Bobby Van

Bobby Van (December 6, 1928 – July 31, 1980) was a musical actor, best known for his career on Broadway in the 1950s and 1970s. He was also a game show host.

Life and career

Bobby Van was born Robert Jack Stein to vaudeville parents in The Bronx, New York City, and grew up backstage, witnessing many memorable Depression-era acts. Originally, Van took King as his stage name (after his father's stage name, from the trio "Gordon, Reed and King"). He finally opted for Van, supposedly after seeing a Van Johnson poster hanging in his sister's bedroom.

Van began his career as a musician, playing trumpet. When his band played a venue in the Catskills, Van was asked to fill in as a song and dance man for another act. His act drew rave reviews, and gave Van a thrill out of performing live as a solo act. He went on to appear in the Broadway musical Alive and Kicking in 1950, and also appeared in the revival of On Your Toes in 1954.

In the early 1950s, while Van was married to starlet Diane Garrett, he received a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and appeared in several films including the title role in The Affairs of Dobie Gillis in 1953 and roles in the musicals Because You're Mine and Kiss Me, Kate. Hal Erickson noted that "Van will always be remembered as the ecstatic young fellow who made like a human pogo stick during an expansive production number in Small Town Girl (1953)." Van had a son named Peter Van.