Story highlights
Van Dyke's wife posted video of the burned-out Jaguar
Van Dyke's Jaguar caught fire on a freeway north of Los Angeles, police say
Good Samaritans helped the 87-year-old actor and his wife get out
He's "fine" but "slightly embarrassed," his publicist says
Comic actor Dick Van Dyke and his wife escaped unhurt when their car caught fire on a Los Angeles-area highway, California state police said Monday.
Good Samaritans helped the 87-year-old Van Dyke and his wife, Arlene, from his Jaguar after he pulled the car over to the side of the Ventura Freeway in Calabasas, California Highway Patrol spokesman Saul Gomez said. The fire occurred about 2 p.m. Monday, Gomez said.
Arlene Van Dyke posted video online of the burned-out car and the actor talking with police. Publicist Bob Palmer said Van Dyke was “fine” but “slightly embarrassed” and was “appreciative of the instant help he got on the road.”
Van Dyke won three Emmy Awards for his self-titled comedy show in the 1960s, won a Tony for his role in the musical “Bye Bye Birdie” and shared a Grammy with Julie Andrews for the soundtrack to the children’s classic movie “Mary Poppins.”
He won another Emmy for a 1976 variety special and starred in the long-running mystery series “Diagnosis: Murder” in the 1990s.
CNN’s Tory Dunnan and Denise Quan contributed to this report.