Exclusive | Inside Dick Van Dykes hometown visit ahead of his milestone 100th birthday

Even legends like Dick Van Dyke have to start somewhere.Although the “Mary Poppins” star was born in West Plains, Missouri, in 1925, the comedy icon spent his formative years in the working-class town of Danville, Illinois.It’s where Van Dyke attended Danville High School, performed his earliest comedy routines with his brother Jerry and even worked briefly as a teenage radio DJ before setting his sights on a much bigger stage.Steve Boettcher, who directed the upcoming special “Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration,” returned to the Midwestern city with Van Dyke ahead of his milestone 100th birthday on Saturday.Boettcher said that the hometown visit became one of the most emotional moments in the film.“Even going back to his hometown in this film, back to Danville, where he kind of learned his craft,” Boettcher told The Post.“Even in Danville, he is beloved in his hometown.”“Not because he’s Dick Van Dyke, but because he’s one of their neighbors and one of their friends in that small little town, and they cherish him for that,” the director added.Van Dyke eventually left Danville in the 1940s, first joining the US Army Air Forces before diving into entertainment full-time.From there, he launched into a dizzying rise from small-town performer to Broadway breakout in “Bye Bye Birdie” to TV superstardom on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and later to his iconic film roles in “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”But Boettcher said that those formative Danville values stayed with Van Dyke every step of the way.“I think his upbringing and where he grew up – he packed a tight suitcase when he left Danville, but he had all the right elements in that suitcase,” the Emmy-winning director shared.For the documentary, the crew visited Van Dyke’s old high school and the theater that now bears his name.

Boettcher said that the community rolled out a heartfelt tribute that surprised even the filmmakers.“The kids in the musical groups...