Dick Van Dyke says 'six drinks' helped him relax

Diagnosis Murder legend and musical film star Dick Van Dyke looked like a 'silver fox' during a recent appearance on US TV.

Wearing a grey suit and sporting a thick mop of white hair Dick, 85, talked about how he struggled with alcoholism in the past.

"I wasn't a hotel room smasher like Steven Tyler," he said referring to the Aerosmith frontman.

"I wasn't that kind of drinker. I thought I was a funny drinker," added the Mary Poppins star, who did not begin drinking until he was in his early 30s.

"I didn't drink in my twenties," he said.

"I was a teetotaler but I was very shy. Then I realised that a drink would help me relax. Then I realised that six drinks helped me relax, then I realised that I had a problem," he joked with host of The Today Show, Matt Lauer, 53.

Van Dyke later went public with his alcohol problem and sought help for recovery.

"I didn't like the hangovers," he said.

He has a Tony, Grammy and four Emmy awards. He has just released his memoirs: My Lucky Life, In and Out of Show Business.

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