Actor Dick Van Dyke steps in to save his childhood home

DANVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Actor Dick Van Dyke is taking steps to save his childhood home, which was slated for demolition in the central Illinois city of Danville.

News stories about the threat to the home reached the 89-year-old actor last summer. He announced over the weekend that the home will be restored as headquarters for a new foundation to provide scholarships to accomplished young performers.

Organizers of the Dick Van Dyke Foundation hope to establish a museum in the home where Van Dyke and brother Jerry lived during high school after relocating from Missouri.

After learning of the house's dilapidated state, the star of "Mary Poppins" and television's "The Dick Van Dyke Show" recalled the "happy memories drifting around in there" in a tweet to his tens of thousands of followers.