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| Adam Rich starred in "Eight is Enough" from 1977 to 1981 as Nicholas Bradford, the youngest of eight children. Here he is at left, with his TV dad, played by Dick Van Patten. Source: Getty Images https://www.etonline.com/ adam-rich-eight-is-enough-star-dead-at-54-196966 (May be subject to copyright) |
That touch football game became part of the credits for “Eight is Enough” It was an hour long show that ran from 1977 to 1981, about the various members of the Bradford family in Sacramento.
The youngest member of that family was son, Nicholas, played by Adam Rich.
It was with sadness, I heard recently that Adam Rich had passed away at the age of 54.
Eight is Enough
It was only in the past few years I discovered “Eight is Enough” was actually based on a column by the same name by Tom Braden, about a man dealing with his family of eight children.
It was only in the past few years I discovered “Eight is Enough” was actually based on a column by the same name by Tom Braden, about a man dealing with his family of eight children.
The show was centred on Tom Bradford, which sounds very similar to Tom Braden, as the father played by Dick Van Patten. He was a newspaper columnist working for the Sacramento newspaper. Interestingly, that was the first time I had ever heard about Sacramento, and learned through the show it was the state capital of California.
“Eight is Enough” aired on Channel 7 on peasant vision, and one of my earliest memories was watching it right after the first Leon Spinks-Muhammad Ali fight, which Spinks won.
At that moment, my Mom told me the actor who played Tom Bradford’s wife died the first year of the show, so he was a widow. As the show progressed he would meet, and re-marry, a woman played by Betty Buckley. She went on to join the cast as Tom’s second wife.
Of the eight children, the three actors who played the Bradford sons probably had the most success beyond the show – Grant Goodeve as David Bradford, the eldest child; Willie Aames as Tommy Bradford, the middle son; and Adam Rich as Nicholas Bradford, the youngest child of the family.
Adam Rich would play Nicholas for the entire run of the series, including two TV reunion movies, mixing comedy with a bit of drama.
Beyond “Eight is Enough”
Adam Rich would continue to have a solid career through the 1980s, playing the same kind of cute-but-wise kid roles.
Adam Rich would continue to have a solid career through the 1980s, playing the same kind of cute-but-wise kid roles.
My first memory of him post “Eight is Enough” is playing one of the three children whose souls are targeted by Max Devlin in the 1981 movie “The Devil and Max Devlin”. He plays Toby Hart, whose mom, played by Susan Anspach, is romanced by Max to get at Eddie and his soul. In the end Max does the right thing, saving the souls of all three children including Toby’s, and they live happily ever after as a family.
Rich would begin to grow up as the decade wore on. However, he still played the roles of children in two short-lived TV shows I recall seeing a bit of.
“Code Red” aired in 1981, focusing on a firefighting family, headed by Lorne Greene who was a battalion fire chief. I recall it aired on Channel 7, and lasted 19 episodes. Rich played Danny Blake, Greene's pre-teen adopted.
“Gun Shy”, airing in 1983, was about a gun fighter who won two children in a poker game. Rich took over the role of Clovis, one of the two children, for the final two episodes of the show’s six-episode run. He replaced, Keith Mitchell, another child actor of the era.
Rich would also guest star in “Fantasy Island”, “CHiPs”, “St. Elsewhere”, and “Silver Spoons” before the end of the decade.
He would continue acting until 2003. On January 7 of this year, Adam Rich died. He was 54.
Parting thoughts
Are children smarter than adults? On ‘80s TV, there were a bunch of shows where the child seemed to be wiser than the parent.
Are children smarter than adults? On ‘80s TV, there were a bunch of shows where the child seemed to be wiser than the parent.
Adam Rich would take that role from “Eight is Enough” through to “Code Red” and “Gun Shy”, but he never gained the same success after “Eight is Enough”.
Still, Nicholas Bradford was a memorable character, and he instantly comes to mind with that pageboy haircut.
When he passed away, I texted the news to a friend.
My friend's response: “The one with that bowl straight haircut?”
Need I say more.
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