Dick Van Dyke 'rescued at sea by porpoises'

It sounds like a magical scene right out of "Mary Poppins," but Dick Van Dyke claims he once avoided drowning at sea thanks to a pod of friendly porpoises.

"I'm not kidding," the legendary entertainer, 84, said during a Wednesday appearance on "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson."

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His harrowing ordeal began at his local beach; after hitting the waves, Van Dyke dozed off on his surfboard. Next thing he knew, "I woke up out of sight of land," he said.

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"I started paddling with the swells and I started seeing fins swimming around me and I thought 'I'm dead!'"

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Instead of sharks, however, the aquatic creatures "turned out to be porpoises. And they pushed me all the way to shore," Van Dyke revealed.

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Van Dyke was on Ferguson's show to promote the Blu-Ray release of his 1968 classic "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang." Since his TV show "Diagnosis: Murder" wrapped up in 2001 after 8 years on the air, Van Dyke has continued performing on the small and big screen, appearing in this year's comedy "Furry Vengeance."

The once-divorced star has four children and seven grandchildren; last year, Margie Willett, his longtime partner of over 30 years, passed away.