Dick Van Dyke opened up about the damaging effects of his struggles with alcohol during an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning” that aired Sunday.
The famous actor said he is focused on taking care of his health at the age of 98, but admits that he hasn’t always fostered that discipline.
“If I’d known I was going to live this long, I would’ve taken better care of myself,” he said. “I went through that whole period of alcoholism,” he told CBS News.
Dyke has been sober since he checked himself into a hospital in 1972 and spent three weeks bettering his life. After putting forth the focus to heal and recover, the legendary actor admitted that he used alcohol as a way to overcome his shyness.
“I was very shy – with strangers – I couldn’t talk to people,” he told Oprah during a 2016 interview, according to the New York Post.
He explained how consuming alcohol helped him open up and share more of himself both on and off the job.
“And I found if I had a drink, it would loosen me up. The barriers went down and I became very social. That’s what got me started,” Dyke said.
Drinking alcohol helped give him the confidence boost he needed, but ultimately took a toll on his body.
“My whole career has depended on that. If I’m not enjoying myself, I’m really bad. I am,” Dyke said in the interview.
“It’s such a blessing to find a way of making a living that you love, that’d you do for nothing. I feel so sorry for people who hate their jobs. I look forward to going to work every morning,” he said.
These days, he said he’s sober and living the healthiest lifestyle possible.
“But my wife [Arlene Silver, 52], god bless her, makes sure I go to the gym three times a week and do a full workout,” he said. (RELATED: Blake Shelton Says He’ll Try To Curb His Drinking Habit In The New Year)
His career spanned well over six decades and he is the last of his colleagues left standing.
“Everybody I knew and worked with, there’s no one left,” Dyke said.