Dick Van Dyke

I wanted to be Stan Laurel, then I wanted to be Fred Astaire and then Captain Kangaroo. I actually started out as a radio announcer when I was 17 and never left the business so that's literally 70 years.

I didn't even start dancing until I was in my thirties, and it was like flying.

I get little kids who recognize me from 'Mary Poppins,' and it just delights me because it's our third generation.

Just knowing you don't have the answers is a recipe for humility, openness, acceptance, forgiveness, and an eagerness to learn - and those are all good things.

I never had a lot of drive, but because I had family responsibilities, I had a lot of tenacity - the tenacity of a drowning man.

Somebody asked what I wanted on my gravestone. I'm just going to put: 'Glad I Could Help.'

I was lucky to get the kinds of parts I wanted. I always said I didn't want to do anything my kids can't see.

Don't worry so much. Most of the things you worry about never end up happening.

When I auditioned for 'Bye Bye Birdie' on Broadway, Gower Champion said, 'You've got the job!' I said, 'Mr. Champion, I can't dance.' He said, 'We'll teach you what you need to know.'

I do miss the rhythms of comedy. And I've never been able to perform very well without an audience. The sitcoms I've done had them. It was like doing a little play.

In my seventies, I exercised to stay ambulatory. In my eighties, I exercise to avoid assisted living.

I got into a Broadway show before I ever sang and danced. I learned how after I got in the show.

Hope is life's essential nutrient, and love is what gives life meaning

It means you never know what's going to happen,' I said. 'You do your best, then take your chances. Everything else is beyond our control.