Actresses have been bobbing their noses secretly for years, and now dancer Bobby Van admitted today his recent television appearance was with a brand new profile.

Jan Sterling is among many ladies of show business who admittedly helped their careers along by altering the nose dept. Until now the men haven't been heard from.

But Bobby, one of the bright young hoofers of TV, movies and stage, confessed that viewers who saw him dance on the "Ford Star Jubilee" on CBS-TV last Saturday night were looking at a new Van visage.

"I felt the old nose was hindering my career." the dancer explained. "So I had the operation last April. I had to retire for three months while the swelling went down. I did night clubs all summer. And this month I was able to return to television."

Van's nose before the operation was large from having been broken twice when he was a boy. The proboscis photographed "with a bump, and this stopped me from doing a lot of things I wanted to."

"When I was under contract at MGM they always gave me character parts," he said. "They didn't tell me it was my nose, but I think it could have been. I decided anything you can fix, you should. So after I closed in "On Your Toes" on Broadway, I went to the doctor."

The new nose already has boosted the career of the 27-year old Van, who's one of only two young male dancing stars (Donald O'Connor is the other). Bobby has been offered three dramatic non-dancing parts in TV dramas.

Although Van is happy he improved on nature, he doesn't recommend a new nose for tired businessmen.

"If I were in any other business I wouldn't have done this." he said.

• Download the PDF file •