Billy Van
| Billy Van | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
William Allan Van Evera 1934 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | 8 January 2003 (age 68) Toronto |
| Alma mater | Bloor Collegiate Institute |
| Occupation | Actor, sketch comedian, singer |
| Years active | 1950s–2000 |
| Spouse(s) | Susan Van Evera |
William Allan Van Evera, (1934 – 8 January 2003), known by the stage name Billy Van, was a Canadian comedian, actor and singer.
Van was born in Toronto, Ontario and dropped out of Bloor Collegiate Institute in Grade 11 to pursue a career as an entertainer. Starting as a youth, he and his four brothers toured North America as a singing act called the Van Evera Brothers. After leaving his brothers and dropping "Evera" from his name, Van performed as a singer, leading the Billy Van Four and later the Billy Van Singers and making frequent appearances on Canadian variety television shows such as Fancy Free. The single "I Miss You" / "The Last Sunrise" by the Billy Van Four, released on the Rodeo International label, peaked at number 29 on the CHUM Chart in Toronto in March 1961.
As a comedian, Van gained national attention in 1963 as a performer on CBC Television's late-night satire programme Nightcap. He threatened to quit the show after three seasons when the CBC wouldn't give him a requested raise from $400 to $500 an episode. At that time, a columnist in The Globe and Mail called Van "perhaps the most talented variety performer ever developed by the CBC." After the dispute became public, the CBC capitulated and Van continued on the show for one final season. Van appeared in a six-part spinoff series, Flemingdon Park, based on a recurring Nightcap skit, that aired at the beginning of 1967. Nightcap was cancelled in May 1967.
Through the 1970s, Van was a regular member of the "home team" on the CHCH-TV charades series Party Game. In 1971, he began making The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, also for CHCH in Hamilton, Ontario. It is this show for which he is most well known, and it has developed a cult following. 130 episodes were produced, and Van played almost every lead character. The characters included the Count (Count Frightenstein, for which he put on a fake Bela Lugosi-type voice); Grizelda the Ghastly Gourmet (an old witch with a cauldron who did a cooking show); the Wolfman, who, in an imitation of DJ Wolfman Jack would play records, and dance to them, while wearing a werewolf costume (rock songs from Sly and the Family Stone, the Archies or other bands of the era were played in their entirety); the Librarian, an ancient bearded character who tried "to horrify you" with benign fairy tales from dusty old cobwebbed volumes, then would be disappointed when the unseen viewers were not horrified; Dr. Petvet, who would bring animals onto a set and talk about them (his catchphrase was "Pets are friends"); and the Oracle, who would give astrological readings and answer fake letters from viewers while wearing a large headdress and speaking in a fake Peter Lorre voice.
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