How old was Dick Van Dyke in the original Mary Poppins, is he in the 2019 sequel and who else is in the cast?
Today, 54 years on he's set to make a cameo appearance in the sequel Mary Poppins Returns – here's everything you need to know about him…
How old Dick Van Dyke in the original Mary Poppins?
Dick celebrated his 93rd birthday in December.
When Mary Poppins was originally released in 1964, he was 39-years-old.
How did Dick Van Dyke land the role of Bert in Mary Poppins?
After starring in the film version of Bye Bye Birdie in the role of Albert J. Peterson, which he played on Broadway, he was cast by Disney in Mary Poppins in 1964.
His main role was as Bert, a jack-of-all-trades who is very good friends with Mary Poppins, but he was also cast as the doddery old bank chairman Mr Dawes Senior.
The film, which starred Julie Andrews in the lead role, was a huge success and Chim Chim Cher-ee, which Bert sings in the movie, went on to win the Oscar for Best Original Song.
However, to this day, Dyke’s Cockney accent is lambasted as the accent in film history, and according to Dyke, no one on the set of the film told him how bad it was.
But to this day it is still his best-known role and on his 90th birthday, he was surprised by a flash-mob at The Grove shopping mall in Los Angeles.
Dyke also starred in Disney’s 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in the lead role of Caractacus Pott, after he turned down the role of Fagin in the 1968 musical Oliver!
When is Mary Poppins Returns out in cinemas?
Mary Poppins Returns hits UK cinema screens on December 21, 2018, and American cinemas on Christmas Day 2018.
It's the sequel to the acclaimed 1964 film Mary Poppins, and is set in 1930s London, 25 years after the original.
The film sees Mary Poppins, the former nanny of Jane and Michael Banks, re-visiting them after a family tragedy.
In April 2016, Disney confirmed that Emily Blunt will star as Mary Poppins and Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda will star as streetlamp lighter Jack.
It will be called Mary Poppins Returns and will be set in Depression-era London, and will also star Meryl Streep as Mary’s cousin Topsy.
How did Dick Van Dyke become famous?
In 1961 he starred in comedy series The Dick Van Dyke Show, which made him a household name.
He starred as comedy writer Rob Petrie with Mary Tyler Moore playing his wife Laura. The show won a handful of Emmy Awards during its five-year run.
From 1971 to 1974 he starred in an unrelated sitcom called The New Dick Van Dyke Show but it wasn’t as successful as its predecessor and he cancelled it after three series.
He was also a regular on The Carol Burnett Show in 1977 and then appeared in various TV movies.
What is Dick Van Dyke's backstory?
Dick Van Dyke was born Richard Wayne Van Dyke in West Plains, Missouri on December 13 1925 to mother Hazel, a stenographer, and father Loren, a salesman.
He considered becoming a minister but after attending a drama class in high school, he realised his true calling.
After he left school in 1944, Dick tried to join the US Air Force for pilot training during World War Two but he was denied for being too underweight.
Instead he became a radio announcer before transferring to the Special Services – the entertainment branch of the US military – to perform to the troops.
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