Dick Van Dyke made history with his recent Daytime Emmy nomination.
Van Dyke, 98, became the oldest person to be nominated for the prestigious award on Friday, April 19. He was recognized for this guest star role on Days of Our Lives.
The actor made his soap opera debut in September 2023 as Timothy Robicheaux. He joined the cast for a special four-part arc with his real-life friend and gym buddy, Drake Hogestyn, who has been on Days off and on since 1986.
“I said, ‘Don’t you have any parts for old people? Come on give me one.’ And he took me seriously and got me a part!” Van Dyke told Access Hollywood in April 2023 about coaxing his pal to get him a role on the soap.
While preparing for the role, Van Dyke shared that he watched a bunch of Days episodes to get a feel for what the actors on the series have been doing over the years.
“Some of the people have been doing it for 20 years,” he recalled. “That’s all the homework I can do, watch one and see how they do it. The other thing, you have to hold, ‘duh duh,’ there’s this thing of music, and we’ve said something exciting.”
During Van Dyke’s stint on the show, it was revealed that his character was the long-lost father of Hogestyn’s character, John Black.
While Van Dyke is the oldest person to receive a Daytime Emmy nod, this isn’t his first time being up for the award. Van Dyke won in 1984 for Outstanding Performer in Children’s Programming for CBS Library: The Wrong Way Kid and in 2015 for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program thanks to his role in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Pirate Adventure.
Van Dyke has also earned five Primetime Emmy awards for his iconic sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show and his variety show Van Dyke and Company. He also has a Tony Award and a Grammy. That means the longtime icon needs just the Oscar to make him an EGOT recipient.
In December 2023, Van Dyke joked that he “has been lucky” when it comes to the projects he’s done throughout his career.
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“As a businessman, I’m not much good. I would do a movie and come home, and just sit down and wait for the phone to ring. I wasn’t aggressive,” Van Dyke shared in an interview on CBS’ Sunday Morning at the time. “I was out of work a lot because I didn’t go out and look for it.”
The Mary Poppins star shared that his “whole career has depended on” just having fun.
“If I’m not enjoying myself, I’m really bad,” he reflected. “It’s such a blessing to find a way of making a living that you love, that you’d do for nothing. I feel so sorry for people who hate their jobs. I look forward to going to work every morning.”
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