The judges of “The Masked Singer” were brought to tears on Wednesday night when the legendary Dick Van Dyke, 97, was revealed to be the Gnome after being eliminated from the show.
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Van Dyke Performs On ‘The Masked Singer’
Daily Mail reported that Van Dyke performed “When You’re Smiling” by Frank Sinatra, leaving judge Nicole Scherzinger in tears when he revealed who he really was.
“This is the most seasoned and most decorated we’ve had on our show, ladies and gentlemen,” host Nick Cannon said of the Gnome as he revealed his identity.
When asked what it was like to be the Gnome, Van Dyke said, “It was really dark in there. …I couldn’t see anything.”
Scherzinger couldn’t help but gush over Van Dyke as she explained to him why she cried when his identity was revealed.
“I love you so much, we love you, the whole world loves you so much. It’s an honor to have you on our show,” a visibly emotional Scherzinger said. “I can’t believe you’re here, I’m trying to like play it cool. You look so gorgeous, you look so handsome.”
“I love Dick Van Dyke,” she later added. “You’re our childhood.”
Once his identity had been revealed, Van Dyke brought the house down with a performance of the iconic song “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from his classic 1964 movie Mary Poppins.
Dick van Dyke is literally singing and DANCING “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from Mary Poppins at age 97 on the Masked Singer 😭
we stan you @iammrvandy i love nonagenarians so much pic.twitter.com/TcDfJFUvtm
— ben 🍉 (@blernerdidthat) February 16, 2023
Related: Dick Van Dyke, 97, Spotted Outside Local Labor Center Handing Out Money To Those In Need
Van Dyke Discusses Doing ‘The Masked Singer’
After the show, Van Dyke sat down with Entertainment Weekly to talk about why he’d decided to do “The Masked Singer.”
“When they asked me to do it, I had never seen it,” he explained. “So I looked at it on the air and it looked like fun. And I was so positive that nobody would ever guess it was me, that they would have somebody 97 years old on there.”
“And the experience was weird, because they have to keep it a secret from the crew,” he added. “So I walked around with my head covered with people leading me. They’ve got a nice crew, but I never got to meet any of them!”
When asked if being on the show was a weird experience, Van Dyke replied, “I would say it’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever done.”
“But they didn’t put a mask on me,” he continued. “They made a great big like Pumpkinhead thing that I had to do. It was a weird experience. I had two little peepholes I can see the audience with. It’s a good thing I’m not claustrophobic.”
dick van dyke doing the masked singer at almost 100 years of age just warms my heart so much 😭😭 an actual legend pic.twitter.com/3yLxJbWLSQ
— Tom 🔑 (@tvtalkswithtom) February 16, 2023
‘I Love That’
Van Dyke also wasn’t as surprised by Scherzinger’s emotional reaction to him as you may think.
“I have had that happen, yes. You know what is fun now?” he said. “We’re on our third generation and I would get little kids who will see me and say, ‘It’s [his Mary Poppins character] Bert!’ And I love that, that kids are just discovering those movies now. And it’s great to be on a third generation.”
While Van Dyke thinks it’s “so fun” that people still get a kick out of his work, there’s one thing that he is not so happy about.
“The only thing that bothers me is the old Dick Van Dyke Show still runs in reruns,” he said. “But now, there are twice as many commercials than there used to be, so the shows are chopped all up and I can’t even watch them.”
“We put them together so carefully, and now they just don’t work too well,” Van Dyke lamented. “That makes me mad.”
THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW
“To Tell or Not to Tell” (CBS, 1961)
starring Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore,
Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam,
Larry Mathews and Richard DeaconCreated by Carl Reiner pic.twitter.com/aa09ZrfaUy
— Classic Movies & TV Shows (@ClassicFilmTV) February 9, 2023
Van Dyke truly is a living legend who has had a career that has spanned for over 65 years. It was such a fun surprise to see him on “The Masked Singer,” and it’s great to see that he appears to still be loving life!
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