Dick Van Dyke recently held a Vandy High Tea charity event at his home in Malibu, California at which he claimed to be the last person alive to know the “real” Walt Disney, as reported by People. Van Dyke turns 100 on December 13 and is among several actors and actresses still living who met and interacted with Walt.
Dick Van Dyke and Walt Disney
The High Tea included two hours San Q&As and sing-alongside along with special guests. Hosted by Chris Isaacson Presents, the event “raised funds to benefit The Van Dyke Endowment of the Arts and the Dick Van Dyke Museum, which is currently in development.” Van Dyke reflected on his relationship with Walt Disney, stating:
I got to know Walt, I’m probably the last person alive who did. I got to know Walt pretty well, and we just got along,” he said. “We decided that emotionally we were both 13 years old and that’s why we love to do children’s entertainment.
He was a big kid, just so full of enthusiasm, and I just loved him.
He continued claiming that despite their differing political views and Walt’s affinity for smoking, that Walt was a “wonderful guy” whom he “hit it right off” with.
Van Dyke met Disney in the early 1960s, when the actor was in his mid-30s, and the American animator was in his early 60s. In October 2025, at a similar Vandy Tea event, Van Dyke recalled being cast in Mary Poppins after the meeting, despite the author of the original books, Pamela Lyndon Travers, not thinking he was “right” for the role.
‘It is insane. I did an interview once, and in the interview I said, ‘I don’t think there’s enough good entertainment for kids,'” the actor recalled. “Walt Disney heard it, called me up, and gave me the part. It was that simple.‘
However, despite claiming to be the only living person to truly “know” Walt Disney, there are several other living actors and Cast Members with connection to The Walt Disney Company. They include van Dyke’s own Mary Poppins costar Julie Andrews and actors Kurt Russell, Hayley Mills, and Karen Dotrice; Disneyland ambassadors Julie Reihm, Connie Swanson Lane; and Disney Legends Tom Nabbe and Floyd Norman (who even directly commented on the news!).
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