Veteran entertainer Dick Van Dyke has won a historic Daytime Emmy at the age of 98.
The actor was honoured on Friday night as best guest performer in a daytime drama series for his part as amnesiac Timothy Robicheaux on Days of Our Lives, making him the oldest Daytime Emmy winner.
“I don’t believe this. I feel like a spy from nighttime television,” he said. “I’m 98 years old. Can you believe it?
“This really tops off a lifetime of 80 years in the business. If I had known I would have lived this long I would’ve taken better care of myself.”
Van Dyke received a standing ovation as he used a cane to make his way to the stage, accompanied by his wife Arlene who held the trophy.
“I brought this lady up because she was also on the show,” he said. “She played the cop who arrested me.”
Producer Norman Lear was 100 when he received his final Primetime Emmy nomination in 2022 and died the next year.
Van Dyke has won four Primetime Emmys, including three in the 1960s for his classic comedy series The Dick Van Dyke Show.
He beat out last year’s winner Alley Mills of General Hospital, Australian actor Guy Pearce for Neighbours, Linden Ashby of The Young and the Restless and Ashley Jones of The Bold and the Beautiful.
The Kelly Clarkson Show continued its domination of the daytime show category with a fourth consecutive victory.
General Hospital won four trophies, including its fourth consecutive win as best daytime drama. It is the second time in the ABC show’s 61-year history that it won four daytime drama trophies in a row.
