Arts & Entertainment

Dick Van Dyke: Still Clowning Around

The performer and his quartet will put on a show at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert on Saturday, Feb. 11, and the performance will include a few surprises.

Dick Van Dyke, probably best known for his roles in "Mary Poppins" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show," is still going strong at age 86.

The actor, singer, dancer has put retirement into high gear with his performances with The Vantastix, a quartet that will appear at the in Palm Desert on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m.

Van Dyke told Patch that he's more busy than ever all thanks to a conversation with a young man in a Strabucks in Malibu.

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"Almost 10 years ago, I was sitting at a Starbucks here in Malibu. This young man came up and he said, ‘I understand you love to harmonize,’” Van Dyke recalled, adding that the man, Mike Mendyke, and his two friends, Eric Bradley and Bryan Chadima, came over to his home.

“We sounded good together and started meeting every Tuesday night and having a pizza around the piano,” Van Dyke said.

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Eventually, he was asked to perform with his friends at a benefit, launching the group into the spotlight with requests to perform in New York and Los Angeles.

“We never expected to go public,” he said with a chuckle.

Van Dyke will perform a medley of songs from his past work on TV shows, movies and Broadway. The octogenarian said he remains active and enjoys clowning around on stage.

"We do a full concert. We don’t do a lot of planning. We kind of work with the audience and see what they like," Van Dyke said. "It turns into a party instead of a performance. It’s such fun."

Tickets are $95, $75, $55 and $35 and are available by calling the McCallum Theatre box office at (760) 340-2787  or at the Theatre’s web site at www.mccallumtheatre.com.


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