Dick Van Patten

Older brother of actress Joyce Van Patten. They appeared together, as children, in Reg'lar Fellers (1941), and, decades later, in Making It (1971). Half-brother of Timothy Van Patten. Ex-brother-in-law of Martin Balsam. Uncle of Talia Balsam. Grandfather of Duke Van Patten and Vince Van Patten.

In 1944, at only 15, he was at a Broadway play called 'The Winters 90'. [Ralph Nelson] wrote the play, where it was a blockbuster, and then, 5 years later, Nelson hired him to co-star in [Mama (1949)].

Best known by the public for his role as Nels Hansen in Mama (1949) and for his starring role as Tom Bradford on Eight Is Enough (1977).

In the 1950s, Van Patten was friends with Paul Newman, Jack Lemmon, John Kerr, and James Dean (who temporarily played "Nels" on Mama (1949) when Van Patten was called up for military service).

From 1958 until his retirement, Van Patten made more than 90 guest appearances on television shows.

Dick Van Patten lived in Encino, California, from 1970-79. Lived in Sherman Oaks, California, from 1979 until his death in 2015.

Met [Dick Van Dyke] on the set of [The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971)], where the two developed a lifelong friendship for 43 years, until Van Patten's death in 2015.

Lived not far from Julie London in Encino for years. He guested on two episodes of her series, Emergency! (1972).

Dick Van Patten began acting as a child. He made his first of 27 Broadway appearances at age seven in "Tapestry in Grey". After, he appeared in numerous films, including Freaky Friday (1976), Robin Hood: Men In Tights (1993), and Spaceballs (1987).

Was offered the co-starring role of Dr. Adam Brinker on The Love Boat (1977), opposite Gavin MacLeod, but had already decided to star on Eight Is Enough (1977), instead. The role ultimately went to Bernie Kopell, a friend of Van Patten.

His parents, Josephine Rose Acerno Van Patten, was a public school teacher in Queens, New York and his father, Richard Byron Van Patten, was an interior decorator. He was of Dutch and English ancestry on his father's side, and of Italian descent on his mother's side. Richard Byron Van Patten died on May 4, 1985, aged 77. Josephine Rose Acerno Van Patten died on May 17, 1976, aged 68.

In addition to appearing two of his friend 'Weird Al' Yankovic's music videos, "Smells Like Nirvana" and "Bedrock Anthem", Van Patten appeared in two episodes of The Weird Al Show (1997) --- The Weird Al Show: Because I Said So (1997) and The Weird Al Show: Al Gets Robbed (1997).

Honorary mayor of Sherman Oaks, California, USA. [2001]

Tom Bradford, Van Patten's character on Eight Is Enough (1977), was ranked #33 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue].

Release of his book, "Totally Terrific TV Trivia". [2007]

Co-host, with Tiran Zaken, of an infomercial for "The Zaken Corp". [2008]

Attended the funeral of Farrah Fawcett in 2009. She had dated his son, Vincent, many years earlier.

After his role on Hot in Cleveland (2010), he retired from acting at age 82.

Good friends with Rosemary Rice, who died on August 14, 2012, at age 87.

Dick Van Patten passed away on June 23, 2015, at age 86, just two days before fellow actor Patrick Macnee. Van Patten is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, California.