Richmond Hill wasn’t enough for Dick Van Patten

by Ron Marzlock Chronicle Contributor

Richard Van Patten married Italian-born Josephine Acerno in June 1928. They set up home at 119-21 Metropolitan Ave., Apt. 1L, in Kew Gardens. A son, Richard Vincent Van Patten, was born Dec. 6, 1928. A daughter, Joyce, followed on March 9, 1934, to complete the family.

Needing more room they decided to move to Richard’s mother Florence’s 1,575-squarefoot house at 114-10 84 Ave., originally called Kew Gardens but later designated as Richmond Hill. Little Richard Jr. immediately started modeling and acted in a total of 27 Broadway plays.

He starred as Nels in the CBS TV show “Mama” from 1949 to 1957. He married professional Broadway dancer Patricia Pool in 1954 and they had three sons. He played many character roles in movies and television through the 1960s and 1970s. His greatest fame came when as was cast as the family patriarch Tom Bradford in the hit TV show “Eight is Enough” from 1977 to 1981.

In later years he became an animal activist. He passed away at age 86 due to complications from diabetes on June 23, 2015. His childhood house still looks remarkably good with no changes. Q