Van Williams

You could shoehorn actor Van Williams right in there between the other tall dark and dropjaw gorgeous heartthrobs Tom Tryon and John Gavin of the late 1950searly 1960s who conveyed a similar bland heroic image All three were too often given colorless heroes to play on film andor TV roles that played off their charm but seldom tested their talent Born on February 27 1934 as Van Zandt Jarvis Williams he was the son of a cattle rancher He majored in animal husbandry and business at Texas Christian University but moved to Hawaii which changed the course of his life While operating a salvage company and a skindiving school during the mid1950s he was approached by Elizabeth Taylor and husbandproducer Mike Todd who were filming there Encouraged by Todd to try his luck Van arrived in Hollywood with no experience Todd perished in a plane crash before he was able to help Van but the young hopeful ventured on anyway taking some actingvoice lessons and was almost immediately cast in dramatic TV roles Warner Brothers had a keen eye for this type of photogenic hunk and smartly signed Van Fitting in perfectly he was soon showing just how irresistible he was as a cleancut private eye on the series Bourbon Street Beat 1959 Although the show lasted only one season Warners carried his Kenny Madison character into the more popular adventure drama Surfside 6 1960 opposite fellow pinup blond beefcake bookend Troy Donahue Serieswise Van tried comedy next opposite Walter Brennan in The Tycoon 1964 After his contract expired at Warners 20th CenturyFox handed him his most vividly recalled role that of the emeraldsuited superhero The Green Hornet 1966 with the late Bruce Lee as his partner Kato The show inspired by the huge cult hit Batman 1966 enjoyed a fast start but like its predecessor met an equally untimely finish Never a strong draw in films Van revealed quite a bit of himself literally in his debut in Tall Story 1960 coming out of a shower He was handed a typically staid second lead in The Caretakers 1963 Continuing well into the 1970s to guest sporadically on the TV scene in classics like The Dick Van Dyke Show 1961 Love American Style 1969 Mission Impossible 1966 The Big Valley 1965 Nanny and the Professor 1970 Barnaby Jones 1973 and The Rockford Files 1974 Another starring series attempt with Westwind 1975 failed to make the grade and he soon let his career go Van went on quite successfully in business with telecommunications real estate and law enforcement supplies among his ventures With his glossy prettyboy years far behind him he has not felt the need to look back except for an occasional autograph convention IMDb Mini Biography By Gary Brumburgh grhomepacbellnet