Is Dick Van Dyke alive? Fans fear the worst after actor starts trending on X
American actor Dick Van Dyke started trending on X after he took to Instagram on November 04, 2024, to endorse Kamala Harris right before the elections. Since he made a rare social media appearance, his name began making rounds on the platform, leading fans to assume the worst.
After getting to know that Van Dyke is still alive, netizens flocked to X to express their relief. A person commented:
"Saw “Dick Van Dyke” trending, relieved to find out he’s only voting for Kamala Harris."
"Stop scaring me twitter! Seriously tho, That's f*cking dope that Dick Van Dyke is trending bc he's endorsing Harris. Making tomorrow's election a jolly holiday in the end is desperately needed," another person commented"
"PROTECT DICK VAN DYKE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD," a third person said.
Other netizens also shared their opinions on similar lines, stating they are relieved to know that Mary Poppins actor is still alive.
"When Kamala Harris wins her first act will be ensuring that Dick Van Dyke never again trends on any social media platform #Election2024," an X user stated.
"Dick Van Dyke is ok everyone. He just endorsed Kamala, that's all💙 "another X user wrote.
"Dick Van Dyke is trending. he's fine folks." an internet user commented
"You may remember I used to sing and dance and fall down a lot, actually"—Dick Van Dyke mentions in video endorsing Kamala Harris
In his black-and-white video endorsing Kamala Harris via Instagram, the Night at the Museum actor introduced himself as:
“Hi! I’m Dick Van Dyke. You may remember I used to sing and dance and fall down a lot, actually.”
In the video, Van Dyke shared that he would be reading a speech written by The Twilight Zone creator Rod Sterling. He previously delivered the same speech on May 31, 1964, while sharing a podium with Dr. Martin Luther King.
In the post, the actor recalled giving the speech in front of a crowd of 60,000 people in Los Angeles' Colosseum. He mentioned that the speech resonates even today as strongly as it did back then.
Reading the speech titled "A Most Non-Political Speech," Van Dyke began:
“Hatred is not the norm. Prejudice is not the norm. Suspicion, dislike, jealousy [and] scapegoating…. none of those are the transcendent facets of the human personality. They are diseases. They are the cancers of the soul. They are the infectious and contagious viruses that have been breeding humanity for years."
Referring to the "diseases", the actor questioned that just because they exist, is it necessary that they shall continue to be prevalent? He answered, "I don't think so."
Continuing the speech, Van Dyke said:
“As long as there is one voice left to say ‘welcome’ to a stranger, one hand outstretched to say ‘enter and share,’ and one mind remaining to think a thought of warmth and friendship, then there is still hope for humanity.”
He concluded the speech by reciting a quote by Horace Mann, sharing that one should be ashamed to die until they have won some victory for humanity. The actor said that he'd like to paraphrase the same and highlight:
"Let us be ashamed to live without that victory."
While Van Dyke did not explicitly name Kamala Harris in the video, he tagged her in the caption. Toward the end of the video, the actor said that a lot has happened since he first read the passage 50 years ago and much has also remained the same. He ended the video by saying that "It's not what Martin Luther King dreamed of" but that it's a start.