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Dick Van Dyke has a “magical relationship” with his wife, Arlene Silver.
Director Steve Boettcher spoke with PEOPLE about witnessing the pair together and seeing them as “big kids” before the release of Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration — the new documentary toasting the actor’s forthcoming 100th birthday and legendary career.
“I think they just want to play. And I think you saw that probably too when you were at [the pair’s event,] Vandy Camp. And I think that’s reflected in the relationship,” Boettcher says.
He adds, “And honestly, I think she’s been a key force in keeping him so vibrant and alive today. I really feel that that love affair is amazing.”
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Boettcher, who spoke with Van Dyke and other Hollywood titans over the course of 30 years for the new project, tells PEOPLE that the goal for the doc was to “interview the people that worked with him and not people that remember watching him all the time.” The process began with the aim to interview former cast members from The Dick Van Dyke Show, before it “started gaining its own momentum.”
“This is an 80-year career in the making, and I think it’s easy to look at a few shows and say, ‘Wow, those are great.’ But collectively, what does that all mean? Why is he so extraordinary today? Why do we love him so much?,” Boettcher says.
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“There’s some really touching, sweet, fun moments in it,” the director adds. “And I think we also, we laugh again with him. We kind of hum along to the songs he sings. I think it’s all those things. It’s really a celebration.”
Van Dyke and Silver, 54, met at the SAG Awards in 2006 and got married in 2012, following the 2009 death of his longtime partner, Michelle Triola. He previously shared that Silver was “such a support” and he “fell in love.”
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During the Dick & Arlene Van Dyke Present Vandy Camp in April, the actor revealed that others initially didn’t believe that his relationship with Silver would last. “We get along so well,” he said, as Silver shared they “just care about each other so much.”
“Everybody said it wouldn’t work,” Van Dyke added, before Silver said, “Yeah. I mean it’s like eerie how well it works. People the same age don’t last.”
Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration will play in select theaters Dec. 13 and 14.
