Dick Van Dyke has canceled an upcoming appearance at a pop culture convention.
The 98-year-old legend was scheduled to appear at the FanX Salt Lake Comic & Pop Culture Convention in Salt Lake City from September 26-29, but event organizers announced Monday that he would not be able to make the appearance.
“We regret to announce that Dick Van Dyke is unable to travel to FanX at this time,” a FanX representative told Fox News Digital. “He expresses his gratitude to those who continue to support him, but at nearly 99 years old, traveling and connecting with thousands of people is more than he can do right now.”
The actor last attended the fan event in 2017 and last appeared at the Fan Fusion Convention in Phoenix in May 2024.
Legendary actor Dick Van Dyke, 98, still has career goals but no plans to retire
Dick Van Dyke has canceled his appearance at the FanX event in Utah. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
The “Mary Poppins” star recently made history twice: He became the oldest actor to ever win a Daytime Emmy Award in any category, for Best Guest Actor for his performance on “Days of Our Lives.”
“If I had known I would live this long, I would have taken better care of myself,” joked the actor in his acceptance speech. “I’m 98 years old, can you believe it? Thank you very much. This is truly the pinnacle of a life. Eighty years in the business.”
He later set the record for the oldest winner of a Primetime Emmy Award when he won the Creative Arts Emmys for Outstanding Variety Special for his special “Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic.” He is now tied with Norman Lear, who also won an Emmy at 98 for “Live Before a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s All in the Family And The Jeffersons.”
Standing backstage after the awards ceremony, Van Dyke proved he has no intention of slowing down, jokingly telling reporters, “I’m looking for work, if anyone is.” He also said he wants to be remembered after his death “for making people laugh for 75 years.”
Dick Van Dyke became the oldest actor to win a Daytime Emmy Award when he won in 2024 for his guest role on “Days of Our Lives.” (Photo by JC Olivera/Variety via Getty Images)
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“I’ve been in the business for 75 years,” he said. “I can’t believe I’m still here performing.”
Van Dyke is known for his leading roles in “Mary Poppins,” “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Dick Tracy,” and other popular works. Over the course of his career, he has received a Grammy Award for his performance on the “Mary Poppins” soundtrack, six Emmy Awards, a Tony Award for his role in “Bye Bye Birdie,” and has been honored with a Disney Legend Award and a Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award.
The actor is one more award away from receiving the coveted EGOT, despite never having won an Oscar. During his speech at the Creative Arts Emmys, Van Dyke did not rule out the possibility of becoming an EGOT, saying he could receive the award “posthumously.”
Only 21 people have achieved EGOT status, meaning they have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award over the course of their career.
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Dick Van Dyke is just one award away from EGOT status. (Amanda Edwards/WireImage)
Van Dyke will star in the film “Capture the Flag,” which is currently in pre-production. The film will also star Paul Dooley, John Amos and Barry Corbin as a group of veterans who compete in a game of flag-chasing for the honor of raising the flag on their community’s flagpole each morning.
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