Dick Van Dyke joked people were surprised when he was unmasked on 'The Masked Singer' because they "thought [he] was dead".
Dick Van Dyke was the oldest ever Masked Singer contestant
The 'Mary Poppins' actor's elimination in the first episode of the new series of the show was teased as "the most legendary, decorated and beloved unmasking in history," and the 97-year-old star admitted he didn't think any of the panel - Robin Thicke, Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong and Jenny McCarthy - would have predicted he'd be the man behind the Gnome.
Asked about the guesses he was Tony Bennett, Dustin Hoffman or Robert De Niro, he told Entertainment Weekly: "I felt pretty good about Tony Bennett. I wasn't crazy about any of the other ones.
"But I knew that they couldn't guess who I was. I don't think they expected anybody from my generation to be on that show. So I knew I was gonna fool them.
"They were so surprised. I stepped out and everybody's mouths dropped open. I think some people thought I was dead."
Dick had never seen the show before he was asked to appear but thought it "looked like fun" when he finally caught an episode.
He said: "When they asked me to do it, I had never seen it. 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.
"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!
"I would say it's the weirdest thing I've ever done."
While Dick loves that he still attracts new fans, he is frustrated with the format in which old episodes of his eponymous TV show airs now.
He said: "So much fun — the only thing that bothers me is the old 'Dick Van Dyke Show' still runs in reruns. 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. That makes me mad."
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