Dick Van Dyke Reveals How He Wooed His Wife When Meeting Her, And Why His Mary Poppins Role Didn’t Help One Bit

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Dick Van Dyke, now at the age of 99, is regarded as one of our most cherished national treasures and an extraordinary talent who continues to captivate us with his humor and charm, despite moving more slowly. It’s fascinating to note that Arlene Silver, his wife since 2012, wasn’t initially charmed by him, as it turns out she was already a fan before they met.

Van Dyke and Silver appeared as guests on the “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” podcast, which is hosted by Ted Danson and his wife Mary Steenburgen. During the conversation, Danson inquired about how the two had initially met. In an unusual turn of events for him, the individual known for having one of the worst English accents in Hollywood history confessed that he spotted her at the Screen Actors Guild awards once and, unexpectedly, stood up to introduce himself. Van Dyke then added…

In that moment, all alone, she strolled past me. For the very first time, I found myself abruptly standing up. I blurted out a greeting, “Hello, I’m Dick,” almost instinctively. As she took a seat, I introduced myself properly. It was love at first sight, completely unexpected.

Initially, Dick Van Dyke might have experienced love at first sight, but Arlene Silver, a makeup artist from Hollywood, apparently did not reciprocate these feelings. She mentioned that she was unaware of his flirtatious advances during their initial encounter, and it wasn’t due to ignorance about his celebrity status; she acknowledged who he was. However, she stated that she hadn’t watched any of his work at the time, including the famous movie ‘Mary Poppins’.

It seems Van Dyke was surprised to discover she hadn’t watched his most iconic role – where he portrayed jack-of-all-trades Bert alongside Julie Andrews’ lead character. Yet, he suggests this lack of recognition might have benefited their relationship in the long term since it avoided the imbalance that often arises when one partner is well-known. He went on to say…

She hadn’t ever encountered Mary Poppins before. To be honest, it worked out well for me since she didn’t have any grand expectations or anything. I was simply another man, and impressing her was quite challenging.

It’s alright if you’re not well-versed in Dick Van Dyke’s work, given his extensive career in Hollywood. However, it seems quite remarkable that one might have overlooked everything he’s been involved in. He played a significant role in creating one of the greatest sitcoms ever produced on television, but unless you seek it out, it may be easy to miss today. Nevertheless, I find it odd that you’ve never watched Mary Poppins. Isn’t it unusual not to have seen Mary Poppins?

Despite, or maybe because, Arlene Silver had never witnessed Dick Van Dyke’s performance, the two eventually developed a connection and they are preparing to celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary, which falls either in February or March, as the couple got married on Leap Day in 2012.

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2025-01-22 23:07