Robert Jack Stein (December 6, 1928 – July 31, 1980), known by his legalized stage name Bobby Van, was a musical actor and dancer, best known for his career on Broadway, in films and television from the 1950s through the 1970s.

Van was born to Jewish vaudeville parents in The Bronx, New York City,[1] and grew up backstage, witnessing many memorable Depression-era acts.

[1] In 2010, reviewer Hal Erickson noted that "Van will always be remembered as the ecstatic young fellow who made like a human pogo stick during an expansive production number in Small Town Girl (1953).

[4] In 1973 he appeared in the musical remake of Lost Horizon,[1] the last occasion on which he took his traditional song-and-dance persona to the big screen.

In 1978, he played swindler Warren Custer in the episode "The Two-Million-Dollar Stowaway" of the NBC crime drama series The Eddie Capra Mysteries.

In 1979, he appeared in the original Battlestar Galactica episode "Greetings from Earth" as the robot Hector, working alongside veteran song and dance man Ray Bolger (Vector).

[15] The couple separated in January 1964[17] and a divorce was final on September 27, 1966,[citation needed] despite rumors of an early reconsideration and a reconciliation in July 1964.

[19] In November 1964, Walter Winchell wrote in his column that Van "(recently divorced after a dozen years) hopes to persuade actress Emmaline Henry to be his new spouse.

[24] One week later, Van filed for an annulment citing "fraud" and non-consummation, and that the actress "told him she wanted to have children but this was only to induce him into marriage".

Van chose to hide his illness and continued to work as long as possible, including as host of that year's Mrs. America Pageant.

[30] The Vans' daughter Taylor attended Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, where she met future husband Evan Meyer.