Billy Van(1934-2003)

Billy Van was born in Toronto, Canada in 1934. He was a manic comic actor who starred in CBC-TV's Nightcap in the 1960s and the Hilarious House of Frightenstein in the '70s. The Hilarious House of Frightenstein starred Vincent Price, with Van as host and a variety of characters, including The Count, a vampire who preferred pizza to blood, and who wore tennis shoes as well as a cape. The hour-long episodes were taped at Hamilton's CHCH-TV and are still seen in syndication around the world.

While a familiar fixture on Canadian TV for decades, he also worked in the United States on variety shows such as The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, The Ray Stevens Show and The Bobby Vinton Show. He even gained fame for the Colt .45 beer commercials he made for 15 years and for which he won a Clio Award. Eventually Billy returned to Toronto to work in shows like Party Game, Bizarre with John Byner, the Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show and Bits and Bytes. Billy Van was in show business from the age of 12, and back in the 1950s he and his four brothers formed a singing group that toured Canada and Europe.

Billy had a triple heart bypass in 1998. After his heart surgery, he was semi-retired but continued to do voice-over work for commercials and animated programs. Van and old-time colleagues Dave Broadfoot and Jack Duffy made appearances in recent years to support the fledgling Canadian Comedy Awards. "I'm all for that enthusiasm," he said about the awards launch in 2000. Van's picture is on the Canadian Comedy Wall of Fame at the CBC broadcast centre in Toronto, along with those of Al Waxman, Wayne & Shuster and Don Harron.