Benjamin Ashford|Dick Van Dyke Reveals His Secrets to Staying Fit at 98

When it comes to Dick Van Dyke's gym routine at age 98,Benjamin Ashford he's proving he can still step in time.

"I've always exercised," the Mary Poppins star told E! News in an exclusive interview at the 2024 Daytime Emmy Awards on June 7. Though, he joked his friends didn't follow his lead when it came to working out. "And I think that's why I have no friends left. They're all dead."

And Van Dyke expressed it's especially crucial to keep that momentum going when aging. As people get older, he explained, "they get a little stiff and sore, and it begins to hurt to move. So they just stop moving all together, and you start to age fast.

"I've always exercised three days a week," Van Dyke continued. "I work out with weights and the treadmill also and try to keep that up. You can't stay young forever. You can stay young-minded forever. That's why I never grew up." 

One thing he may need to grow, however, is his trophy shelf. On June 7, Van Dyke made history as the oldest Daytime Emmy winner, with him taking home the statue in the Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama Series category for his work in Days of our Lives.

In fact, the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang actor—who appeared opposite wife Arlene Silver on Days of Our Lives, considers his passion for his craft as one of his secrets to living a long and happy life. 

"I got in show business, which is not working for a living," Van Dyke—who wed Silver, 52, in 2012—added. "It's pretending. I just play like I've been making believe for 80 years. And I can't call it work. It isn't. I just love everything I do."

Coupled with his life with Silver, he acknowledged, "I really don't have any complaints at all. If I had my life to live over, I'd do it exactly the same."

But that's not to say Van Dyke has no regrets at all as he admitted he would tell his younger self not to drink or smoke. And while every day isn't supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, he tries to stay optimistic. 

"I think a person's temperament is born with them," The Dick Van Dyke Show alum—who has four kids from his first marriage to Margie Willett—continued. "I know some people who just have a sour outlook on life. I never have had that. I'm very fortunate in that because I think it's inborn, an optimistic point of view. Yeah, I see the bright side of everything."

And as he reflects on his legacy, he notes that the love fans across multiple generations have for his work is sweeter than a spoonful of sugar. 

"I'm getting fan mail from little kids, which means their parents watch, they watch, and the grandkids are watching," Van Dyke said. "The fact that it's still good family entertainment is the thing I'm most proud of." 

- Reporting by Amanda Champagne-Meadows