Dick Van Dyke is almost 100, but he certainly doesn’t seem it.
Steve Boettcher, the director behind the upcoming documentary “Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration,” has revealed that the “Mary Poppins” star’s wife, Arlene Silver, is the “key force” keeping him “so vibrant” at 99 years old.
“I think they just want to play. And I think you saw that probably too when you were at Vandy Camp,” Boettcher told People on Monday. “And I think that’s reflected in the relationship.”
“And honestly, I think she’s been a key force in keeping him so vibrant and alive today,” he added of the couple’s “magical” relationship. “I really feel that that love affair is amazing.”
Van Dyke is set to turn 100 on Dec. 13.
In preparation for the “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” star’s milestone birthday, Boettcher began interviewing the comedian and those closest to him 30 years ago for the upcoming “100th Celebration” documentary.
The director explained that the goal of the project was to “interview the people that worked with [Van Dyke] and not people that remember watching him all the time.”
Although Boettcher began with the intention to only interview former cast members from “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” he admitted the project quickly began “gaining its own momentum.”
“This is an 80-year career in the making, and I think it’s easy to look at a few shows and say, ‘Wow, those are great,’” he explained to People. “But collectively, what does that all mean? Why is he so extraordinary today? Why do we love him so much?”
“There’s some really touching, sweet, fun moments in it,” he added. “And I think we also, we laugh again with him. We kind of hum along to the songs he sings. I think it’s all those things. It’s really a celebration.”
Van Dyke and Silver, 54, first met at the SAG Awards in 2006. They went on to tie the knot in 2012, just a few years after the death of the actor’s longtime partner, Michelle Triola, in 2009.
The “Night at the Museum” star and Silver discussed their 46-year age gap earlier this year.
“We get along so well,” Van Dyke said back in April. “Everybody said it wouldn’t work.”
“We just care about each other so much,” his wife quickly added at the time. “I mean it’s like eerie how well it works. People the same age don’t last.”
However, the “Bye Bye Birdie” star sparked health concerns a few months later when he dropped out of Vandy Camp – the live fundraising and fan event he and Silver host in Malibu every month – at the last-minute.
“I have to inform you that Dick is not up to coming to celebrate with us today,” Silver told the audience in June. “I’m sorry.”
“When you’re 99 and a half years old, you have good days and bad days,” she added, “and unfortunately, today is not a good day for him, and he’s sick that he can’t be here.”
As for his upcoming birthday, Van Dyke joked that “it’d be funny” if he didn’t make it to 100 during another Vandy Camp event early last month.
“That’s right. I’m not officially a hundred until December,” the former Broadway star said. “Two months. Two months.”
“It’d be funny if I didn’t make it,” he quipped.
But the comedian got more serious later on in the event while opening up about how he’s managed to make it as long as he has.
“I brag sometimes about how I made it to a hundred and the truth is, if I had known I was going to live this long, I would’ve taken better care of myself,” the Emmy winner shared at the time. “And it is frustrating because I don’t know what I did right.”
“Other than her, I didn’t do anything right,” he added regarding his wife of 13 years.
