Dick Van Dyke, 98, reveals VERY surprising details about his Hollywood career that leave interviewer stunned

Dick Van Dyke described himself as a “lazy person” while reflecting on his career in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning ahead of an upcoming tribute special.

The 98-year-old legendary entertainer was asked during an interview with CBS news correspondent Tracy Smith whether he has planned his career, which has spanned more than seven decades in film, television and stage.

‘No. I never did that. I’m not very good as a businessman. I would make a movie or something and then come home and just sit and wait for the phone to ring,” Dick said during their sit-down interview.

‘I wasn’t aggressive. So I was out of work a lot because I didn’t go out and look for it,” Dick said with a smile.

“And how did you like that?” Tracy asked.

‘Well, I didn’t mind. I’m actually quite lazy. If I’m having fun, you know, okay. But I’m a lazy person,” Dick said, laughing.

‘Really and truly?’ Tracy asked incredulously.

‘I have little drive. I was very lucky,” Dick said.

“Wow,” Tracy said.

“There’s always someone to pick me up and drop me off,” Dick said.

“That’s great, it just happened,” Tracy said.

‘It did. It just happened,” Dick said.

Dick starred in the beloved children’s films Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as well as the classic TV sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show.

He will be celebrated in the two-hour tribute special “Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic” airing Thursday on CBS and streaming on the Paramount+ service.

The old set of The Dick Van Dyke Show has been recreated for the tribute special, a varied extravaganza with singing, dancing and special guests.

Dick attended the taping of the special with his wife Arlene Silver, 52.

The special will also feature vintage footage, depicting some of the highlights of his versatile career on stage, film and television.

Dick began his career as an actor during World War II, dropping out of high school to join the US Army Air Corps and eventually gaining military work as a radio announcer and entertainer for the troops.

In the 1950s he worked as a nightclub performer and moved to television. He finally began his tenure at CBS in 1955, when he was hired to replace none other than Jack Paar as host of The Morning Show.

However, it was on Broadway that he first became a big name as the lead actor in the 1960 hit musical Bye Bye Birdie.

With music by Charles Strouse, later of Annie fame, Bye Bye Birdie satirized the frenzy of Elvis Presley fans and earned Dick a Tony Award.

His performance on stage also caught the attention of Carl Reiner, who brought him to Hollywood, where The Dick Van Dyke Show began.

An instant classic, The Dick Van Dyke Show ran from 1961 to 1966 and made its namesake a national star – as well as its leading lady Mary Tyler Moore.

Dick’s career in Hollywood took off in the 1960s, landing him in film musicals such as Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the film adaptation of Bye Bye Birdie.

In the 1970s he took on more dramatic roles, playing alcoholics in The Comic and The Morning After and then confessing that he had gone on the wagon in real life.

He became a regular on The Carol Burnett Show and alternated between guest roles on the best TV series of the 1970s and 1980s, from Columbo to The Golden Girls.

Dick and his son Barry Van Dyke next starred together in Diagnosis: Murder, a hit crime comedy that ran for eight seasons from 1993 to 2001.

A classic showbiz trouper, he continued to work into the 80s and 90s, including in the 2018 film Mary Poppins Returns starring Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

In recent years, he has been showered with trinkets of lifetime achievement, including a Kennedy Center Honor and designation as a Disney Legend.

But despite plenty of laurels to rest on, he has stayed in the game, appearing on The Masked Singer and Days Of Our Lives this year.