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. 130 episodes were produced, and Van played almost every lead character. It is this show for which he is best known, and it has developed a cult following. In 1971, he began making The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, also for CHCH in Hamilton, Ontario. Through the 1970s, Van was a regular member of the "home team" on the CHCH-TV charades series Party Game. In the United States he appeared in many commercials for Colt 45 Malt Liquor as a man sitting at a table waiting for a drink, unfazed by everything going on around him Van starred in these commercials throughout the 60s and 70s, and won a Clio Award for one of these commercials in 1975. Van appeared in a six-part spinoff series, Flemingdon Park, based on a recurring Nightcap skit, that aired at the beginning of 1967. 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. 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. Īs a comedian, Van gained national attention in 1963 as a performer on CBC Television's late-night satire programme Nightcap. 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. 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. Starting as a youth, he and his four brothers toured North America as a singing act called the Van Evera Brothers. Van was born in Toronto, Ontario, and dropped out of Bloor Collegiate Institute in Grade 11 to pursue a career as an entertainer.
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