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ick Van Dyke may just be a national treasure. he multitalented actor, recording artist, dancer, writer, comedian and former broadcaster is a deserving choice for the 49th SAG Life Achievement Award®. he entertainer, who turns 87 on Dec. 13, is as quick with a joke, as likely to break out in song, and as fun to be around as ever. Having previously presented the same award to former co-stars Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler Moore, this year it's Van Dyke's turn to receive SAG-AFTRA's highest honor for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment. "Dick is the consummate entertainer — an enormously talented performer whose work has crossed nearly every major category of entertainment," said SAG-AFTRA Co-President Ken Howard. "From his career-changing Broadway turn in Bye Bye Birdie and his deadpan humor in the Emmy®-winning Dick Van Dyke Show, to his unforgettable performance as Bert in Mary Poppins, he sets a high bar for actors. He has inspired millions of fans and has had a tremendously positive impact on the industry and the world." SAG-AFTRA Co-President Roberta Reardon added, "With Dick, it's so much more than the proverbial 'triple threat.' His contributions to the success of the business and to his fellow performers are legendary. His infectious laugh has warmed audiences for decades and is an unforgettable facet of his fabulous personality." He was born Richard Wayne Van Dyke in West Plains, Mo. and raised in Danville, Ill., hometown as well to Donald O'Connor, Gene Hackman and Bobby Short. As a youngster, he taught himself music, magic and pantomime. By 16, he was working part time as an announcer on a local radio station. Enlisting in the Air Force at 18, he soon was performing for the troops and hosting a radio show called Flight Time. Aſter his tour of duty, he hit the road with another Danville local, Phil Erickson, in a pantomime act called he Merry Mutes, a perfect showcase for his physical comedy giſts. With aspirations of being a TV announcer, Van Dyke landed jobs hosting a daytime talk show in Atlanta and a morning show in New Orleans, and then, in 1955, he moved to New York where he began hosting he Morning Show for CBS (which featured up-and- coming newscaster Walter Cronkite). Other hosting jobs followed, as did his television-acting debut on a 1957 episode of he Phil Silvers Show. In 1960, his career soared when he was cast opposite Chita Rivera in the original Broadway In 1974, his stunning portrayal of an alcoholic family man in David Wolper's groundbreaking ABC television movie he Morning Aſter earned Van Dyke an Emmy nomination. But for the better part of the '70s, it was back to song, dance and comedy, as Van Dyke became a staple of TV variety shows and returned to the stage in he Music Man and Damn Yankees. In the early '90s, Van Dyke prepared for what he believed was retirement while starring in three Diagnosis Murder TV movies with son Barry. Retirement was not to be, as CBS turned the movies into a popular series that ran from 1993-2001. Following his decade-long stint as the crime-solving Dr. Mark Sloan, Van Dyke teamed with Eric Bradley, Bryan Chadima and Mike Mendyke to form the a cappella singing group Dick Van Dyke & the Vantastix. "hese guys are half my age and they keep me young," he jokes. he quartet have performed on stage and TV, and released an album of children's 1955 DICK IS THE CONSUMMATE ENTERTAINER – AN ENORMOUSLY TALENTED PERFORMER version of Bye Bye Birdie, which earned him a Tony® Award and brought him to the attention of Sheldon Leonard and Carl Reiner, who signed him for a TV pilot opposite newcomer Mary Tyler Moore. he eponymous he Dick Van Dyke Show premiered in 1961 and earned him three lead actor Emmy® Awards. During that show's five-season run, the tireless Van Dyke also filmed the 1963 big- screen version of Bye Bye Birdie, recorded a solo album, and filmed the 1964 musical classic Mary Poppins. It won five Academy Awards®, and earned stars Julie Andrews and Van Dyke a Grammy®. A run of films followed during the following decades, including Divorce American Style (1967), Fitzwilly (1967), the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), Some Kind of a Nut (1969), he Comic (1969), Norman Lear's anti-smoking Cold Turkey (1970), he Runner Stumbles (1979), Dick Tracy (1990) and more recently the Ben Stiller comedy Night at the Museum (2006). songs, Put on a Happy Face. Supporting this endeavor from the audience — and sometimes joining in — is Van Dyke's new wife, makeup artist Arlene Silver. he two married in February 2012 aſter meeting at the 2007 SAG Awards. hroughout his busy personal and professional life, Van Dyke has always made time for philanthropic endeavors. For nearly 20 years, Van Dyke has been tirelessly committed to his volunteer work at he Midnight Mission, Los Angeles' downtown shelter for the troubled and homeless. As Van Dyke wrote in his 2011 memoir My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business, any retirement plans he's made have yet to work out. And we're all the luckier for it. TCM will host a Dick Van Dyke movie marathon on Monday, Jan. 21, 2013 (check local listings). He will be presented the Life Achievement Award at the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ® on Sunday, Jan. 27, at 5 p.m. PT, live on TNT and TBS. SAGAFTRA.org | Winter 2013 | SAG-AFTRA 41 (Right) CBS Photo Archive