Dick Van Dyke joined the cast of Days of Our Lives (1965) for a four-episode guest appearance on the soap opera, playing the character of Timothy Robicheaux. The arc began in September 2023 and saw him star alongside actors like Drake Hogestyn, whom he has been friends with off-screen. Thanks to that performance, Van Dyke earned himself an Emmy nomination.
This nomination, while historic, is not the first time Van Dyke has been acknowledged for his Daytime Emmy-qualifying work. In 1984, he won the Emmy for Outstanding Performer in Children’s Programming for his work in CBS Library: The Wrong Way Kid. In 2015, he was nominated again for the Emmy for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for his work in the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Pirate Adventure. This nomination marks his third over the course of his career.
He took a relaxed approach to finding jobs
While the nomination is a remarkable one, it may not have happened at all had Van Dyke stuck with his generally relaxed approach to finding work. At 98, one would think he would have retired from the industry a long time ago, but he has continued to work on various projects, he just hasn’t actively been searching for them.
Back in 2023, Van Dyke explained his relaxed method, saying, “As a businessman, I’m not much good. I would do a movie and come home, and just sit down and wait for the phone to ring. I wasn’t aggressive. I was out of work a lot because I didn’t go out and look for it.” Thankfully, prior to this stint on the soap opera, he tried a different approach. “I said, ‘Don’t you have any parts for old people? Come on give me one,’” he shared, referring to a time when he was working out with his friend Hogestyn. “And he took me seriously and got me a part!” We, in part, have Hogestyn to thank for the historic Daytime Emmy nomination.
He was honored by CBS
During his time on Days of Our Lives, CBS honored Van Dyke with a two-hour-long tribute that aired during his December feature. In the tribute, archival footage from his over seven-decade-long career, which began in 1947, was shown, showcasing his versatility and skill as an actor. Seeing the tribute, he felt honored.
“You think, ‘I don’t deserve this,’ but it’s difficult to say how I felt,” he explained. “I came home, and I said, ‘You know something? It’s going to be a couple of days before this actually sinks in that it happened.’ I never expected that kind of recognition. My whole life went before me. I didn’t realize I had done so many things while I was 75 years in show business.”
