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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.

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,...

Adam Rich, the former ’70s and ’80s child star best known for his page-boy haircut and role on the ABC dramedy Eight Is Enough, has died. He was 54.

TMZ reported he died Saturday in his Los Angeles home, and Danny Deraney, a rep for Rich, confirmed the death, without citing a cause, in a social media statement posted Sunday morning.

“Adam was simply a wonderful guy,” he wrote. “He was kind, generous and a warrior in the fight against mental illness. Adam did not have an ounce of ego. He was unselfish and always looked out for those he cared about, which is why many people who grew up with him feel like part of their childhood gone, and sad today. He really was America’s little brother.”

Rich was known for his numerous roles throughout the ’80s on sitcoms and dramas, including five seasons of ABC’s dramedy Eight Is Enough,...

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...

Currently in a rebuilding phase after a precipitous slide from its former dominance of the cable-news world, CNN has been adding new on-air talent, such as former ABC News correspondent Jake Tapper, and is also reaching back into its past.

Last week, CNN revived the current-events/debate program "Crossfire," blending a long-running format with a roster of new faces. The daily 30-minute show features two hosts and guests each night, with the co-hosts also appearing across other CNN programming.

From 1982 until 2005, "Crossfire" was a mainstay of the network's daytime lineup, examining the news from the points of view of a politically liberal and a conservative pundit.

The first pairing was journalist and author Tom Braden ("Eight Is Enough") on the liberal side, and commentator, politician and broadcaster Pat Buchanan, as the conservative.

Later rosters for both the daytime show and a Sunday edition included Robert Novak, John Sununu, Tony Snow,...

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...

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...

Several veterans of cancelled television shows left us in April. Some worked in front of the cameras while others worked behind the scenes. Either way, they contributed to the medium in significant ways.

Those that have passed away include Thomas Braden (Eight Is Enough, Crossfire), Dan Miller (The Pat Sajak Show, Miller & Company), Wendy Blair (Three's Company, The Ropers, Three's A Crowd, What A Country, and I Married Dora), Jim Hutchison (Hawaii Five-o, Magnum P.I., and Jake And The Fatman), Marilyn Cooper (Alice, Kate And Allie, Cheers, Law & Order, The Nanny, and Caroline In The City), Kim Weiskopf (One Day At A Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times, What's Happening Now!!, Full House, and Married With Children), Bea Arthur (Maude, The Golden Girls), and Nora O'Brien (Stargate Sg-1, Stargate Atlantis, Kings, The Philanthropist, Parenthood, and Bionic Woman).

Here are the details...

Thomas Braden passed away on April 3rd. He was...

American writer Tom Braden, whose autobiography inspired U.S. television series Eight Is Enough, has died. He was 92.

Braden passed away at his home in Denver, Colorado of natural causes on Friday.

In 1975 he published his autobiography, focusing on his life as a father of eight children and his career as a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer.

Braden sold the rights to ABC network for $1,000 (£670), and his book soon became the inspiration for the comedy series, which ran from 1977 to 1981. Actor Dick Van Patten played the lead role of Tom Bradford, Braden's character.

Braden's own career on the small screen included co-hosting CNN programme Crossfire from 1982 to 1989, which was adapted from an earlier radio programme he also co-hosted.

His wife, Joan, died in 1999. Braden is survived by seven of his children and 12 grandchildren.