Dick Van Dyke Cancels Upcoming Appearance in Utah After Skipping 2024 Emmys: ‘Not Able to Travel’

After missing the 2024 Emmys, Dick Van Dyke canceled a scheduled public appearance.

It was announced by Fan X on Monday, September 23, that Dick, 98, would not be attending the FanX event in Salt Lake City, Utah, which is slated to take place from September 26 to September 29.

“We are sorry to announce that Dick Van Dyke is not able to travel to FanX at this time,” a statement on the event’s website said. “He expresses his gratitude to all of those who continue to support him but, at almost 99 years of age, traveling and interacting with thousands of people is more than he is able to do at this time.”

Dick Van Dyke’s Sweetest Photos With Wife Arlene Silver Over the Years

The announcement came after Dick did not appear at the 2024 Emmys, after the Academy had initially announced him as a presenter for the event on September 15. He did not publicly reveal a reason for his absence from the ceremony.

However, the Mary Poppins actor did appear at the 2024 Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 7. He accepted the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special for Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic. He attended the event with his wife, Arlene Silver, and showed off his dance moves when he won the award.

“Thank you, that reception, I cannot tell you what it means,” he said at the time. “I’m 99 next month.”

He also gave a sweet shout-out to his wife, saying, “The young lady who got this award, you may think of the word nepotism and I would understand it, but this lady got the job all by herself as producer of the Dick Van Dyke special because she knows me inside and out, and knows how I work, and don’t take no sass from anybody. Arlene Van Dyke!”

Arlene then praised her husband, whom she has been married to since 2012.

“Thank you so much,” she said at the ceremony. “It is a honor to spend my life with you… We got four nominations that put love, heart and soul into the show. To honor you, you’ve created endless joy and playfulness for generations to come.”

Later on backstage, Dick opened up about how he wants to be remembered.

“For laughter, I hope,” he said. “Hopefully for making people laugh for 75 years. I’ve been in the business 75 years. I can’t believe it, that I’m still here and performing.”

“I’m looking for work if anybody has [any],” he joked in the press room.

But the legendary entertainer revealed he was already hard at work dreaming up his next project — a one man show.

“I was thinking of doing — 80 years in the business, I have a lot of stories to tell. I thought I’d just do a one-man show, like this,” he told People on June 11. “Just sit and talk to the audience.”

“I’ve got a list. I’m pretty close,” he said of making the project a reality, with Arlene adding, that Dick has “gotten so many requests” to his own show.

“He’s got amazing stories,” she added of her husband’s next venture.