Billy Van

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 1