NEED TO KNOW

• Dick Van Dyke’s wife Arlene Silver revealed a little-known talent the actor has that fans might not know about: computer animation

• Silver made the revelation at one of the couple’s Vandy Camp events over the weekend — and said Van Dyke still dabbles in the activity even at 99

• Van Dyke, who has been married to Silver since 2012, had to miss the event due to illness

Dick Van Dyke is best known for his iconic performances in front of the camera, but his wife Arlene Silver just revealed one of his lesser-known talents.

During a Q&A at a Vandy Camp event held at the Arlene & Dick Van Dyke Theater at Malibu High School on Saturday, June 28, Silver, 53, responded to a fan who pointed out that “not very many people know Dick Van Dyke was a computer animator.”

“Still is!” she said of her husband, who turns 100 this year and had to miss the event due to illness.

“And he has a credit for computer animation on Diagnosis: Murder,” Silver added, referencing the show that saw Van Dyke playing a medical doctor who solves crimes. The series ran for eight seasons between 1993 and 2001 and spawned five TV movies.

The fan, who identified themselves as someone who does computer graphics, said Van Dyke would visit their computer graphics company to “inspire us that what we were doing was super cool.”

The event attendee lauded Mary Poppins as “such an important movie in the history of visual effects” and praised Van Dyke’s performance for helping said visual effects “shine in a way that could touch our hearts and amaze our brains.”

The fan then asked Silver what Van Dyke would say about the scene from the 1964 Disney film that sees him dancing with penguins, which were added after filming.

“He said it was really hot,” Silver joked.

Silver went on to recall seeing a “great documentary” about the making of Mary Poppins in which choreographers Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood said Van Dyke was “moving so crazy beyond” what they’d planned that the animators “had to change the animation to go with his crazy legs.”

Elsewhere at the event, Silver opened up about Van Dyke’s absence, identifying herself to the audience as “not the Van Dyke you’re expecting.”

“I have to inform you that Van Dyke is not up to coming to celebrate with us today. I’m sorry,” she said of the actor, best known for roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and his own show, The Dick Van Dyke Show.

“When you’re 99 and a half years old, you have good days and bad days … and unfortunately, today is not a good day for him, and he’s sick that he can’t be here,” Silver, who has been married to the star since 2012, continued.

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The makeup artist went on to say she was “pretty confident” her husband would attend the next Vandy Camp event “in person.”

Vandy Camp events see Van Dyke and Silver work alongside their musical group to honor their “passion for comedy, vaudeville and the circus,” according to a press release obtained by PEOPLE.

Read the original article on People