Actor Dick Van Patten has died at the age of 86. He was a ubiquitous figure in American television during the 1970s and 80s, perhaps better known for just showing up on shows than for his own acting prowess. For five seasons he was the paterfamilias on Eight is Enough, a single camera comedy-drama that continued to feed a hungry public in search of life lessons from a large, wacky families not yet sated by five seasons of The Brady Bunch.
During his peak years he also appeared as a guest on shows like Emergency!, Sanford and Son, The Love Boat, Happy Days, CHiPs and Love, American Style. He was a regular on game shows like Family Feud and Hollywood Squares and seemed permanently attached to the couches of chat shows. If you had a television during this period, Van Patten’s large head, flat accent and friendly demeanour was as much a part of the tube as a test pattern.
Later he became a member of Mel Brooks’ stock company, appearing in small roles in High Anxiety and Spaceballs. He continued to work into the new millennium, sometimes playing off his nostalgia with comedies like the David Spade film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star and That 70s Show. He also formed an advocacy group for guide dogs and owned a line of quality pet foods. He was the older brother of actress Joyce Van Patten and older half-brother of Game of Thrones and The Sopranos director Tim Van Patten. Here are some clips from his long career.
Eight is Enough – all the openings
For some this video will be like swallowing a box of madeleines. Here are the openings of every season of Eight is Enough, plus some reunion specials as a chaser. This is what television looked like when there weren’t too many options.
Dallas v Eight is Enough – Family Feud
While the supreme court surely made a great many important decisions in 1978, was there anything that rocked the country quite like Dallas v Eight is Enough on Family Feud? Richard Dawson, America’s creepy uncle, smooched his way through the casts of both of these fine programs, then set them head to head in a battle of poll-based trivia.
The Love Boat – The Great Stellini
Dick Van Patten was a guest on Aaron Spelling’s ocean-set soap opera The Love Boat six times (seven if you count The Love Boat: The Next Wave, but who would?). He tried different characters on for size, but 1983’s magician The Great Stellini who disapproves of his daughter marrying a upstart illusionist (who might be trying to steal his secrets!) is probably the best bet.
Spaceballs
In 1987, Van Patten appeared in Mel Brooks’ sci-fi spoof Spaceballs as King Roland of Druidia. (That made his daughter, played by Daphne Zuniga, a Druish Princess.) Here he is screaming his lines off of cue cards to great effect, in a funny scene with Rick Moranis as Dark Helmet and Brooks breaking the fourth wall by accidentally “turning off the movie”.
Gettin’ Lubed with George Jefferson
Unafraid to play off nostalgia, here’s DVP and Sherman Hemsley, television’s George Jefferson, shilling for auto maintenance in the 1990s.
Do it Debbie’s Way!
We’ll miss you Dick Van Patten, and we’ll always remember you putting down that ice cream cone and doing calisthenics with Debbie Reynolds.
