Dick Van Dyke is one of the absolute greats of Hollywood. Even at 97 years old he is still going strong. He is still incredibly entertaining, and in this case, more than a little inspirational. Van Dyke is here to remind us all that it’s never too late to learn or try something new because he’s just starting to learn the ukulele.
In a short video clip posted to Instagram, we see the Mary Poppins star in what is apparently his first ukulele lesson. He’s just chilling in a chair trying to find the right chord and looking like he's having a blast. It’s adorable, but also it looks like he’s picking up playing quite quickly.
One can only hope that the rest of us look as good at 97 as he does here. Van Dyke celebrated his 97th birthday last December. Maybe being willing to do things like pick a new instrument at that age is what has continued to make him so energetic. It’s a good note for the rest of us.
The actor gave his millions of fans a good scare earlier this year when Van Dyke was in a car accident. Luckily, he made it through with only minor injuries, but if you happened to see his name trending on Twitter last spring, you probably were very afraid things were much worse.
Van Dyke has certainly reduced his professional load as an actor in recent years. His last major role was as Mr. Dawes, Jr. in Mary Poppins Returns, a semi-reprisal of the secondary role he played in the original Mary Poppins. He’s appeared in a few other TV and film projects since then, but the fact that he is still working at all is pretty incredible. You just can’t keep the man down.
Dick Van Dyke has done it all. He’s an Academy Award away from an EGOT (can somebody arrange an honorary Oscar for Van Dyke next year?), he’s a Disney Legend, he was given a BAFTA a few years back (where Van Dyke apologized for his Mary Poppins accent), and he even worked as a sort of advisor on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, since The Dick Van Dyke Show was a major inspiration for WandaVision’s sitcom-inspired structure. He may not be a part of any of the major modern franchises, but his work still influences them.
It’s unclear if Dick Van Dyke has some specific goal in mind in learning the ukulele. Perhaps it will appear in some role he’s going to play, or maybe he’s just doing it because he wants to learn. I’ve always wanted to learn the ukulele myself, and I have to admit I think I may be completely out of excuses. Van Dyke has certainly inspired me.
