Dick Van Dyke, 99, Misses Vandy Camp Due to Illness but Appears via Livestream: “Good Days and Bad Days”

Dick Van Dyke, 99, missed his Vandy Camp event due to illness but appeared via livestream.

Dick Van Dyke, the ageless screen legend now 99, surprised fans at his annual Vandy Camp event on June 28 by missing the in-person festivities due to illness—but he wasn’t about to let a little bug keep him completely offstage.

The beloved Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star was slated to co-host the whimsical, vintage-circus-style celebration at the Arlene & Dick Van Dyke Theater on the Malibu High School campus alongside his wife and creative partner, makeup artist Arlene Silver.

However, Arlene—introducing herself with a playful, “not the Van Dyke you’re expecting”—informed the crowd that Dick was feeling under the weather and unable to join them live.

“I have to inform you that Dick is not up to coming to celebrate with us today. I’m sorry,” Silver told the assembled fans, before gently reminding everyone, “When you’re 99 and a half years old, you have good days and bad days … and unfortunately, today is not a good day for him.”

Despite the disappointment, Silver reassured the audience that her husband was in high spirits, appearing via livestream and already looking forward to making the next Vandy Camp gathering “in person.”

Vandy Camp is more than just a showcase for The Vantastix—Van Dyke’s a cappella quartet—it’s a heartfelt homage to comedy, vaudeville and the circus arts that have shaped generations.

“It is a celebration of your childhood, all of our childhoods, the music that’s in the fabric of all of us,” Silver explained. She praised fans as “the greatest human beings I’ve ever known,” noting how special it is to bring everyone together under one roof.

On a personal note, Arlene reflected on how working alongside Dick and The Vantastix has transformed her.

“Being around him just as a human being has made me a better person,” she said, crediting the group for giving her the confidence to step out in front of a crowd.

“I would never be able to do this maybe, like, a year ago,” she admitted with a laugh, adding that without Dick’s usual “safety net,” she had to “wear my big girl pants and hold the reins.”

Since meeting at the SAG Awards in 2006 and marrying in 2012, the duo has shared both life and stage.

And as Van Dyke himself told PEOPLE this past April, he has no plans to slow down. “I love what I do for a living,” he said, even as Arlene teased that the moment he says he might, “the phone rings, and he’s like, ‘I don’t want to go there.’”

With that kind of passion, there’s little doubt fans will see plenty more of Van Dyke’s bright smile—whether in person or via livestream—long into his centenarian years.