Name	Jimmy Van Patten
Height	5'11
Naionality	American
Date of Birth	07-Oct-1956
Place of Birth	America
Famous for

James Van Patten is an actor, writer and producer with a lifetime involvement in the entertainment industry, encompassing film, television, home video and theater. He has been critically acclaimed as an actor and has received awards for screen writing and producing. His independent production company, which he co-founded with his brother, released its first feature film to theaters in 1996.

Born and raised in New York, James followed in the footsteps of his father, actor Dick Van Patten as a professional actor by age ten. When James was a teenager, the Van Pattens moved to Hollywood, where he was immediately cast as a reform school boy in the hit television series "The Odd Couple" (1970), launching a successful acting career.

James grew up guest-starring on television series, mini-series and feature films. As an adult James also starred in two television series. He starred opposite Robert Preston in "The Chisholms" (1980) for CBS, playing the role of Bo Chisholm. He also starred in Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's comedy series Poison (1988) (TV) for Showtime, opposite Andrea Martin and Bud Cort.

Van Patten received critical acclaim for the low budget feature film "Young Warriors (1983)_. James has appeared in two Mel Brooks productions, Life Stinks (1991) and Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993).

James' theater experience includes "Mr. Roberts" at the San Antonio Fiesta Theater, "Breakfast with Les and Bes" at the Burt Reynolds Jupiter Theater, The World Debut of "Passengers" touring with the Frank Kenley Players, and the critically acclaimed national tour of "The Sunshine Boys" (2001-2003), appearing in over 100 cities in the role of Ben Silverman. James also appeared in "Harvey" with Charles Durning at the Laguna Playhouse and at the Cord Theater on Broadway (2004).

In addition to his acting career, James wrote and created the comedy, Dirty Tennis (1989) (V) for MCA which won the New York and VSDA Awards for "Best Comedy Video of the Year" (1990). James and his brother, Vincent Van Patten, formed Autumn Winds Productions in 1995. Their first feature film, The Break (1995), starring Martin Sheen and Vincent Van Patten was theatrically released by Trimark Pictures.

James and Vince wrote and produced, The Flunky (2000), directed by Vince and starring James, Dean Stockwell and Farrah Fawcett. On its first exposure The Flunky won two creative awards at the 2000 Port Hueneme International Film Festival: "Best Cinematagraphy on a Feature Film" and "Best Director on a Feature Film".

James has just completed writing the stage adaptation of "The Flunky" as a musical comedy for Broadway, working with Deborah Gibson (who wrote the music).