Ann-Margret Recalls Dick Van Dyke ‘Always Had So Much Energy’ Filming Bye Bye Birdie

Dick Van Dyke, who’s set to turn 100 this December, has always had a lot of energy, according to his Bye Bye Birdie costar Ann-Margret.

Ann-Margret, 84, spoke to PEOPLE on Sunday, Sept. 21 at the 7th Annual Daytime Beauty Awards at Grand Venue, Los Feliz, Calif. and remembered working with Van Dyke on the 1963 film. The actress played Kim MacAfee, a teenage girl who’s obsessed with Jesse Pearson’s Conrad Birdie. She memorably sings “Bye Bye Birdie” at the beginning and end of the movie, filmed in front of a blue background. Van Dyke, in his film debut, played songwriter Albert Peterson, a role he created in the original 1960 Broadway production. He also won a Tony for the part.

“He always had so much energy,” Ann-Margret remembered of Van Dyke. “I kept saying, ‘How do you have so much energy?’” Now that he’s older and still working, she said, “I will really ask him.”

Ann-Margret’s iconic film career also saw her star alongside Elvis Presley in 1964’s Viva Las Vegas. Other musicals she appeared in included 1962’s State Fair, 1975’s Tommy and 1992’s Newsies. She is a two-time Oscar nominee, for Carnal Knowledge and Tommy. In 2010, she won an Emmy for a guest role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Her most recent credits include 2021’s Queen Bees and two episodes of Netflix’s The Kominsky Method. In 1967, she married actor Roger Smith, who became her manager. They were together until his death in 2017.

Back in 2017, Ann-Margret told PEOPLE of filming Bye Bye Birdie, “It was one of the happiest times of my life.”

In February 2024, the actress reflected to PEOPLE about what keeps her going after all these years. “I love speed,” she said. “Not the drug.” She meant her longtime love of riding motorcycles.

“It’s lavender and it’s got white daisies all over it,” she told PEOPLE of her Harley Davidson. “There’s flowers on the back fender and on the front fender. I love the speed.”

At the time, she was accepting Women’s Image Network’s Living Legend Award. “I am so blessed. I just can’t believe all the things that have happened to me. I never expected it. Never.”

Sunday’s Daytime Beauty Awards celebrated the science behind beauty, health and wellness. This year’s event benefited the historic Mounted Platoon, with Ann-Margret serving as an ambassador for the event.