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Dick Van Patten is a Actor American born on 9 december 1928 at New York City (USA)

Dick Van Patten

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Birth name Richard Vincent Van Patten
Nationality USA
Birth 9 december 1928 at New York City (USA)
Death 23 june 2015 (at 86 years)

Richard Vincent "Dick" Van Patten (December 9, 1928 – June 23, 2015) was an American actor, businessman, and animal welfare advocate, best known for his role as patriarch Tom Bradford on the ABC television comedy-drama Eight Is Enough.

He began work as a child actor and was successful on the New York stage, appearing in more than a dozen plays as a teenager. He later starred in numerous television roles including the long running CBS television series, I Remember Mama and Young Dr. Malone. Later, he would star or co-star in many feature films including Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Spaceballs, Charlton Heston's Soylent Green and the Academy Award–winning Charly. Van Patten was the founder of Natural Balance Pet Foods and National Guide Dog Month. He also has been a promoter for Thermal-Gard windows.

Biography

Family

Patriarch of a famous Hollywood family, Van Patten was the older brother of actress Joyce Van Patten, the older half-brother of film director and Emmy award winning television director/producer Tim Van Patten. He was married to Patricia Poole (aka Pat Van Patten) from 1954 until he died. She was a professional dancer on Broadway and a June Taylor Dancer on The Jackie Gleason Show where the couple met. They lived in Sherman Oaks, California.

They had three sons, all actors: Vincent, Nels, and Jimmy. Nels, who is married to actress Nancy Valen, is named for the character Van Patten played on the CBS's Mama.

Dick Van Patten was related to several other actors through marriages. His sister Joyce married actor Martin Balsam; their daughter is actress Talia Balsam. Talia's first husband was actor George Clooney, and she is now married to Mad Men actor John Slattery. Van Patten's son Vince is married to Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless actress and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills regular Eileen Davidson.

Illness and death
In January 2006, Van Patten was taken to Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after suffering a diabetic stroke. Van Patten, who suffered from Type 2 diabetes, made a full recovery.

Van Patten died at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, on June 23, 2015, at age 86. Complications from diabetes were the listed cause.

Willie Aames, who played son Tommy Bradford on Eight Is Enough, called his television father "truly a gem [who] will be missed. ... As Dick always said, 'Remember our times together, gang ... Cause these ARE the good ole' days". Betty Buckley, Van Patten's co-star on the series, recalled, "Every day on the set he was a happy, jovial person, always generous and ready to play, tease, and always keep us all laughing. He was the consummate professional, a wonderful actor, master of comedy, and a kind and generous human being."

He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Honors
On November 20, 1985, Dick Van Patten was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2008, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.