"Mary Poppins" legend Dick Van Dyke officially celebrated his 90th birthday Sunday. But over the weekend, the famed Hollywood song and dance actor was treated to an early birthday surprise.
At well-known shopping destination The Grove in Los Angeles, a group of fans dressed as chimney sweeps gathered and performed a choreographed "Mary Poppins" celebratory flash mob on Saturday. The effort was to kick start Dick Van Dyke's 90th birthday celebration, a report by Entertainment Weekly said.
Looking cheerful, energetic and younger than his age, Dick Van Dyke clapped and sang along as the group of dancers dressed as chimney sweeps just like his famous "Mary Poppins" character. The group sang and danced to "Jolly Holiday," "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and "Step in Time," songs he is known to have performed in the 1964 Disney classic film.
Ultimately, the jubilant Dick Van Dyke joined in with the group, who held happy birthday signs, to sing a rendition of "Let's Go Fly a Kite." The crowd then cheered "Happy Birthday!" after the performance.
Later on, the actor then took to Twitter to post a video of the event which was organized in part by his wife, Arlene Silver. The video was shot by Trevor Perez of Disney Examiner.
"I am very grateful that at the 90 years old, I can still go out and play," Dick Van Dyke told his Twitter followers as he shared the video of the event.
As CNN reported, the famed entertainer revealed last November the secrets to staying young and lively.
Dick Van Dyke shared to CNN's iReport contributor, Julie Ellerton, that plenty of exercise and movement has kept his youthful radiance. He also joked that "eating all the ice cream and candy he can get his hands on" has kept his young.
The actor then told Ellerton, "Don't do anything that isn't fun. I may have reached that point in life where I don't have to do anything that isn't fun."
"It's such a surprise," Van Dyke said of his turning 90. "I remember at 80 I said this is acceptable, this is just fine.
"I didn't know it was a very slippery slope after that," the actor added laughing.
