Biography for
Dick Van Patten More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

9 December 1928, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name

Richard Vincent Van Patten

Height

5' 9½" (1.77 m)

Spouse

Pat Van Patten

(25 April 1954 - present) 3 children

Trivia

Father of actors Nels Van Patten, James Van Patten and Vincent Van Patten.

Former child and juvenile actor, still performing.

Brother of actress Joyce Van Patten. They appeared together as children in Reg'lar Fellers (1941), and, decades later, in Making It (1971).

Father of actor James Van Patten, with whom he appeared in Lunch Wagon (1981).

He appeared in 'Weird Al' Yankovic's "Smells Like Nirvana" and "Bedrock Anthem" music videos.

He was cast in "Eight Is Enough" (1977) because he was friends with the president of ABC, the network which ran the show. The producers wanted another actor for the part, but Van Patten was cast.

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

Half-brother of Timothy Van Patten. Uncle of Talia Balsam.

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].

Father-in-law of Shana Hiatt, Nancy Valen and Eileen Davidson.

Ex-brother-in-law of Martin Balsam.

Suffered a diabetic stroke in January, 2006.

Son of Richard Byron Van Patten and wife Josephine Rose Acerno.

Founder of "Natural Balance" dog and cat food.

Personal Quotes

(On the 1981 cancellation of "Eight Is Enough" (1977)): "Nobody called me to tell me it was canceled. I read it in the paper".

Where Are They Now

(2007) Release of his book, "Totally Terrific TV Trivia".

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

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