Dick Van Patten
Date of Birth
Dick Van Patten was an actor best known for his role as patriarch Tom Bradford on the ABC comedy-drama Eight is Enough. Van Patten played the Sacramento newspaper columnist and father of eight very independent children for five seasons, from 1977–1981. The now classic character ranked in at 33 on TV Guide's 2004 list of the “50 Greatest Dads of All Time.”
Over the course of his seven-decade career, Van Patten worked in a variety of entertainment mediums including more than 600 radio shows, 25 plays on Broadway, 150 television and film appearances and even music videos (including Weird Al Yankovic’s “Smells Like Nirvana”). He chronicled his career in his 2009 autobiography Eighty Is Not Enough: One Man's Journey Through American Entertainment. Van Patten got his start at the age of seven, premiering in a Broadway production of Tapestry in Gray, followed by a part in The Eternal Road at the Manhattan Opera House.
His first major role in television was the role of Nels on the CBS series I Remember Mama. His other work in television included appearances in the series Rawhide, Naked City, I Dream of Jeannie, That Girl, Sanford and Son, The Don Rickles Show, The Doris Day Show, McMillan & Wife, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Barnaby Jones, The Streets of San Francisco, Maude, Wonder Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Happy Days, CHiPs, The Love Boat, The Facts of Life, Growing Pains, Diagnosis Murder, Boy Meets World, Arrested Development, That '70s Show, Hot in Cleveland and the Mel Brooks sitcom When Things Were Rotten.
Dick Van Patten was an actor best known for his role as patriarch Tom Bradford on the ABC comedy-drama Eight is Enough. Van Patten played the Sacramento newspaper columnist and father of eight very independent children for five seasons, from 1977–1981. The now classic character ranked in at 33 on TV Guide's 2004 list of the “50 Greatest Dads of All Time.”
Over the course of his seven-decade career, Van Patten worked in a variety of entertainment mediums including more than 600 radio shows, 25 plays on Broadway, 150 television and film appearances and even music videos (including Weird Al Yankovic’s “Smells Like Nirvana”). He chronicled his career in his 2009 autobiography Eighty Is Not Enough: One Man's Journey Through American Entertainment. Van Patten got his start at the age of seven, premiering in a Broadway production of Tapestry in Gray, followed by a part in The Eternal Road at the Manhattan Opera House.
His first major role in television was the role of Nels on the CBS series I Remember Mama. His other work in television included appearances in the series Rawhide, Naked City, I Dream of Jeannie, That Girl, Sanford and Son, The Don Rickles Show, The Doris Day Show, McMillan & Wife, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Barnaby Jones, The Streets of San Francisco, Maude, Wonder Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Happy Days, CHiPs, The Love Boat, The Facts of Life, Growing Pains, Diagnosis Murder, Boy Meets World, Arrested Development, That '70s Show, Hot in Cleveland and the Mel Brooks sitcom When Things Were Rotten.
Additionally, he appeared in Brooks’s films High Anxiety, Spaceballs and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Van Patten also had roles in the movies Westworld, Superdad, The Strongest Man in the World, The Shaggy D.A., Gus, Freaky Friday, Charly, Making It, Joe Kidd, Dirty Little Billy, Soylent Green and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.
He and his wife, actress Pat Van Patten, had three sons, all of whom also became actors — Nels Van Patten, James Van Patten and Vincent Van Patten.
Van Patten died June 23, 2015, in Santa Monica, California. He was 86.
The Television Academy database lists prime-time Emmy information. Click here to learn more