Dick Van Dyke Thought He'd Die When a Surfing Day Went Awry. But a Pod of Porpoises Came to His Rescue
- - - Dick Van Dyke Thought He'd Die When a Surfing Day Went Awry. But a Pod of Porpoises Came to His Rescue
Mark GrayJuly 3, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Monty Brinton/CBS via Getty
Dick Van Dyke in 2023
Years ago, Dick Van Dyke's surfing expedition took a turn after he fell asleep
The Mary Poppins actor "started seeing fins" while out on his 10-foot surfboard, he recalled
Van Dyke gave up surfing years ago
Dick Van Dyke can thank a pod of porpoises for saving his life.
The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star spoke about the stunning sea adventure in 2010 with Craig Ferguson, indicating he once fell asleep while riding his 10-ft. surfboard during a day at Virginia Beach.
"I woke up out of sight of land," the acting icon said during an appearance on Ferguson's former talk show, The Late Late Show. "I look around and I started paddling with the swells, and I started seeing fins swimming around me, and I thought 'I'm dead!' "
Van Dyke was soon shocked to discover that he wasn't being swarmed by bloodthirsty sea predators, but rather by porpoises who apparently wanted to ensure that the Mary Poppins star returned to dry land safely.
"They pushed me all the way to shore," he said. "I'm not kidding, all the way to shore."
He repeated the story during a 2023 appearance on the Really? no, Really? podcast.
Xinhua/Shutterstock
Porpoises
At 99, the Bye Bye Birdie actor no longer surfs, as he gave it up many years ago. But he still stays busy.
In late June, Van Dyke missed one of his regular Vandy Camp events in Malibu due to illness.
"When you're 99 and a half years old, you have good days and bad days ... and unfortunately, today is not a good day for him, and he's sick that he can't be here," his wife, Arlene Silver, informed the crowd
At that same event, many learned the onscreen icon had a secret talent after Silver, 53, responded to a fan who pointed out that "not very many people know Dick Van Dyke was a computer animator."
"Still is, and he has a credit for computer animation on Diagnosis: Murder," Silver added, referencing the show that saw Van Dyke playing a doctor who solves crimes. The series ran for eight seasons between 1993 and 2001 and spawned five TV movies.
The Dick Van Dyke Show star first met Silver at the SAG Awards in 2006, and they eventually wed in 2012.
During a Vandy Camp event in April, Van Dyke told PEOPLE exclusively that he has no plans to slow down in his late 90s.
"I love what I do for a living," he said, as Silver chimed in, "[But] the minute he says that — the phone rings, and he's like, 'I don't want to go there.' If they come to our house, he will work all the time."
on People
Source: AOL Entertainment
