Dick Van Dyke reflects on the most difficult time of his life before major milestone

Dick Van Dyke recently got candid and opened up about the difficult time of his life ahead of his 100th birthday.

Conversing with PEOPLE magazine just a few days before his 100th birthday on December 13, the 99-year-old American actor, comedian, and author reminisced about his life, especially how things changed after his ex-wife, Margie Willett's death.

For those unaware, Dyke, who has an acclaimed career, endured many hardships in life, as his ex-wife, Willett, died in 2008 and he was alone to raise his four children.

The Bye Bye Birdie alum, who will be celebrating a great milestone in his life with the release of his new book 100 Rules for Living to 100, said, “In the beginning I was [raising] in a family with no money, so the whole thing was getting some money together and getting a home.”

“I bought a home on the GI Bill, finally, but I think the toughest was I did game shows. I played nightclubs. I did about everything,” he quipped. “At one point, I was doing a disc jockey show at 5 in the morning, and then at night I was working with a partner in nightclubs.”

Dyke added, “I was getting like three or four hours sleep in between, but that's the only thing I can remember, is working so hard to get going, to get a foothold. After that I've enjoyed every minute of it.”

The Night at the Museum star went on to share how his work-life balance affected his family.

“They probably got neglected at some point, because I was really working hard to get out of poverty, so to speak, but I haven't had any complaints from anybody,” Dick Van Dyke noted.