Dick Van Dyke to Receive Life Achievement Award

The Screen Actors Guild has chosen Dick Van Dyke as the recipient of the 2012 SAG Life Achievement Award to be presented during the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, January 27, 2013. SAG’s highest honor is given out to an actor who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession,” and acknowledges their career achievements as well as their humanitarian accomplishments.
 
SAG-AFTRA Co-President Ken Howard made the announcement, stating: “Dick is the consummate entertainer — an enormously talented performer whose work has crossed nearly every major category of entertainment. From his career-changing Broadway turn in Bye Bye Birdie and his deadpan humor in the Emmy® winning Dick Van Dyke Show, to his unforgettable performance as Bert in Mary Poppins, he sets a high bar for actors. Stage, big screen, small screen, literally everywhere he has worked he has inspired millions of fans and has had a tremendously positive impact on the industry and the world. He is so deserving of this honor and I congratulate him.”
 
SAG-AFTRA Co-President Roberta Reardon added: “With Dick, it’s so much more than the proverbial ‘triple threat.’ He started his career as a radio announcer, game show host and comedian and was a spokesman for Kodak, among numerous other roles over his nearly 60-year career. His contributions to the success of the business and to his fellow performers is legendary as is his work with a number of the leading ladies of our times, including Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler Moore — both previous Life Achievement Award recipients. His infectious laugh has warmed audiences for decades and is an unforgettable facet of his fabulous personality.”
 
Over the course of his career, 86 year old Van Dyke has earned five Emmys, a Tony, and a Grammy.
 
The 2012 Screen Actors Guild Awards will air live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, at 8 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. CT, 6 p.m. MT and 5 p.m. PT.
 
Source: Screen Actors Guild, TBS