'Not a good day': Concerns for Dick Van Dyke, 99, after he pulls out of own event due to ill health

There are concerns for actor and comedian Dick Van Dyke after he was forced to pull out of his own event due to ill health.

The 99-year-old entertainer was due to appear at Vandy Camp, an event he started with his wife of 13 years, Arlene, a former make-up artist he married when he was 86 and she was 40.

She took to the stage on Saturday to tell disappointed fans that he was unable to attend the carnival-themed event at Malibu High School.

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Dubbed a "whimsical vintage circus like no other", it was meant to include an appearance by Van Dyke.

Instead, Arlene took to the stage at the event, which was live streamed, to tell ticket holders Van Dyke could not make it.

According to People, she introduced herself to disappointed fans and said she was "not the Van Dyke you're expecting" before continuing, "I have to inform you that Dick is not up to coming to celebrate with us today. I'm sorry."

"When you're 99 and a half years old, you have good days and bad days... and unfortunately, today is not a good day for him, and he's sick that he can't be here," she said. 

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The event featured live performances, clips from Van Dyke's film and television career, including rare and never-before-seen footage, and a performance by the a cappella musical group, The Vantastix, which Van Dyke founded 20 years ago.

There was also meant to be an in-conversation section with the star, including a Q&A with audience members.

A previous Vandy Camp event held in the same location in April was sold out. A portion of ticket sales went to the community firefighters that battled the California fires, which Van Dyke was forced to flee last year.

Saturday's event went ahead without the star, with his wife telling ticket holders it was more than "just Dick Van Dyke".

"It is a celebration of your childhood, all of our childhoods, the music that's in the fabric of all of us, [and] Dick Van Dyke is a big part of that," she said.

"These Vandy Camp [events] are a wonderful opportunity to have you all in the same room and meet each other."

Van Dyke was a teenager when he started performing with his school's a cappella group and drama club. 

He dropped out of high school during his senior year to join the army air corps and wanted to be a pilot but eventually trained as a gunner during World War II before being seconded to entertain troops.

After the war, he became a radio DJ, then formed a comedy duo before moving to New York where he made his Broadway stage debut.

His big break came when he scored the lead role in the musical Bye Bye Birdie, which earned him a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

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It led to his own weekly television sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and then one of his best-known roles, as Burt the chimney sweep in Mary Poppins. 

It was followed by another musical-fantasy, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and later The Carol Burnett Show.

Van Dyke was married to Margie Willet from 1948 to 1984 and the couple had four children together.

He met Arlene Silver at the Screen Actors Guild Award in 2006 and they married six years later.

in recent years, he has enjoyed a career resurgence, even winning a second Daytime Emmy Award in 2024 – 40 years after his first.

Van Dyke cancelled a planned appearance at the The FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention last September, two weeks after he pulled out of presenting an award at the Emmy's main ceremony.

At the time he joked he was "praying to make it" to his 99th birthday on December 13.

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