry Mathews who played little Rickie Petrie. That is because he has kept a low profile since he was on the show (born 1955, 30 years younger than Dick).

Larry and Dick are the last 2. The footage of Sally, Maurey, Richard Deacon, and Carl Reiner are reminders that as you near 100, a lot of the people you were closest too have left the party. This is one big party.

Touchingly at the end, Dick says "I hope wherever they are that Morey and Sally could see this." We hope Mary could too. Dick and Carl were mentors to Mary Tyler Moore who then went on to her own great career.

I doubt that a full list of everyone Dick helped would be easy to assemble. While he could not help Jason Alexander's voice, at least because his career is so expansive, that Jason does not sing for the entire show.