Dick Van Dyke Credits Long Life to Stopping Two Vices, as Wife Arlene Shares His 100th Birthday Plan

Dick Van Dyke recently shared the secret to why he’s lived so long.

On November 30, the legendary actor, 99, held a Vandy High Tea event at his home in Malibu, California, with his wife, Arlene Silver, and his son, Barry Van Dyke, whom he shares with his first wife, Margie Willett. During the gathering, the six-time Emmy Award winner said he thinks giving up two of his vices helped keep him healthy, according to People.

After Barry, 74, claimed his dad “never smoked too much,” the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star disagreed, noting, “I smoked a lot, actually!”

“I think I was probably in my 50s before it dawned on me that I had an addictive personality. If I liked something, I was going to overdo it,” the comedian explained. “So I got rid of booze and cigarettes and all that stuff, which is probably why I’m still here.”

The Tony Award winner will reach a milestone birthday on Saturday, December 13, when he turns 100.

However, while attending the premiere of the documentary Dick Van Dyke 100th Celebration on Sunday, December 7, Silver, 54, revealed that The Dick Van Dyke Show alum is opting for a low-key birthday rather than a big celebration.

“He doesn’t want to do anything,” Silver told People. “…He wants to be in his room watching Jeopardy! reruns with me.”