With the weekend just hours away I figured it was the right time to reach into the “Higher Culture” grab bag, as part of the front-page this time. I hope you’re as delighted with what I found as I was!
Hollywood legend Dick Van Dyke turned 99 years old on Friday… and he got to celebrate it by receiving the best-ever present, one day early.
The week did not start out in a positive way, though, when the actor-comedy trailblazer and his family were forced to evacuate their Southern California home due to a raging wildfire threatening the area.
As Van Dyke told NBC News’ Dana Griffin, he considers himself lucky to escape the close call with the help of neighbors.
He described how the situation unfolded. “It was coming over the hill, you could see it, and oh my God. We got out of here,” he said, motioning to his house. Then he added that “[t]hree neighbors came” and helped him make it out safely. Anyone who’s watched recent clips of him will not be surprised to hear that the actor was doing what he could at his advanced age; Van Dyke had been trying to hold the flames back with a garden hose.
Luckily, he and his family managed to evacuate without any injuries. But there was one family member unaccounted for–their pet cat Bobo. When his family returned to their Malibu home on Thursday, that “present” I hinted at earlier was there to welcomed them:
Van Dyke said he and his wife Arlene and their animals were safe except for a cat, Bobo, who went missing.
Fortunately, Bobo escaped the chaos and is safe. Van Dyke, who turns 99 on Friday, shared they found the cat when they returned to their home.
“There was so much interest in his disappearance that Animal Control was called in to assist,” Van Dyke wrote on Facebook. “But, thankfully he was easy to find and not harmed.”
The actor also shared his home was spared from the flames.
According to authorities, the cause of the fire is still unknown.
As I was finishing up this story, I tripped across a beautiful, second “present” for the great showman–this awesome tribute to the happiness and laughter Van Dyke has given all of us during many of his 99 years–with Coldplay’s just-dropped video.
As Van Dyke says so correctly in a break during the song, “What is love? It’s certainly a feeling, of caring about the welfare and the life of the other person.”
Enjoy (and have a tissue handy)!
Happy birthday, Dick!
