Dick Van Dyke Becomes Oldest Ever Daytime Emmy Winner

Legendary actor Dick Van Dyke has now won his second Daytime Emmy, setting a record as the oldest person to be awarded the honor. The 98-year-old Van Dyke won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama Series for his role in the Peacock soap opera Days of Our Lives.

“I don’t believe this. I feel like I’m a spy from nighttime television,” Van Dyke said in his acceptance speech. “You guys are a real family and just took me in and treated me so nicely.”

He made several joking references to his age, exclaiming “I’m the oldest nominee in history,” and stating that he has been “playing an old man all my life.” He earned his biggest laugh, and applause, when he observed:

“If I had known I was going to live this long, I would’ve taken better care of myself.”

Days of Our Lives

Release Date

November 8, 1965

Cast

Arianne Zucker , John Aniston , Valerie Wildman

Van Dyke brought his wife of over a decade, Arlene Silver, onto the stage with him, saying “I brought this lady up because she, by trouble and strife, is the love of my life.” He also mentioned that Silver played the cop who arrested him on the show. The Missouri native appeared in four episodes of Days of Our Lives, first playing an amnesiac who is later revealed to be Timothy Robicheaux, the biological father of John Black (played by Drake Hogestyn), whom John has been searching for since he was a child.

Dick Van Dyke’s Career Spans 80 Years

Dick Van Dyke has a career spanning eight decades, during which he won five Primetime Emmy Awards, one Tony, and one Grammy, in addition to his two Daytime Emmy Awards. He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He first rose to prominence in 1960, when he won a Tony for his performance in Bye Bye Birdie on Broadway.

A year later, comedy legend Carl Reiner created The Dick Van Dyke Show, co-starring with Mary Tyler Moore as Rob and Laura Petrie in a series that won 15 Primetime Emmys over five seasons. Between 1964 and 1966, Van Dyke won three straight Emmys for his work on the show.

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He would go on to star in several classic films, most notably Disney’s Mary Poppins, starring alongside Julie Andrews in the musical, which mixed animation with live action. He also appeared in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Dick Tracy, Night at the Museum, and Mary Poppins Returns. In the 1990s, he returned to television playing Dr. Mark Sloan, a doctor who solved crimes. He recently appeared on The Masked Singer dressed as a gnome.