| Dick Van Patten  AKA Richard Van Patten
Born: 9-Dec-1928
Birthplace: Queens, NY
Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Party Affiliation: Republican Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Dad on Eight is Enough Dick Van Patten played Tom Bradford, the somewhat fuddy-duddy newspaper columnist and wise father on the late-'70s comedy-drama Eight Is Enough.
Van Patten started working as a model and actor when he was a toddler, and made his debut on Broadway as "Dickie Van Patten" at the age of seven, playing Melvyn Douglas' son in Tapestry in Gray. As a child actor, he had great success on the New York stage, and appeared in more than a dozen plays before he was a teenager, working with everyone from William Bendix to Tallulah Bankhead to an 11-year-old child actor named Sidney Lumet. Along with sister Joyce Van Patten, he was featured in a radio series based on the comic strip Reg'lar Fellers.
As a young man, he played Nels on the long-running 1950s TV sitcom I Remember Mama, and the role apparently meant so much to him that after he married, he named his firstborn son Nels. He has been a familiar face on television ever since I Remember Mama, including a few years on the daytime soap opera Young Dr. Malone, the cop sitcom The Partners with Don Adams, and The New Dick Van Dyke Show. He played Friar Tuck on Mel Brooks' When Things Were Rotten. His big-screen credits include Charly with Cliff Robertson and Freaky Friday with Jodie Foster.
He now sells Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance dog food, and has written a how-to book, Launching Your Child in Show Biz. Sister: Joyce Van Patten (actress)
Brother: Timothy Van Patten (actor, half brother, b. 1959)
Wife: Patricia Poole (m. 25-Apr-1953, three sons)
Son: Jimmy Van Patten (actor, b. 1956)
Son: Vincent Van Patten (actor, b. 17-Oct-1957)
Son: Nels Van Patten (actor, b. 1955)
John McCain 2008
McCain for Senate '98
Hollywood Walk of Fame 7021 Hollywood Blvd (television)
Risk Factors: Diabetes
TELEVISION
WIOU Floyd Graham (1990-91)
Eight Is Enough Tom Bradford (the father, 1977-81)
When Things Were Rotten Friar Tuck (1975)
The New Dick Van Dyke Show Max (1972-74)
The Partners Sgt. Nelson Higgenbottom (1971-72)
Arnie Walker (1970)
Young Dr. Malone Larry Renfrew (1961-62)
Mama Nels Hansen (1949-57)
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
First Dog (22-Oct-2010) · Himself
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (3-Sep-2003) · Himself
The Santa Trap (13-Dec-2002) · Santa Claus
Groom Lake (21-Sep-2002)
The Price of Air (15-Sep-2000) · Mr. Rye
Evasive Action (1998) · Parole Officer
Demolition University (1997)
Love Is All There Is (10-May-1996)
Demolition High (1996)
A Dangerous Place (25-Apr-1995)
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (28-Jul-1993) · The Abbot
An Eight Is Enough Wedding (15-Oct-1989)
The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (29-Jun-1988) · The Glue Man
Eight Is Enough: A Family Reunion (18-Oct-1987)
Spaceballs (24-Jun-1987) · King Roland
Combat Academy (23-Nov-1986)
The Midnight Hour (1-Nov-1985)
Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker (21-Sep-1979)
High Anxiety (25-Dec-1977) · Dr. Wentworth
The Shaggy D.A. (17-Dec-1976)
Freaky Friday (17-Dec-1976) · Harold Jennings
Gus (7-Jul-1976)
Treasure of Matecumbe (1-Jul-1976)
The Strongest Man in the World (6-Feb-1975)
Superdad (14-Dec-1973)
Westworld (21-Nov-1973) · Banker
Soylent Green (19-Apr-1973) · Usher #1
Snowball Express (22-Dec-1972)
Dirty Little Billy (Nov-1972)
Joe Kidd (14-Jul-1972) · Hotel Manager
Beware! The Blob (21-Jun-1972) · Scoutmaster Adleman
Making It (21-Mar-1971)
Zachariah (24-Jan-1971)
Charly (23-Sep-1968) · Bert
Violent Midnight (1963)
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