Watch a Young Julie Andrews Accept Her Best Actress Oscar for “Mary Poppins — ”Which Came Out 60 Years Ago Today!

Andrews was just 29 when she picked up her first (and only) Academy Award for the beloved role

It was a jolly holiday indeed on Aug. 27, 1964, when the Disney classic Mary Poppins hit theaters.

The film starred two actors who were then up-and-comers: Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. It ultimately made more than $100 million at the box office and has remained a family staple ever since.

Following its release, the film made mega-stars out of its leads, earning them both endless award nominations and for Andrews, a Best Actress Oscar — her sole Academy Award.

At the 1965 show, the 29-year-old star was up against fellow icons Anne Bancroft (The Pumpkin Eater), Sophia Loren (Marriage Italian Style), Debbie Reynolds (The Unsinkable Molly Brown) and Kim Stanley (Seance on a Wet Afternoon).

Television legend Bob Hope helped present alongside actor Sidney Poitier, who one year prior had won his first Best Actor Oscar for Lilies of the Field.

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Andrews was visibly shocked when her name was called; she gave a kiss to then-husband Tony Walton before ascending the stage, as Van Dyke stood applauding enthusiastically.

"Thank you! Thank you. Oh this is lovely," the actress said. "I know you Americans are famous for your hospitality, but this is really ridiculous."

She continued, "I have so many thank-yous I only know where to start, and that's with Mr. Walt Disney. And naturally, he has the largest thank-you of all. I wouldn't know where to stop."

"I would somehow like to try and convey my really deep gratitude and, well, gratefulness — well I just said that didn't I! — for being made to feel so really welcome in this country. Thank you very much indeed."

Andrews has two more Best Actress Oscar nominations to her name, for The Sound of Music in 1966 and Victor/Victoria in 1983. Van Dyke has never been nominated for an Oscar, but his extensive TV work earned him nine Primetime Emmy nominations and four wins, namely for The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Related: Dick Van Dyke on Filming Mary Poppins with Julie Andrews: ‘She Was Cool as a Cucumber’

Speaking to PEOPLE in 2018 as Mary Poppins Returns hit theaters, Van Dyke said he and Andrews "had a feeling" their original film "was going to work."

"Walt Disney walked me to room after room with watercolor paintings of all the different scenes," he shared. "And I walked out of there on air. He had me sold. And the score just wiped me out."

Disney recruited Andrews for the part after seeing her on Broadway in Camelot; in a clip from the Mary Poppins premiere, he recalled going backstage, where he "tried to talk her into the thing. I tried to convince her I was capable of making a picture with live actors as well as cartoons ... I think I put on quite an act that night."

Van Dyke told PEOPLE that his chemistry with Andrews, now 88, "felt right from the beginning. She’s got a little bit of British aristocracy in her — that wonderful accent — but she’s a bit of an imp on the inside!"

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And Andrews recalled meeting the legendary actor during the two-hour Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic CBS special in December 2023.

The actress said that her costar, now 98, was "young, fit as can be, and really gorgeous to look at" at first sight, admitting that meeting him was "daunting."

"I'd never made a movie before, and I'd given birth to my lovely daughter Emma nearly six weeks earlier, and I quickly realized that I had better pull my socks up and get in shape," she said. "I found it pretty daunting, I can tell you. Dick could not have been kinder, more genuinely sweet and helpful. I like to think that we did bond instantly."

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