current tv office culture | December 24, 2008 | 16 comments

Why We Love Dick Van Patten

source: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0887694/

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klenga
George Bernard Shaw once said that "the function of the actor is to make the audience imagine for the moment that real things are happening to real people -- indeed, to make the audience feel and learn things about themselves of which they might not have been aware, yet know to be true." In the past half century, no actor has fulfilled that noble function as effectively and as gloriously as the great Dick Van Patten.

From the 1930s, when he appeared in over a dozen Broadway plays, to recent appearances in shows such as Arrested Development and The Sarah Silverman Show, Mr. Van Patten's career has read like a true American history of the past 70 years, varied and personal, triumphant and dramatic, humble and victorious. The list of credits reads like a who's who of our lives of entertainment: Mama, Mike Hammer, Rawhide, I Dream of Jeannie, Sanford and Son, the Love Boat, Wonder Woman, The Streets of San Francisco, Happy Days, Charo and the Sergeant... the list is seemingly inexhaustible.

Sheer quantity is one thing, but what sets the truly great actor apart from the rest is his ability, like a Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan, to make the rest of the cast better. It is no accident that the finest moments of the careers of Willie Aames and Adam Rich came in their roles as Tommy and Nicholas Bradford of Eight is Enough. And would there have been a Karate Kid if Ralph Macchio hadn't spent time learning at the foot of the master in season five? It's doubtful.

Whether as fiery columnist patriarch Tom Bradford of Eight is Enough, as dastardly King Roland in Spaceballs, as a carnival barker in the psychedelic Western Zachariah, or as the devious pink-tanktop-clad hustler in the side-splittingly hilarious Dick Van Patten's Dirty Tennis, Mr. Van Patten has always been a real person facing real trials and tribulations, bringing us real tears and real belly laughter, creating real memories to be cherished in the years to come.

In honor of these decades of service we name our December CMS release for the legendary Dick Van Patten – may our new syndication feature be as successful as the syndicated run of Eight is Enough, and may all our users have a festive holiday season, as the Bradfords of Sacramento are surely enjoying as I type.
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16 comments // Why We Love Dick Van Patten

  • bmason
    • 0
      bmason  

    • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Rich

      Let us not forget how he bailed out Adam Rich ...
      "Rich's adult life has been troubled by substance abuse and numerous arrests for drug offenses, shoplifting, and breaking-and-entering. In 1991, he was arrested for smashing a pharmacy window in an attempt to steal narcotics. He was bailed out of jail by his Eight is Enough "Dad" Dick Van Patten."

      DVP for MVP !!!

    • 3 years ago
  • bmason
  • bobdobalina
    • 0
      bobdobalina  
    • Image

    • When talking about Eight is Enough as the launchpad to super stardom, how could you forget Mark Hamill? He was the original David on the pilot episode.

      Forget about "Six Degrees of Keven Bacon" - let's play
      "Six Degrees of DVP" instead!

    • 3 years ago
  • bobdobalina
  • klenga
    • 0
      klenga  
    • bobdobalina:

      'Busted tool' or not, this is perhaps the most earnest performance of a tv show theme song you're ever likely to witness... and probably the only one that occurs within the show itself!

    • 3 years ago
  • bmason
  • klenga
  • klenga
    • 0
      klenga  

    • Let's not forget his half-brother Tim:

      Tim Van Patten (born June 10, 1959) is an American film director. As a director, Van Patten has directed episodes of The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Deadwood, The Wire and Ed. Van Patten is perhaps best known for bringing to life the character "Salami" on The White Shadow. The villainous teenager Peter Stegman in Class of 1984 and Max Keller on the TV series The Master were also parts played by Van Patten.

      In 2004, Van Patten directed an episode of The Sopranos called "Long Term Parking". The episode won an Emmy for "Best Writing in a Dramatic Series".

    • 3 years ago
  • jsaraco
  • jsaraco
    • 0
      jsaraco  
    • klenga:

      Here's a classic episode of the White Shadow - "No Blood no Foul".

      "Salami faces possible jail time after breaking an opposing team's player's jaw during an on-court brawl."

    • 3 years ago
  • jsaraco
  • asweeny
    • 0
      asweeny  

    • Some have said, that the true measure of a man... can be judged only by the greatness of his children. In this regard, Dick has to be considered "Aces"... especially in the case of his youngest son, Vincent:

      Vincent is a published author, a successful actor, was he 1979 ATP rookie of the year (see "Dirty Tennis"), an accomplished poker player and TV analyst, and is married to the stunning model/actress Eileen Davidson.

    • 3 years ago
  • klenga
  • asweeny
  • klenga
  • klenga
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