Dick Van Dyke was forced to cancel his first public appearance outside of Los Angeles in months due to his advanced age.
The iconic Mary Poppins actor, who turns 99 in December, was due to appear at the three-day FanX event from September 26-29 in Salt Lake City but sadly pulled out.
A statement from the organisers said: ‘We regret to announce that Dick Van Dyke will not be able to travel to FanX.
‘He expresses his gratitude to all those who continue to support him but, at almost 99 years of age, travelling and interacting with thousands of people is more than he can handle at the moment.’
Van Dyke previously attended the event in 2017.
Dick Van Dyke was forced to cancel his first public appearance outside of Los Angeles in months due to his advanced age.
The iconic Mary Poppins actor, who turns 99 in December, was due to appear at the three-day FanX event from September 26-29 in Salt Lake City but sadly pulled out.
He was last seen in public earlier this month at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards and joked that he was still “looking for work” before his 99th birthday.
The star attended the Fan Fusion convention in Phoenix in May.
The star tied the record set by Norman Lear as the oldest Emmy winner, both at 98 (Lear in 2020).
He won the award for outstanding variety special for his 2023 Dick Van Dyke birthday special 98 Years of Magic at the Creative Arts Emmys on Saturday.
After receiving the award, Van Dyke told reporters (via People) who hoped to be remembered for “making people laugh.” He remained seated on the red carpet in the winners’ room.
‘I hope to make people laugh for 75 years. “I’ve been in the business for 75 years. I can’t believe I’m still here and performing,” he said.
The legendary comedian looked around the room and then joked, “I’m looking for a job if anyone has one.”
When asked what advice he would give to younger artists, he said to stay true to the craft.
“You have to persevere. You’re going to go through tough times and a lot of auditions… but you have to persevere,” Van Dyke said.
“Be patient if you have confidence in yourself, and it’s very important to believe that you can do it,” he added.
A statement from the organizers said: ‘We regret to announce that Dick Van Dyke will not be able to travel to FanX.’
When asked what advice he would give to younger artists, he said to stay true to the craft.
“Be patient if you have confidence in yourself, and it’s very important to believe that you can do it,” he added.
Accepting his award to great applause at the Peacock Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, Van Dyke was very grateful.
“Thank you! I can’t tell you what that reception means,” he told the crowd at the beginning of his speech.
He was joined on stage by his wife, Arlene Silver, 52, who served as a producer on the Emmy-winning special.
“The young lady who received this award, you might think of the word nepotism and you would understand, but this lady single-handedly got the job as producer of the Dick Van Dyke special because she knows me inside out, she knows how I work and she doesn’t tolerate anyone’s impudence,” he said of his wife.
Just a few months earlier, he had made history again as the oldest winner of a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Star on Days of Our Lives.
“This is a very different honor for me; I rarely get recognized for my dramatic or traditional acting; after all, comedy and musicals are my specialty,” she said.
“I’m very honored and it will be a fun night of celebration with the entire daytime television community,” Van Dyke added.
He will next be seen in the film Capture the Flag alongside Louis Gossett Jr., John Amos, Barry Corbin and Paul Dooley.