![]() Avg.User Rating: Rate this person: Actor Born: December 9, 1928 in New York City, NY Biography:Even in his seventh decade, actor "Dick Van Patten" has retained the cherubic, chipmunk-cheeked countenance of his child-star days. Born into a family of actors, Van Patten was seven when he made his Broadway bow, playing "Melvyn Douglas"' son in Tapestry in Gray; that same year, he first stepped before a radio microphone. He would ultimately appear in 27 Broadway productions, including "Thornton Wilder"'s The Skin of Our Teeth. His co-star in this endeavor was "Tallulah Bankhead", who declared that "Dickie" was the only child actor she could tolerate because he could read The Racing Form. In 1941, Van Patten and his younger sister Joyce made their joint film debut in "Reg'lar Fellers", repeating their roles from the radio version of the same property. He would not again appear in a film until 1968's "Charly", by which time he had played eldest son Nels Hansen in the pioneering TV sitcom "Mama"... Full Biography
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