Biography for
Van Williams (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

27 February 1934, Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Birth Name

Van Zandt Jarvis Williams

Mini Biography

You could shoehorn actor Van Williams right in there between the other tall, dark and drop-jaw gorgeous heartthrobs Tom Tryon and John Gavin of the late 1950s/early 1960s who conveyed a similar bland, heroic image. All three were too often given colorless heroes to play on film and/or TV -- roles that played off their charm but seldom tested their talent.

Born on February 27, 1934 as Van Zandt Jarvis Williams, he was the son of a cattle rancher. He majored in animal husbandry and business at Texas Christian University but a move to Hawaii changed the course of his life. He was operating a salvage company and a skin-diving school in the Aloha State during the mid-1950s when he was approached by none other than Elizabeth Taylor and husband/producer Mike Todd, who happened to be filming there. Encouraged by Todd to try his luck, Van arrived in Hollywood with no experience. Todd had perished in a plane crash before he was able to help Van, but the young hopeful ventured on anyway, took some acting/voice lessons, and was almost immediately cast in dramatic TV roles.

Warner Brothers TV had a keen eye for this type of photogenic hunk and smartly signed Van on. Fitting in perfectly, he was soon showing just how irresistible he was as a clean-cut private eye on the series "Bourbon Street Beat" (1959). Although the show lasted but a season, Warners carried his Kenny Madison character into the more popular adventure drama "Surfside 6" (1960) opposite fellow pin-up (and blond bookend) Troy Donahue. Series-wise, Van tried comedy next opposite Walter Brennan in "The Tycoon" (1964), and then, after his contract was over at Warners, was handed by 20th Century-Fox his most vividly recalled part, that of the emerald-suited superhero "The Green Hornet" (1966) (aka Britt Reid) with the late 'Bruce Lee' as his agile, Robin-like counterpart Kato. The show, inspired by the huge cult hit "Batman" (1966) enjoyed a fast start but, like its predecessor, met an equally untimely finish.

Never a strong draw in films, Van revealed quite a bit of himself (literally) in his debut bit Tall Story (1960) coming out of a shower, and was handed a typically staid second lead in The Caretakers (1963) that went nowhere. He continued to guest star sporadically on the TV scene ("The Dick Van Dyke Show," "Love, American Style," "Mission: Impossible," "The Big Valley," "Nanny and the Professor," "Barnaby Jones," "The Rockford Files") well into the 1970s. Another series attempt "Westwind" (1975) failed to make the grade and he soon let his career go. Van went on quite successfully in business with telecommunications, real estate and law enforcement supplies among his ventures. With his glossy, pretty-boy years far behind him, he has not felt the need to look back except for an occasional autograph convention.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

Spouse

Vicki Flaxman	(31 December 1959 - present) 3 children
?	(? - ?) (divorced)

Trivia

During the run of "The Green Hornet", Van Williams pushed to give more screen time for his co star Bruce Lee, both to help his friend and martial arts instructor and to help the show survive by playing up the most popular castmember of the show. The producers refused since they didn't want to take attention away from the star, especially to a nonwhite actor.

His neighbor in Ketchum, Idaho, is _"Batman" (1966/II)_ star Adam West. The two are good friends. In 1967, Williams and Bruce Lee guest-starred opposite West in "Batman's Satisfaction", an episode of Batman.

He and his long-time wife Vicki have three children. They met in Hawaii where she was a surfing pro. He also has twin daughters from a prior marriage.

Spent several months a year in Southern California as a reserve deputy with the Malibu station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Supposedly turned down a recurring role on "Falcon Crest" in the 1970s in order to focus on his business interests.

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