Vince Van Patten

**Vincent "Vince" Van Patten** (born October 17, 1957) is the husband of Eileen Davidson and is well known for appearing on the Bravo reality series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

## Early Life

Van Patten was born in Bellerose, New York to parents Dick and Pat Van Patten.

## Career

### Acting

Van Patten as a child actor during the 1970s, 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 aged sixteen, 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.

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.

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 as a Vietnam war veteran, the slasher film Hell Night, Gidget's Summer Reunion, The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission, and Camp Fear. He wrote, produced and starred in The Break, distributed by Lions Gate with Martin Sheen. Van Patten co-wrote and produced 7 Days to Vegas, based on a true story, about a bet he made in 1995 that he could walk to Las Vegas, Nevada from Los Angeles, California (280 miles), in seven days.

### Tennis

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 U.S. 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.

### Poker

Van Patten learned to play poker from his father, actor Dick Van Patten, at aged fourteen.

In the 1990s, Vince Van Patten put together his own Hollywood home game with famous regulars like Ben Affleck or Tobey Maguire.

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 totaling $27,519. (This amount was awarded to finishers 460th thru 531st.)

He is a commentator on World Poker Tour since 2003. The first four seasons were broadcast on Travel Channel; five and six on Game Show Network and, from the seventh through to the current season, it now airs on Fox Sports Networks.

With Robert J Randisi, he wrote The Picasso Flop, a novel about Vegas poker.

As of September 2020, Van Patten has $104,383 in live tournament earnings from seven events.

### The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

In 2014, his wife joined the cast of the Bravo reality television series for the fifth season and appeared in Season 6 and 7. Vince, along with his family have also been featured on the show throughout.

## Personal Life

### Marriages and Children

Van Patten has been married twice. He married his first wife, Betsy Russell in 1989 and together they have two sons: Richard and Vince Jr. (born September 3, 1995). The couple divorced in 2001.

He married his second wife, actress Eileen Davidson in 2003 and together they have one son, Jesse Thomas (born May 20, 2003).

## Family

**Wives and Partners**

* Betsy Russell (Ex-wife; 1989-2001)
* Eileen Davidson (Wife; 2003-present)

**Children**

* Richard Van Patten
* Vince Van Patten Jr.
* Jesse Van Patten