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Dick Van Dyke is taking time to reflect on his big milestone.
The entertainer and author speaks to PEOPLE for this week’s cover story ahead of his 100th birthday on Dec. 13, which he celebrates with the publication of his new book, “100 Rules for Living to 100.”
Van Dyke’s career includes many memorable films and television shows that touched generations, including Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. However, looking back on his younger years, the actor explains how difficult it was to balance the demands of work and raising a family early in his professional life. The actor has four children with ex-wife Margie Willett, who died in 2008.
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“In the beginning, I was (raising a child) in a family that didn’t have much money, so all I had to do was raise money and buy a house,” he says. “Finally, I was able to buy a house with the GI Bill. But I think the hardest part was doing game shows. I played nightclubs. I did everything. At one point, I was doing a disc jockey show at 5 a.m., and my partner and I were working nightclubs at night.”
“During that time, I got about three or four hours of sleep, but that’s all I remember: just moving forward and working hard to get my footing,” Van Dijk continued. “Since then, I have enjoyed every moment.”
And amidst these difficult times, Van Dyke acknowledges the impact work-life balance has had on his family.
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“They were probably ignored at some point, because I was working hard to get out of poverty, but I never had a complaint from anyone,” Van Dyke says of his family.
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“I think how rare it is for people to be able to make a living doing what they love,” he continues. “Most people have to sit in an office. I never forgot to get up every morning and look forward to going to work because it was something I would do for free.”
Van Dyke also credits his wife, Arlene Silver, 54, whom he married in 2012, with helping him maintain his youthful spirit.
“She has a responsibility to keep me in the moment,” Van Dyke says. “She has made me happy every single day of my life. She is a joy. She can make me sing and dance and she has so many responsibilities…I’m just lucky.”
In his new book, Van Dyke talks about his life, career, and the wisdom he’s gained from living a long, purposeful life. But he also has his own wishes about how he wants to be remembered.
“What I leave behind in the form of children’s entertainment and children’s music, that’s my legacy,” he says. “I don’t think it’s all that important to be remembered for. But it’s the music, the music we leave behind. As long as my kids are proudly belting out the new words ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ or skipping along singing ‘Chim Chim Cherry,’ the most important part of me will always live on.”
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100 Rules for Living to 100 is now available wherever books are sold from Grand Central Publishing.
