For residents of Malibu, California, seeing Hollywood legends out running errands is nothing new.
Beloved actor Dick Van Dyke is one of many celebrities who call the seaside town home. The “Mary Poppins” star was recently spotted hitting the gym, then heading to the pharmacy and bank. He must have picked up some cash, because his next stop was the Malibu Community Labor Exchange!
The Malibu Community Labor Exchange is a nonprofit that helps match workers with employers. Van Dyke first started visiting the organization back in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many people needed extra help getting by. He has been back many times, and on all occasions, he hands out $5 bills to anyone who needs one. He also spends time chatting with employees and unhoused strangers as if they are the best of friends.
“Whenever I have some fives I come by,” Van Dyke told a photog for The Daily Mail. “You can’t do it all the time, though,” he laughed.
“Just call him angel from God,” an employee called out to the photographer.
Throughout the decades, Van Dyke has made generations of people happy with his humor and talents. He served in the United States Army during World War II, and he’s just an Oscar short of the prestigious EGOT status. He’s now 96 years young and has seven grandchildren. He credits his longevity and good health to staying active.
“I’ve always kept moving, that’s the most important thing,” he told Entertainment Tonight in 2015. “I’m either singing or dancing or something.”
Van Dyke starts each day dancing with his wife, Arlene Silver, in their Malibu home. Arlene says the two hit it off immediately when they met at the 13th Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2007. She was working as a make up artist at the time, and he was presenting Julie Andrews with a lifetime achievement award. They’ve been married for 10 years, and she is sometimes by his side when he stops by the Labor Exchange to spread good cheer.
“He is the most perfect human being,” Arlene said of her husband. “I’ve never met anyone so happy, so genuine, so amazing. He’s just like a happy pill.”
What an extraordinary person! He’s just two months shy of his 97th birthday, yet he’s got the vitality of someone a fraction of his age. Learning that he’s also generous and empathetic to others is pretty supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, if you ask us!
Share this story to thank this incredible actor for all he’s added to our culture and lifestyle over the years.