People News

Dick Van Dyke honoured at SAG Awards

Jan 27, 2013, 23:01 GMT

Dick Van Dyke with his wife Arlene

Dick Van Dyke is to be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) Awards tonight (27.01.13).

The 87-year-old 'Night at the Museum' star - who has been working in Hollywood since the 60s - admitted he can't wait to accept the award at the star-studded 19th annual event in Los Angeles because it means a lot to be celebrated as an actor rather than an entertainer.

Speaking to People.com before the event, the 'Diagnosis Murder' star said: 'This was a surprise. People think of me as a song and dance entertainer. To be accepted by my peers as an actor is really a thrill.'

The actor also revealed that he will be celebrating his seven-year anniversary with his 41-year-old wife Arlene, who he first met at the 2006 SAG Awards, where she was working as a make-up artist.

He said: 'There was something about her beautiful eyes,'

The couple married in a 'spur of the moment' ceremony in Malibu, California, on February 29 last year.

'Mary Poppins' star Dick - who presented Mary Tyler Moore with the Lifetime Achievement award last year - was first married in 1948 to Margie Willett in a ceremony broadcast live on radio show 'Bride and Groom'. They have four grown up children together, but divorced in 1984 after a long separation.

The actor also had a relationship with actress Michelle Triola from 1976 until her death from lung cancer in 2009.

Presenters at the SAG Awards 2013 will include Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, Jeff Daniels, Daniel Day-Lewis, Robert De Niro, Peter Facinelli, Sally Field and Anne Hathaway.