Vincent Van Patten

Van Patten learned to play poker from his father, actor Dick Van Patten, at age 14. He finished in the money at the 2010 World Series of Poker main event. He finished 481st in a pool of 7,319 entrants and received winnings totalling $27,519. (This amount was awarded to finishers 460th thru 531st.)

From his first marriage to Betsy Russell he has two sons: Richard and Vince. His second marriage, on April 15, 2003, was to The Young and the Restless actress Eileen Davidson; they have one child together.

Van Patten was also a professional tour tennis player who in 1979 was awarded the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Rookie of the Year award. The highlight of his career came in 1981 when he defeated John McEnroe and two other top ten world ranked pros to win the Seiko World Super Tennis tournament in Tokyo. His career high ranking in singles was World No. 26, reached on February 11, 1982.

In singles, Van Patten reached the third round of the US Open twice, in 1982 and 1983, and Wimbledon once, in 1985. In doubles his best Grand Slam event result was reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open in 1981, partnering with Mel Purcell. His highest doubles ranking was World No. 24, reached in September 1986.

Three years later, he co-starred in The Bionic Boy, a two-hour ABC attempted spinoff of the popular Lee Majors vehicle The Six Million Dollar Man, that never went to series. In 1978, he starred in the cult film classic Rock 'n' Roll High School. He starred in several other films in the 1970s and 1980s, including the 1979 action thriller Survival Run (aka Spree), Yesterday (1981) as a Vietnam war veteran, the slasher film Hell Night (1981), Gidget's Summer Reunion (1985), The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission (1987), and Camp Fear (1991). He wrote, produced, and starred in The Break (1995), distributed by Lions Gate with Martin Sheen. Van Patten co-wrote and produced 7 Days to Vegas (2019), based on a true story, about a bet he made in 1995 that he could walk to Las Vegas, NV from Los Angeles, CA (280 miles), in seven days.

In the fall of 1975, at age 18, he appeared as John Karras in a 12-week CBS drama series Three for the Road. The story line is that of a father and two sons, grief-stricken over the death of their wife and mother, who sell their house, buy a recreational vehicle, and roam throughout the United States.

As a child actor during the 1970s, Van Patten guest-starred in over three dozen classic television series, including Bonanza, The High Chaparral, Medical Center, Adam-12, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Wonder Woman, and a variety of television movies. He also had roles in the films Charley and the Angel (1973) and Chino (1973). At age 16, he was cast in Apple's Way, a CBS drama series, in which he played the son of an architect who leaves the big city to rear his family in rural and fictional Appleton, Iowa.

Vincent Van Patten (born October 17, 1957) is an American actor, former professional tennis player, and the commentator for the World Poker Tour.