Saturday, January 23, 2016

Van Williams Cousin's Ex Thanks Durango & Elsie Hotpepper For The Memory

Earlier in the week I blogged about an Elsie Hotpepper nightmare which I thought may have been caused by a Rawhide episode, which led to someone suggesting I watch Surfside 6 starring Fort Worth's Van Williams, which led to me blogging about Surfside 6, which led to the following interesting comment from someone named Anonymous who had been married to a cousin of Van Williams...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "On Rat Patrol Looking At Fort Worth's Surfside 6 Van Williams With No Calamity Nightmares":

Van was the son of Blackie and Priscilla Williams. He went to Arlington Heights and was famous for driving his jeep through the old fountain in front of the main building... long since removed. 

Bernard " Blackie" was a great guy and was on the TCU National Championship football team of 1938. He married Priscilla Jarvis and had 2 sons. Van and the older Bernie, who lived his life as a monk in California. 

Van was a looker. He was discovered by Mike Todd and Elizabeth Taylor as he walked the beaches of Waikiki. He was the cousin of my ex who was a Jarvis. He used to come to visit and had a beautiful family. Gorgeous wife and daughters. 

The Jarvis and Van Zant families were founding families of The Fort. 

Blackie introduced my mother to her second husband, though I never held it against him. 

My little sis was a burn victim when she was little and Van came to see her in the Carswell burn unit. She has never forgotten it. 

Van had a beeper company in LA back when that was hot. He took parts as he could to be able to keep his SAG insurance plan.

Fun to see him brought up again. Thanks Durango and Hotpepper. 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Williams and Jarvis families must have been good at visiting sick folks in the hospital.

John Jarvis, who was an uncle of Van Williams, visited my dad in the hospital when I was also there. Mr. Jarvis brought the funniest gift for my dad I thought. It was a toy gumball machine / bank. We filled the machine with gum and then had some. He really was a delightful gentleman as was his wife Ellen.

Anonymous said...

I meant to write that Mrs Jarvis was also very nice. Not that she was also a gentleman. Never mind.

Julie in Boerne said...

Thank you "Anonymous" for those kind words about my parents...... they were just as generous as you portrayed them! Missing all of them!