Dick Van Dyke 'locked up with the psychos' in rehab
Dick Van Dyke was "locked up with the psychos" when he sought treatment for alcoholism in the early 1970s.
Dick Van Dyke was "locked up with the psychos" in rehab.
The Mary Poppins actor - who celebrates his 100th birthday on Saturday (13.12.25) - checked into a hospital to get sober in 1972 and admitted the facilities back then were nothing like the modern clinics of today.
He said: “I remember going to rehab and it being nothing like today. In my day they used to lock you up with the psychos! Down in St Luke's, in Phoenix - they didn't have any special rehab place.
“The place was locked up and you were in there with the loony people.
"It was only two weeks back then, although I did the whole AA 12-step thing afterwards.
"But hey, You're nobody if you haven't been to rehab these days. Whether you have a problem or not - go there!”
Despite his advancing years, Dick does his best to stay healthy and active.
He said: “I don't jog anymore but I go to the gym and lift weights - just enough at my age to stay limber. I also swim in my pool.
“I take a lot of vitamins, I try to eat right and I always start the day with a healthy breakfast of raisin Bran with wheat bran and blueberries - a great anti-oxidant. I'm in pretty good health considering how I've abused myself. I never expected to live this long, or feel this good.”
The Diagnosis Murder actor feels "very lucky" he's not had any lung problems despite years of heavy smoking.
He said: “I smoked for a long time so I'm very lucky that I still have my lungs. I was a terrible smoker - smoking one cigarette after another.
"I think that all those years when I was dancing is probably what saved me. Either that, or genes.
"But I never did any drugs. My generation, we smoked and drank.”
Dick - who has adult kids Christian, Barry, Stacy and Carrie Beth with his late first wife, Margie Willett - worries children of today aren't given enough freedom.
He said: “My own father was a travelling salesman and only home on the weekends. I still fondly remember how, as kids, the whole summer was just me and my brother barefoot doing what we wanted. We went fishing, skinny-dipping, played baseball..
“Kids' lives are so compartmentalised today, so planned. I think a child needs time alone for his imagination and creativity to work. Kids who grow up micro-managed won't know what to do with themselves.
“A kid needs some freedom. It's sad the world has become so dangerous but they've got to go out there sooner or later. You can't protect them from everything.”
