TV today has large families like the Duggars of 19 Kids and Counting and the Gosselins of Jon and Kate Plus 8. But before reality shows, there were the Bradfords of Eight Is Enough. The comedy-drama series aired from 1977 to 1981. It was based on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, who had eight children. He wrote a book, and ABC turned it into a successful TV series of the same name. So, which Eight Is Enough cast members are still alive?
What was ‘Eight Is Enough’ about? ‘Eight Is Enough’ cast portrait, 1978 | Jim Britt/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
Eight Is Enough centered on parents Tom and Joan Bradford and their eight children: David, Mary, Joanie, Susan, Nancy, Elizabeth, Tommy, and Nicholas. Dad was a newspaper columnist, and mom was a homemaker.
Sadly, Diana Hyland, who played Joan, was diagnosed with breast cancer during season 1 and died.
What was ‘Eight Is Enough’ about? ‘Eight Is Enough’ cast portrait, 1978 | Jim Britt/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
Eight Is Enough centered on parents Tom and Joan Bradford and their eight children: David, Mary, Joanie, Susan, Nancy, Elizabeth, Tommy, and Nicholas. Dad was a newspaper columnist, and mom was a homemaker.
Sadly, Diana Hyland, who played Joan, was diagnosed with breast cancer during season 1 and died.
- 2/11/2023
- by Stacy Feintuch
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Adam Rich, the former child actor who played Nicholas Bradford in Eight Is Enough, has died at the age of 54.
Rich died Saturday in his home in Los Angeles. Although reports did not share a cause of death, law enforcement said that his death was not a result of foul play.
Adam Rich Cause Of Death
Danny Deraney, Rich’s manager, wrote a statement about the actor on Twitter, saying, “If you knew Adam, you just loved the guy.”
In Memoriam 2022: 100 Great Celebrities Who Died In 2022!
Thank you all for reaching out regarding Adam Rich.
If you knew Adam, you just loved the guy. And oh the stories he could tell.
Here is my statement: pic.twitter.com/3OITGnESuf
— Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) January 8, 2023
Rich suffered from a type of depression that defied treatment. He tried experimental cures over the years but was unsuccessful. He also said that close family...
Rich died Saturday in his home in Los Angeles. Although reports did not share a cause of death, law enforcement said that his death was not a result of foul play.
Adam Rich Cause Of Death
Danny Deraney, Rich’s manager, wrote a statement about the actor on Twitter, saying, “If you knew Adam, you just loved the guy.”
In Memoriam 2022: 100 Great Celebrities Who Died In 2022!
Thank you all for reaching out regarding Adam Rich.
If you knew Adam, you just loved the guy. And oh the stories he could tell.
Here is my statement: pic.twitter.com/3OITGnESuf
— Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) January 8, 2023
Rich suffered from a type of depression that defied treatment. He tried experimental cures over the years but was unsuccessful. He also said that close family...
- 1/9/2023
- by Alex Nguyen
- Uinterview
Adam Rich, the actor best known for playing the youngest member of the "Eight is Enough" family, Nicholas Bradford, died in his home on Saturday 7 January, 2023, at the age of 54. A family member confirmed the news to TMZ.
Rich aspired to be an actor from a very young age, and appeared in dozens of commercials before landing the role of Nicholas Bradford at the age of eight. He starred in all five seasons of "Eight is Enough," an ABC comedy-drama series about a newspaper columnist with eight children, which was loosely based on Tom Braden's autobiographical book of the same name. Diana Hyland, who played Rich's TV mother, Joan Bradford, died from breast cancer in 1977, after filming just four episodes. Dick Van Patten, who played family patriarch Tom Bradford, died in 2015 due to complications with diabetes. Lani O'Grady, who played Mary Bradford, died in 2001 from multiple drug intoxication, after years of dealing with anxiety,...
Rich aspired to be an actor from a very young age, and appeared in dozens of commercials before landing the role of Nicholas Bradford at the age of eight. He starred in all five seasons of "Eight is Enough," an ABC comedy-drama series about a newspaper columnist with eight children, which was loosely based on Tom Braden's autobiographical book of the same name. Diana Hyland, who played Rich's TV mother, Joan Bradford, died from breast cancer in 1977, after filming just four episodes. Dick Van Patten, who played family patriarch Tom Bradford, died in 2015 due to complications with diabetes. Lani O'Grady, who played Mary Bradford, died in 2001 from multiple drug intoxication, after years of dealing with anxiety,...
- 1/8/2023
- by Hannah Shaw-Williams
- Slash Film
Adam Rich, who played the youngest of the octet of children on ABC series Eight Is Enough, has died. He was 54. No official cause of death has been revealed.
Adam Rich gained fame on Eight Is Enough (1977-1981) as Nicholas Bradford, a role he would reprise in two TV movies–Eight Is Enough: A Family Reunion (1987) and An Eight Is Enough Wedding (1989)–and for a cameo on the PBS education program 3-2-1- Contact.
Eight Is Enough’s plot, as per Warner Bros.: “This family comedy classic revolves around Sacramento journalist Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten) and his eight very independent and individual children forced to deal with life’s ups and downs, while living under one roof.” The series ran for five seasons dn 112 episodes. Eight Is Enough
For his turn as Nicholas Bradford, Adam Rich would win two Young Artist Awards: one for Best Juvenile Actor...
Adam Rich gained fame on Eight Is Enough (1977-1981) as Nicholas Bradford, a role he would reprise in two TV movies–Eight Is Enough: A Family Reunion (1987) and An Eight Is Enough Wedding (1989)–and for a cameo on the PBS education program 3-2-1- Contact.
Eight Is Enough’s plot, as per Warner Bros.: “This family comedy classic revolves around Sacramento journalist Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten) and his eight very independent and individual children forced to deal with life’s ups and downs, while living under one roof.” The series ran for five seasons dn 112 episodes. Eight Is Enough
For his turn as Nicholas Bradford, Adam Rich would win two Young Artist Awards: one for Best Juvenile Actor...
- 1/8/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
True crime and supernatural enthusiasts alike can get on board with Amazon’s latest series, “Lore,” premiering this Friday, October 13. The six-episode series, based on Aaron Mahnke’s brilliantly chilling podcast of the same name, will bring the most unsettling folklore to life.
In a recently released video teaser, Aaron Mahnke narrates the story of a man named Thomas Bradford, an engineer and psychic who was so devoted to his studies around the afterlife that he killed himself. However, he did so with a specific purpose that could only be achieved once he had died.
In the video below, it’s easy to see how “Lore” transitioned from podcast to TV show. From haunted dolls to possessed daughters, “Lore” tells the terrifying tales of the past and present. The most unnerving part about it all? Every story is true. In each episode, Mahnke’s calm demeanor introduces a common truth...
In a recently released video teaser, Aaron Mahnke narrates the story of a man named Thomas Bradford, an engineer and psychic who was so devoted to his studies around the afterlife that he killed himself. However, he did so with a specific purpose that could only be achieved once he had died.
In the video below, it’s easy to see how “Lore” transitioned from podcast to TV show. From haunted dolls to possessed daughters, “Lore” tells the terrifying tales of the past and present. The most unnerving part about it all? Every story is true. In each episode, Mahnke’s calm demeanor introduces a common truth...
- 10/12/2017
- by Raelyn Giansanti
- Indiewire
Remember Eight is Enough? The classic ABC series aired its final episode 35 years ago today.Developed by William Blinn, the dramedy followed the lives of newspaper columnist Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten) and his eight children. The cast also included Diana Hyland, Betty Buckley, Grant Goodeve, Lani O'Grady, Laurie Walters, Susan Richardson, Dianne Kay, Connie Needham, Willie Aames, and Adam Rich.Read More…...
- 8/30/2016
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Dick Van Patten's costars fondly remember the man who played their patriarch for four years on Eight is Enough.
"He was the perfect person to play the quintessential father figure, because it was real," actor Willie Aames tells People. "You'd see him with his kids and with his family and he was just such a positive, pleasant, great guy."
Van Patten, who played father of eight Tom Bradford on the series from 1977-81, died Tuesday from complications with diabetes. He was 86.
"He was our rock, our leader, our role model," Betty Buckley, who played Van Patten's fictional wife Abby Bradford,...
"He was the perfect person to play the quintessential father figure, because it was real," actor Willie Aames tells People. "You'd see him with his kids and with his family and he was just such a positive, pleasant, great guy."
Van Patten, who played father of eight Tom Bradford on the series from 1977-81, died Tuesday from complications with diabetes. He was 86.
"He was our rock, our leader, our role model," Betty Buckley, who played Van Patten's fictional wife Abby Bradford,...
- 6/23/2015
- by Mia McNiece, @miamcniece
- People.com - TV Watch
Actor Dick Van Patten, best remembered as gentle father Tom Bradford on the sitcom Eight Is Enough and for appearing in several Mel Brooks movies, has died. He had been hospitalized for diabetes-related complications in Santa Monica, California where he passed away, according to People. He was 86.
Born in Queens, New York in 1928, Van Patten cut his teeth on Broadway – making his stage debut at age seven – before transitioning to television in 1949 with a recurring role on a comedy-drama about immigrants living in turn-of-the-century San Francisco called Mama. He would...
Born in Queens, New York in 1928, Van Patten cut his teeth on Broadway – making his stage debut at age seven – before transitioning to television in 1949 with a recurring role on a comedy-drama about immigrants living in turn-of-the-century San Francisco called Mama. He would...
- 6/23/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Dick Van Patten, best known to TV audiences as the man who lorded over the abundant Eight Is Enough brood, died on Tuesday due to complications from diabetes. He was 86.
Having started out on Broadway at age 7, Van Patten began his TV acting career in 1949, on the Maxwell House and Post Cereal-sponsored CBS dramedy Mama. From there, his credits included (but by no means were limited to) the NBC sitcom The Partners (as Sgt. Nelson Higgenbottom), multiple installments of Love, American Style, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, the Mel Brooks-produced spoof When Things Were Rotten (as Friar Tuck...
Having started out on Broadway at age 7, Van Patten began his TV acting career in 1949, on the Maxwell House and Post Cereal-sponsored CBS dramedy Mama. From there, his credits included (but by no means were limited to) the NBC sitcom The Partners (as Sgt. Nelson Higgenbottom), multiple installments of Love, American Style, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, the Mel Brooks-produced spoof When Things Were Rotten (as Friar Tuck...
- 6/23/2015
- TVLine.com
Actor Dick Van Patten, perhaps best known as patriarch Tom Bradford on the '80s series Eight Is Enough, has died. He was 86.
Van Patten died Tuesday morning at Saint John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, due to complications from diabetes, People confirms.
The actor was born in Kew Gardens, New York, in 1928 and began his career as a child star and model. He made his Broadway debut when he was 7 years old in Tapestry in Gray. He went on to appear in nearly 30 more Broadway shows.
Van Patten made the jump to television with the role of Nels Hansen in I Remember Mama,...
Van Patten died Tuesday morning at Saint John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, due to complications from diabetes, People confirms.
The actor was born in Kew Gardens, New York, in 1928 and began his career as a child star and model. He made his Broadway debut when he was 7 years old in Tapestry in Gray. He went on to appear in nearly 30 more Broadway shows.
Van Patten made the jump to television with the role of Nels Hansen in I Remember Mama,...
- 6/23/2015
- People.com - TV Watch
Dick Van Patten, best known as the loving father on the '70s sitcom "Eight Is Enough," has died at the age of 86. People reported that Van Patten passed away this morning in a Santa Monica hospital from complications due to diabetes.
Van Patten was born in 1928 in Kew Gardens, Queens, and got an early start in acting, making his Broadway debut at the age of 7. After performing in a dozen other plays, he moved to Hollywood to make movies and TV shows. Van Patten starred in "Mama" from 1949-1957, then played patriarch Tom Bradford on "Eight Is Enough" from 1971-1981. He also appeared in episodes of "The Love Boat," "Sanford and Son," "Happy Days," "Arrested Development," and "Hot in Cleveland," as well as several Mel Brooks movies, including "Spaceballs" and "Robin Hood: Men in Tights."
Van Patten was also an ardent dog lover who promoted canine causes. He founded...
Van Patten was born in 1928 in Kew Gardens, Queens, and got an early start in acting, making his Broadway debut at the age of 7. After performing in a dozen other plays, he moved to Hollywood to make movies and TV shows. Van Patten starred in "Mama" from 1949-1957, then played patriarch Tom Bradford on "Eight Is Enough" from 1971-1981. He also appeared in episodes of "The Love Boat," "Sanford and Son," "Happy Days," "Arrested Development," and "Hot in Cleveland," as well as several Mel Brooks movies, including "Spaceballs" and "Robin Hood: Men in Tights."
Van Patten was also an ardent dog lover who promoted canine causes. He founded...
- 6/23/2015
- by Kelly Woo
- Moviefone
It's hard to believe it's been 30 years since Dick Van Patten graced our television screens as patriarch Tom Bradford in Eight Is Enough. So what is the 82-year-old up to today? Still acting! In the latest gallery from Snakkle.com, see where Van Patten and his co-stars from TV's first dramedy have landed, including Willie Aames and Adam Rich. Who made it to Broadway and who headed to Celebrity Fit Club? See the gallery here.
Read More >...
Read More >...
- 8/29/2011
- by Robyn Ross
- TVGuide - Breaking News
It's hard to believe that it's been 30 years since we said goodbye to the Bradford clan of Eight is Enough. The dramedy ran for five seasons and 112 episodes before ending on May 23, 1981.
Eight is Enough was initially based on a 1975 book written by newspaper columnist Thomas Braden about his real-life family. The show ended up bearing little resemblance to the book, other than the family names and the father's profession. Interestingly, prior to becoming a journalist, Braden was a veteran who worked for the CIA and his wife had been a companion to the Kennedy family.
As the ABC TV series begins, Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten) is a newspaper columnist at the Sacramento Register and Diana Hyland plays his wife, Joan. Their eight children –- David, Mary, Joanie, Susan, Nancy, Elizabeth, Tommy, and Nicholas -— range in age from...
Eight is Enough was initially based on a 1975 book written by newspaper columnist Thomas Braden about his real-life family. The show ended up bearing little resemblance to the book, other than the family names and the father's profession. Interestingly, prior to becoming a journalist, Braden was a veteran who worked for the CIA and his wife had been a companion to the Kennedy family.
As the ABC TV series begins, Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten) is a newspaper columnist at the Sacramento Register and Diana Hyland plays his wife, Joan. Their eight children –- David, Mary, Joanie, Susan, Nancy, Elizabeth, Tommy, and Nicholas -— range in age from...
- 5/24/2011
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
On this morning's edition of the Today Show, several of the castmembers of Eight Is Enough reunited for the first time in 20-30 years.
Eight Is Enough ran on ABC for five seasons, from 1977 until 1981. Based on a book Thomas Braden, the dramady centers around columnist Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten), his wife Joan (Diana Hyland) and their eight children, played by Grant Goodeve, Lani O'Grady, Laurie Walters, Susan Richardson, Dianne Kay, Connie Newton, Willie Aames, and Adam Rich.
Hyland became ill and passed away shortly after the series debuted. She'd only filmed a handful of episodes and her character was written out of the rest of the season. When the show returned in the Fall of 1977, Tom was now a widower who fell for and later married Abby (Betty Buckley), his son Tommy's tutor.
The cast reunited...
Eight Is Enough ran on ABC for five seasons, from 1977 until 1981. Based on a book Thomas Braden, the dramady centers around columnist Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten), his wife Joan (Diana Hyland) and their eight children, played by Grant Goodeve, Lani O'Grady, Laurie Walters, Susan Richardson, Dianne Kay, Connie Newton, Willie Aames, and Adam Rich.
Hyland became ill and passed away shortly after the series debuted. She'd only filmed a handful of episodes and her character was written out of the rest of the season. When the show returned in the Fall of 1977, Tom was now a widower who fell for and later married Abby (Betty Buckley), his son Tommy's tutor.
The cast reunited...
- 3/1/2010
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.