Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Billy Van(1934-2003)

  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Billy Van
The Hilarious House Of Frightenstein
Play trailer1:02
The Hilarious House of Frightenstein (1971– )
1 Video
4 Photos
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.
BornAugust 11, 1934
DiedJanuary 6, 2003(68)
BornAugust 11, 1934
DiedJanuary 6, 2003(68)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos

Vincent Price and Billy Van in The Horror Hall of Fame (1974)
Billy Van
Billy Van

Known for

The Hilarious House of Frightenstein (1971)
The Hilarious House of Frightenstein
8.2
TV Series
  • Bwanna Clyde Batty
  • Dr. Pet Vet
  • Grizelda The Ghastly Gourmet
  • The Count
  • The Oracle
Ice-T, Sam Waterston, Mariska Hargitay, Camryn Manheim, Christopher Meloni, Jeffrey Donovan, Mehcad Brooks, Kelli Giddish, and Danielle Moné Truitt in Law & Order (1990)
Law & Order
7.8
TV Series
  • CSU Tech
  • CSU Tech Gilmore
  • Detective
  • Vince Coughlin
Zardip's Search for Healthy Wellness
8.4
TV Series
  • Highship
The Wizard of Oz (1982)
The Wizard of Oz
6.6
  • The Scarecrow (US version)(voice)
  • 1982

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • The Night Listener (2006)
    The Night Listener
    • Taxi Driver
    • 2006
  • Stories from My Childhood (1998)
    Stories from My Childhood
    • (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 1998
  • Net Worth (1995)
    Net Worth
    • Les, the Trainer
    • TV Movie
    • 1995
  • Ice-T, Sam Waterston, Mariska Hargitay, Camryn Manheim, Christopher Meloni, Jeffrey Donovan, Mehcad Brooks, Kelli Giddish, and Danielle Moné Truitt in Law & Order (1990)
    Law & Order
    • Vince Coughlin
    • CSU Tech
    • CSU Tech Gilmore ...
    • TV Series
    • 1991–1995
  • E.N.G. - Created by Bryce Zabel & Brad Markowitz
    E.N.G.
    • Tom
    • TV Series
    • 1992
  • Elizabeth Manley in The Trial of Red Riding Hood (1992)
    The Trial of Red Riding Hood
    • Singer
    • TV Movie
    • 1992
  • Street Legal (1987)
    Street Legal
    • Gus Finley
    • TV Series
    • 1992
  • This Is My Life (1992)
    This Is My Life
    • Agent
    • 1992
  • Jerry O'Connell in My Secret Identity (1988)
    My Secret Identity
    • Captain Rocky Kalish
    • TV Series
    • 1991
  • How Do You Do?
    • Chips
    • TV Series
    • 1989
  • Men (1989)
    Men
    • Lou Green
    • TV Series
    • 1989
  • The Magic Library
    • Stroyreader (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 1989
  • Zardip's Search for Healthy Wellness
    • Highship
    • TV Series
    • 1988
  • Family Reunion (1988)
    Family Reunion
    • Johnnie
    • 1988
  • Bill Daily, Heidi Helmer, Jason Marin, Connie Stevens, and Nita Talbot in Starting from Scratch (1988)
    Starting from Scratch
    • Mr. Newton
    • TV Series
    • 1988

Videos1

The Hilarious House Of Frightenstein
Trailer 1:02
The Hilarious House Of Frightenstein

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • Billy Vann
  • Born
    • August 11, 1934
    • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Died
    • January 6, 2003
    • Toronto, Ontario, Canada(esophageal cancer)
  • Spouses
      Patty Brooks1960 - ? (divorced, 1 child)

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    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

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Production art
Photos
IMDb's Top Picks for May
See the list
Production art
Photos
The Best Pics of the Week
See the gallery

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

Demo reel thumbnail
Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
Upload your demo reel

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
Upload your demo reel
Demo reel thumbnail

How much have you seen?

Keep track of how much of Billy Van’s work you have seen. Go to your list.
Production art
Photos
IMDb's 2023 Summer Movie Guide
See the list

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb App
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
  • Get the IMDb App
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • IMDb Developer
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.