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Legendary actor Dick Van Dyke was just days away from his 99th birthday when he was rescued by surrounding neighbors in the recent Malibu wildfires.
Detailing the escape to a local news outlet in an interview that aired on the Today show, the Mary Poppins actor explained, "It was coming from the hill, you could see it. And oh my God, and we got out of here. I was trying to crawl to the car, I had exhausted myself, I couldn’t get up."
He added of his rescue, "Three neighbors came and carried me out and came back and put out a little fire in the guest house and saved me."
On December 10th, Dick took to Facebook to update fans on his well-being amidst the wildfires, explaining that he, along with his wife and pets had evacuated. He shared, "Arlene and I have safely evacuated with our animals except for Bobo escaped as we were leaving. We’re praying he’ll be ok and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires." He later added of Bobo’s safety, "We found Bobo as soon as we arrived back home this morning. There was so much interest in his disappearance that Animal Control was called in to assist. But, thankfully he was easy to find and not harmed."
Dick turns 99 on December 13th, and was recently featured in Coldplay’s "All My Love" music video to celebrate the milestone. Coldplay had also wrote in a Facebook comment to the actor following the fires, "We’re sending love and prayers to you, Arlene and everyone affected by these fires. Call us if there’s anything we can do. Love Phil, Chris, Guy, Jonny and Will." And Dick responded, "Thank you boys!! You have all our love!! Dick & Arlene."
