Richard Wayne Van Dyke was born in 1925 in West Plains, Missouri and is pictured as a little boy with his father Loren, a salesman who went by the nickname 'Cookie'

Although he was born in Missouri, he was raised in Danville, Illinois, where he is pictured in an undated photo from his high school yearbook

Van Dyke dropped out of Danville High School - in whose yearbook he is pictured - to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II

He started his career at CBS in 1955, when he was enlisted to replace no less than Jack Paar as host of The Morning Show, on which Van Dyke is pictured

He married his first wife Margie Willett and they welcomed four children - Barry, Carrie, Chris and Stacey, whom they are pictured with circa 1965 - before splitting in 1984

Van Dyke first became a star in 1960 with the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie, which he is pictured in the film adaptation of alongside Psycho star Janet Leigh

His performance onstage also attracted the attention of Carl Reiner, who brought him to Hollywood, where The Dick Van Dyke Show began; he is pictured on the show with Rose Marie 

The Dick Van Dyke Show ran from 1961 to 1966 and made a household name out of its namesake as well as his leading lady Mary Tyler Moore; they are pictured on the show in 1961

Van Dyke is pictured with Diane Cilento and Sean Connery meeting Queen Elizabeth II at the London premiere of the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice in 1967

Van Dyke and Moore are pictured in a still for the 1969 TV special Dick Van Dyke and the Other Woman, a song-and-dance variety special

His Hollywood career soared in the 1960s, landing him in movie musicals like Mary Poppins, which he is pictured in with its Oscar-winning lead Julie Andrews

Van Dyke was nominated for a Golden Globe and Andrews won the Oscar for Mary Poppins, which they are pictured in with child actors Matthew Garber and Michael Banks

Amid a glorious 1960s that included his sitcom and his most beloved movies, he also starred in the classic Hollywood musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

His television career also continued apace, including with a recurring guest spot on The Carol Burnett Show, which he is pictured on in 1977 in drag as the leading lady

He also pursued more dramatic roles, playing alcoholics in The Comic (pictured) and The Morning After and then confessing he had gone on the wagon in real life

In his later career, he hopped between guest roles on the top TV series of the 1970s and 1980s, from Columbo to The Golden Girls (pictured with Bea Arthur)

He and his son Barry Van Dyke then starred together on Diagnosis: Murder, a successful crime comedy that ran eight seasons from 1993 to 2001

Van Dyke had a long romance with Michelle Triola, which began as an affair when she was his agent's secretary and managed to last for 35 years; pictured 1984

Triola and Van Dyke never married, but she remained by his side and frequently accompanied him to public events until her death in 2006 at the age of 76 from lung cancer

He is now married to his former makeup artist Arlene Silver, who is a staggering 46 years his junior and whom he is pictured with at the 2013 SAG Awards

His acting career has continued well into his golden years, as in his turn in the 2006 movie Night at the Museum, which he is pictured in with Mickey Rooney (left) and Bill Cobbs (right)

Van Dyke's children have also been frequently been seen with him at events, such as his son Chris, now 75, whom he is pictured with in 2000 at a showbiz luncheon in Pasadena

He is pictured with his daughter Stacy, who is now 69, at an opening night afterparty for a revue by Chita Rivera, who had starred with Van Dyke in Bye Bye Birdie on Broadway

He has retained a warm equation with his former collaborator Carol Burnett, whom he is pictured with last year at her hand- and footprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theater 

In recent years he has been showered with baubles for lifetime achievement, including a Kennedy Center Honor, which he is pictured being presented with in 2021

Acting was often a family affair for Van Dyke, who is pictured with his brother Jerry Van Dyke on a 2015 episode of the sitcom The Middle; Jerry died in 2018 at the age of 86

Earlier this year at the age of 99, Van Dyke went viral for passionately kissing his wife Arlene at her 54th birthday party, in footage that surfaced on Instagram