Claim to Fame:
This one is hard to pinpoint. I asked about 10 different people and the
responses were varied. Probably the most common response was... who's he? So I
decided to
go with The Bionic Boy. A close second is professional Tennis player.
Family Life: Eileen Davidson (April 2003 - present) 1 child
Betsy Russell (1989 - ?) (divorced) 2 children
Son of actor Dick Van Patten and Pat Van Patten.
Brother of James Van Patten and Nels Van Patten.
Nephew of Joyce Van Patten and Timothy Van Patten.
Cousin of Talia Balsam.
Info: Vince first got into show business at age nine with a commercial for
Colgate toothpaste was followed by more than thirty other commercials. Through
the 1970s, the child actor Van Patten guest-starred in over three dozen
television series including Bonanza, The High Chaparral, Medical Center, Adam
12, The Courtship of Eddie's Father and a variety of television movies. At age
16 he was cast in Apple's Way, a CBS series in which he played the son of an
architect who leaves the big city to raise his family in small-town Appleton,
Iowa.
Trivia: Was rumored in tabloids to be romantically linked to Farrah Fawcett
in the late '70s. The rumor started because they spent a great deal of time
together as they shared a love for playing tennis.
In 1978 he appeared in the cult classic, 'Rock 'n' Roll High School.'
Vince was also a professional tennis player who in 1979 was awarded the ATP
Rookie of the Year award. The highlight of his career came in 1981 when he
defeated John McEnroe and two other top seeded pros to win the Seiko World Super
Tennis tournament in Tokyo, Japan.
Where
is He Now: He recently released a book, "The Picasso Flop", a poker
murder mystery and is working on a second one.
And if you are into poker you probably are aware of his gig as co-host and
commentator for the weekly World Poker Tour television program. Also in the
poker world, he has endorsed the online poker Website Hollywood Poker with actor
James Woods.
He also appears in commercials for Milwaukee's Potawatomi Casino.
He continues to play in many of the major poker tournament events.
When asked how he got into poker, his response was.
"Well, I was taught how to play poker from my father, actor Dick Van Patten, at
age 9. He played great poker and used to have games in our house, in the
kitchen, four nights a week with celebrity friends like Walter Matthau, Gabe
Kaplan and Get Smart’s Don Adams. So he figured, 'Well, the kid better learn how
to play,' so I learned to play and learned how to read the Racing Form. I used
to watch them play and, by age 14, I was good enough. I just loved the game of
poker. Eventually I was good enough to get in that game. And as a 14 year old I
was playing against these adults who were throwing pizza at each other. It was a
pretty serious game, but there was laughter and insults. It was crazy.
From there my game really evolved. I was such a lover of the game. I even had a
fake mustache and beard made up from a guy named Ziggy in the San Fernando
Valley. I put ‘em on when I
was 16 years old and drive to Gardena, California where gambling was legal if
you were over 21. I’d be playing, but I was only 5 feet tall, and had this fake
beard on and moustache. I looked like a freak. Sometimes security guards would
say, 'How old are you?' I figured out that if you said, '21,' it looked
ridiculous, so I’d say, '38.' For some reason, they would just look at me and
walk away. I got away with it.
WRITE TO VINCE: Vincent Van Patten
13926 Magnolia Blvd
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423-1230
CREDITS:
Deal (2006) (post-production)
Winning Texas Hold 'Em (2004) (V) .... Host
Stuey (2003) .... Jimmy D.
When Billie Beat Bobby (2001) (TV) .... Lornie Kuhle
"The Young and the Restless" .... Christian Page (2000-2001)
Backyard Dogs (2000) (V) (as Vince Van Patten) .... ZZ Nash
"Baywatch" .... Dr. Tom Morella / ... (6 episodes, 1992-1997)
The Break (1995) .... Nick Irons
"Baby Talk" .... Elliot (1 episode, 1992)
- Requiem for a Lightweight (1992) TV Episode .... Elliot
Camp Fear (1991) (V)
"Matlock" .... Dave Travis (1 episode, 1990)
- The Pro (1990) TV Episode .... Dave Travis
Payback (1990) (as Vince Van Patten) .... Terry Cartwright
The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission (1987) (TV) .... Ronnie Webber
Gidget's Summer Reunion (1985) (TV) .... Mickey
Rooster: Spurs of Death! (1983) .... Wyatt
Hell Night (1981) .... Seth
"The Love Boat" .... Frank (1 episode, 1981)
- Return of the Ninny/Touchdown Twins/(1981) TV Episode .... Frank
Yesterday (1981) .... Matt Kramer
Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979) .... Tom Roberts
Survival Run (1979) .... Chip
"How the West Was Won" .... Bob Cooper (1 episode, 1979)
- The Rustler (1979) TV Episode .... Bob Cooper
"Flying High" (1 episode, 1978)
- Palm Springs Weekend (1978) TV Episode
"Insight" (2 episodes, 1978)
- It Can't Happen to Me (1978) TV Episode
- The Sex Game (1978) TV Episode
"What Really Happened to the Class of '65?" (1 episode, 1978)
- The Most Likely to Succeed (1978) TV Episode
"Wonder Woman" .... Johnny (2 episodes, 1977)
James at 15 (1977) (TV) .... Rip Lindeman
The Bionic Boy (1976) (TV) .... Andy Sheffield
"The Six Million Dollar Man" .... Andy Sheffield (2 episodes, 1976)
- The Bionic Boy: Part 1 (1976) TV Episode .... Andy Sheffield
- The Bionic Boy: Part 2 (1976) TV Episode .... Andy Sheffield
"Three for the Road" (1975) TV Series .... John Karras
"Apple's Way" .... Paul Apple (24 episodes, 1974-1975)
"Dirty Sally" .... George (1 episode, 1974)
- The Orphans (1974) TV Episode .... George
Three for the Road (1974) (TV) .... John Karras
"Love, American Style" .... (segment "Love and Carmen Lopez") (1 episode, 1973)
- Love and Carmen Lopez(1973) TV Episode ....
"Barnaby Jones" .... Kevin Mills (1 episode, 1973)
- The Day of the Viper (1973) TV Episode .... Kevin Mills
"Gunsmoke" .... Colby Eaton / ... (2 episodes, 1972-1973)
- The Boy and the Sinner (1973) TV Episode .... Colby Eaton
- Bohannan (1972) TV Episode .... Heck Walden
Valdez, il mezzosangue (1973) .... Jamie Wagner
"The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie" .... Linc Robinson (1 episode, 1973)
- Lost in Space (1973) TV Episode (voice) .... Linc Robinson
Charley and the Angel (1973) .... Willie Appleby
"Medical Center" .... Benjy / ... (3 episodes, 1970-1973)
- Impact (1973) TV Episode .... Kenny
- Blood Line (1971) TV Episode .... Jimmy
- Ghetto Clinic (1970) TV Episode .... Benjy
"Bonanza" .... Tim / ... (2 episodes, 1970-1972)
- Stallion (1972) TV Episode .... Tommy Brenner
- A Matter of Circumstance (1970) TV Episode .... Tim
"ABC Afterschool Specials" .... Mark (1 episode, 1972)
- The Last of the Curlews (1972) TV Episode (voice) .... Mark
"The New Scooby-Doo Movies" (1972) TV Series (unknown episodes)
"Nichols" (1 episode, 1972)
- About Jesse James (1972) TV Episode
The Bravos (1972) (TV) .... Peter Harkness
"Night Gallery" .... Chris (1 episode, 1971)
- Big Surprise (1971) TV Episode .... Chris
"Adam-12" .... Virgil Stephens (1 episode, 1971)
- Truant (1971) TV Episode .... Virgil Stephens
"Marcus Welby, M.D." .... Philip Grand (1 episode, 1971)
- This Is Max (1971) TV Episode .... Philip Grand
"Cannon" .... John (1 episode, 1971)
- Salinas Jackpot (1971) TV Episode .... John
"The Courtship of Eddie's Father" .... Mark (1 episode, 1971)
- To Catch a Thief (1971) TV Episode .... Mark
"Ironside" .... Sonny Brokaw (1 episode, 1971)
- The Target (1971) TV Episode .... Sonny Brokaw
"Nanny and the Professor" .... Tommy (1 episode, 1970)
- The Humanization of Herbert T. Peabody (1970) .... Tommy
"The High Chaparral" .... Culley (1 episode, 1970)
- Spokes (1970) TV Episode .... Culley
Dial Hot Line (1970) (TV) .... Stevie
WRITING CREDITS:
Beat the Pros (2004) (V)
Mastering Bluffs and Tells in Poker (2004) (V)
Winning Texas Hold 'Em (2004) (V) (as Vince Van Patten)
The Flunky (2000) (co-writer)
The Break (1995) (screenplay) (story)
Updated: 4/1/2007
Trivia: Was rumored in tabloids to be romantically linked to Farrah Fawcett
in the late '70s. The rumor started because they spent a great deal of time
together as they shared a love for playing tennis.
