Dick Van Dyke says disorder painful but not terminal

Legendary entertainer Dick Van Dyke, who has been dealing with an undiagnosed neurological disorder, tweeted Friday that he has been dealing with the disorder for seven years and that it was not terminal. 

“Thank you for your concern & advice. I’ve had this condition for 7 yrs. Its not terminal, just a pain,” Van Dyke tweeted. 

The 87-year-old “Mary Poppins” and “Dick Van Dyke Show” star added, “@speakyteeth takes great care of me!!,” referring to his wife Arlene Van Dyke, whom he married last year. 

Van Dyke had tweeted on Wednesday that he was dealing with a health whose source tests could not reveal. 

“My head bangs every time I lay down,” he tweeted. “I’ve had every test come back that I’m perfectly healthy. Anybody got any ideas?”

The condition prevented him from traveling to New York this week to receive the first Lifetime Achievement Award for Bettering Humanity Through Comedy from the 92nd Street Y, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

His representative told Entertainment Tonight the cancellation was caused by “fatigue and lack of sleep resulting from symptoms of a yet-to-be diagnosed neurological disorder.” Entertainment Tonight first reported the news. 

“Dick is otherwise in good physical condition but the fatigue factor has become acute,” the rep told USA today. The condition includes a caution against air travel. 

Van Dyke stays active in the Malibu community, performing in local theater productions as well as his a capalla quartet, the Vantastix, and hosting an elaborate Halloween haunted house every year on his Serra Retreat property. His Twitter avatar reads, “the barefoot prince of Malibu.”