STOMEHAM, MA: Legendary actor Dick Van Patten comes to Boston in the hit comedy by Neil Simon, The Sunshine Boys. Presented by Troupe America and Stoneham Theatre, The Sunshine Boys is onstage at Stoneham Theatre, just minutes north of downtown Boston, May 5-22.

Few actors have had as versatile and rich a background as Dick Van Patten. With a remarkable career which includes more than 600 radio shows, 27 Broadway plays, 24 feature films, and 7 television series, he is still perhaps best known for his popular starring role as Tom Bradford in the long-running hit series Eight is Enough. Last year, he was ranked #33 in TV Guide's list of the Top 50 TV Dads of all time.

At one time a child actor billed as Dickie Van Patten, he appeared in a continuous stream of Broadway shows starting at the age of seven, which included three Pulitzer Prize winners: On Borrowed Time, The Skin of our Teeth (starring Taullah Bankhead and Frederick March), and as Ensign Pulver opposite Henry Fonda's Mister Roberts.

In 1949, at the beginning of television, Van Patten made his transition from stage to television in the award-winning I Remember Mama series, portraying Peggy Wood's son Nels, for eight years. Since then, he has made numerous guest starring appearances on almost every major television series, and has starred in such series as The Partners, Arnie, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and When Things Were Rotten. Just last week, he made a guest appearance on the hit FOX-TV series Arrested Development.

Dick Van Patten has appeared in more than twenty feature films, including Mel Brooks' High Anxiety, Spaceballs, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, as well as having starred in seven movies for Walt Disney in just over three years. He has also been honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In The Sunshine Boys, Van Patten appears as Al Lewis, one of a pair of aging vaudevillians who agree to reunite for a television special in a salute to vaudeville. There's just one small problem - they can't stand each other! Variety calls it "...an affectionate, convulsingly funny, touching comedy... one of the best plays of Neil Simon's phenomenal career."

Dick Van Patten stars in Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys, directed by Curt Wollan, May 5-22 at Stoneham Theatre. Other cast members include James Van Patten, John Davin, Corey Scott, and Illeana Kirven.

Tickets for The Sunshine Boys are $42/Adults; $37/Seniors (62+); and $21/Students (under 18 or with a valid college ID). Performances are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30pm; Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 4 & 8pm; and Sundays at 2 & 7:30pm (no evening performance on May 22). For tickets or more information, call the box office at (781) 279-2200 or visit www.StonehamTheatre.org.