Washington DC [US], December 7 : Veteran Hollywood icon Dick Van Dyke has said that he has no regrets about turning down the lead role in the 1976 horror classic 'The Omen', while admitting that a missed opportunity to work with Cary Grant remains one of his few career regrets, according to People.
Speaking at Vandy High Tea, a charity event held at his Malibu home to support The Van Dyke Endowment of the Arts and the upcoming Dick Van Dyke Museum, the 99-year-old actor reflected on the choices that shaped his decades-long journey in entertainment.
Van Dyke revealed that he was initially offered the role that ultimately went to Gregory Peck, but the film's dark tone didn't appeal to him. "I could have done The Omen that Gregory Peck did," he said. "I didn't want to do that kind of movie. It just didn't fit my taste somehow."
However, he admitted to one decision he regrets, turning down a chance to act alongside Cary Grant.
"One thing I regret: [declining a movie with] Cary Grant ... He was the best looking guy in the world, and I just liked the way he dressed and acted and everything ... We got to be good friends. He asked me to do a movie with him, and I can't remember why I said no and doggone it!" he recalled, as quoted by People.
He also expressed frustration over missing out on a project with Italian screen legend Sophia Loren, placing the blame squarely on his agent.
"I'm still mad about that!" he joked. "My agent called me one day, and he said, 'I had a call from Sophia Loren's manager, she wants to do a movie with you.' And I said something like, 'When do we start?' He says, 'Well, I turned it down." I said, "What?' He said, 'Well, you would've had to take second billing.' I said, "I don't care if they mention my name!" I said. 'I would've paid them!' I never forgave him for that. He turned down a movie with Sophia Loren. Can you believe that? I didn't even get to meet her," as per the outlet.
During the conversation, the actor also remembered his breakthrough stage partnership with Broadway legend Chita Rivera in the original 1960 production of Bye Bye Birdie. "I think she is the best thing that ever stepped foot on a stage," he said of the late Rivera. "She was incredible, strong. I got that part, but I didn't sing or dance, and she is such a strong dancer. She just made me look good ... I won a Tony, didn't I?"
He went on to praise Rivera for her generous and collaborative spirit, and even credited her for igniting his career.
"We were in Philadelphia, where you do performances but you're still trying out things and rewriting and everything," he explained. "One day, the writers came down with a new song for Chita and she said, 'You know, Dick doesn't have anything to do in the first act. Why don't you give it to him?' It was 'Put On a Happy Face,' which started my career ... She saved my life. That was my song, and it got me a series. That's how good a lady she was. Boy, I loved that lady," as quoted by People.
The success of the musical paved the way for The Dick Van Dyke Show, which ran from 1961 to 1966 and established him as one of America's most beloved entertainers.
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