Dick Van Dyke, 97, to appear on 'Days of Our Lives'

Dick Van Dyke has tackled numerous roles during his 60-plus years in show business, even getting his face dirty as the chimney sweep Bert in "Mary Poppins." Now at 97, he's finally ready for some soap.

The veteran TV star will make his soap opera debut when he appears this fall in an episode of Peacock's "Days of Our Lives" playing a mysterious man suffering from amnesia.

"I have played old men before, but comedy old men. First time I ever just played my 97-year-old self," the four-time Emmy Award winner told Access Hollywood,

Van Dyke added that the role came about through his friendship with "Days of Our Lives" actor and gym buddy Drake Hogestyn. "I used to kid him 'don't you ever have any parts for old people?' … And he took me seriously and got me a part."

In his scene, Van Dyke shares screen time with Hogestyn, who joined "Days" in 1986, and Deidre Hall, who has been with the serial drama since 1976.

Though the actor is known mostly for comedy, in particular his classic sitcom, "The Dick Van Dyke Show," which ran from 1961 to 1966, his forays into drama have been less frequent. To prepare for his "Days" role, he watched episodes of the show and he also got some advice from his friend Carol Burnett, who turns 90 on Wednesday. Burnett, who guest-starred on "All My Children" in 1983, told Van Dyke to make sure he knew all of his lines, because the show doesn't do retakes.

Van Dyke has been much in the news over the past couple months. In February, became the oldest performer to appear on the Fox series "The Masked Singer," in which he was costumed as the Gnome. In March, he made headlines after sustaining minor injuries in a car crash in Los Angeles.