Grand Old Hollywood Statesman Endorses Kamala Harris In Moving Video

“Mary Poppins” star Dick Van Dyke wasn’t about to sweep the election under the rug ― or rather down the chimney. (Watch the video below.)
The 98-year-old actor on Monday endorsed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris by harkening back to a civil rights speech he gave at an event with Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964.
“VOTE!!! @KamalaHarris @VP @KamalaHQ,” the actor tagged the vice president in the overline on X and Instagram while introducing the video.
“Hi, I’m Dick Van Dyke. You may remember I used to sing and dance and fall down a lot,” he said, referring to his tumble over an ottoman in the “Dick Van Dyke Show” intro.
The still-spry Van Dyke said he came upon a copy of the speech he gave on May 31, 1964, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The words were written by “The Twilight Zone” creator and host Rod Serling.
“I think it means as much today if not more than it did then, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to read it,” Van Dyke said.
“Hatred is not the norm,” he read. “Prejudice is not the norm. Suspicion, dislike, jealousy, scapegoating ― none of those are the transcendent facets of the human personality. They’re diseases. They are the cancers of the soul. They are the infectious and contagious viruses that have been bleeding humanity for years. And because they have been and because they are, is it necessary that they shall be? I think not.”
At the end of the video, Van Dyke said, “1964. A lot’s happened. Not so much as Martin Luther [King] dreamed of, but it’s a start.” The Civil Rights Act was passed a little more than a month later.
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Last June, as concerns over President Joe Biden’s age mounted before he withdrew from the race, Van Dyke expressed his support. “I’m old enough to be his father,” the “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” star said.
Van Dyke originally backed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the 2020 Democratic primary race but was thrilled that the eventual winner, Biden, got down on a knee to greet him at the White House in 2021.
Van Dyke quipped, “Now I expect that from everyone!”