TV icon Dick Van Dyke added a strange footnote to his celebrated and prolific career with a surprise reveal as the Gnome on FOX’s mystery celebrity vocal competition series, The Masked Singer.
The 97-year-old acting legend, the oldest contestant to be featured on the show so far, appeared on the show’s Season 9 premiere to perform the pop standard “When You’re Smiling,” which was credited to Frank Sinatra on the broadcast but attributed to Billie Holiday by Van Dyke (via EW). “I didn’t realize that Frank Sinatra had even done it,” he admitted in the interview.
Post-reveal, host Nick Cannon called Van Dyke “the most seasoned and decorated entertainer we have had on our show” and he has a good case, as a four-time Emmy winner and Tony and Grammy recipient among many other career accolades. Panelist Ken Jeong went above a standing ovation and stood on top of the judges’ table, while fellow panel member Nicole Scherzinger was brought to tears and called him “so gorgeous” and “handsome.” Jeong wrapped the remarks by sharing that Van Dyke was “one of the reasons I got into comedy” and called it the show’s “greatest reveal ever.”
Meanwhile, Van Dyke graciously accepted a warm and tear-filled reception from the audience, which he confirmed is a pretty typical reaction from everyday fans in his post-show interview, and later told Cannon that he “couldn’t see anything” in The Gnome suit. Van Dyke closed the show with a rendition of the Mary Poppins number, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” which he originally performed alongside Julie Andrews in the 1964 film. Watch clips from the episode below.
Dick Van Dyke’s guest spot on The Masked Singer marked an increasingly rare on-screen appearance by the actor, who has most recently taken roles in 2018’s Mary Poppins Returns and the short-lived Showtime series Kidding. Meanwhile, the singing competition show has certainly seemed to step up its standards, following some of its more maligned contestants in the past.