Dick Van Dyke recently got candid and opened up about the difficult time of his life ahead of his 100th birthday.
Conversing with PEOPLE magazine just a few days before his 100th birthday on December 13, the 99-year-old American actor, comedian, and author reminisced about his life, especially how things changed after his ex-wife, Margie Willett’s death.
For those unaware, Dyke, who has an acclaimed career, endured many hardships in life, as his ex-wife, Willett, died in 2008 and he was alone to raise his four children.
The Bye Bye Birdie alum, who will be celebrating a great milestone in his life with the release of his new book 100 Rules for Living to 100, said, “In the beginning I was [raising] in a family with no money, so the whole thing was getting some money together and getting a home.”
“I bought a home on the GI Bill, finally, but I think the toughest was I did game shows. I played nightclubs. I did about everything,” he quipped. “At one point, I was doing a disc jockey show at 5 in the morning, and then at night I was working with a partner in nightclubs.”
Dyke added, “I was getting like three or four hours sleep in between, but that’s the only thing I can remember, is working so hard to get going, to get a foothold. After that I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
The Night at the Museum star went on to share how his work-life balance affected his family.
“They probably got neglected at some point, because I was really working hard to get out of poverty, so to speak, but I haven’t had any complaints from anybody,” Dick Van Dyke noted.
