Dick Van Patten, ‘Eight Is Enough’ Star, Dies At 86

Dick Van Patten, the legendary TV actor best known for his role on Eight Is Enough, died Tuesday morning in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 86.

Dick Van Patten Dies

Budd Burton Moss, Van Patten’s longtime agent, confirmed his death Tuesday afternoon, revealing that the actor “had been ill for a long time.” He died of complications from diabetes, said his publicist, Daniel Bernstein.

The biggest role of Van Patten’s long and illustrious career was as Tom Bradford, a newspaper columnist with a brood of eight kids, in TV series Eight Is Enough. The series was based on a book by author Thomas Braden.

“Tom Bradford was very much like me,” Van Patten once told the Academy of American Television. “His family came first. His career was second. It was the same with me.”

Van Patten’s career first started to take off in the 50s, following a recurring role on Mama. He made guest-starring appearances on Naked City, I Dream of Jeannie, Arnie, Sanford and Son and The Don Rickles show before landing the part of Sgt. Nelson Higgenbottom in 70s TV show The Partners. In the 70s, Van Patten also had parts on Cannon, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, The Rookies, Medical Center, When Things Were Rotten, Barnaby Jones, The Six Million Dollar Man, Happy Days, and more before lading his career-defining part on Eight is Enough.

Following the four-season run of Eight is Enough,Van Patten continued to primarily work in TV, including on The Love Boat, Hotel, Murder, She Wrote, The Facts of Life, Growing Pains, WIOU, Baywatch, Boy Meets World, Touched By an Angel, 7th Heaven, Arrested Development, That 70s Show, and The Sarah Silverman Program. He made his last TV appearance on Hot in Cleveland. 

Van Patten’s film credits include Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Westworld and The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking.

Van Patten is survived by his wife of 62 years, Patricia Van Patten, and their three sons Nelson, Jimmy and Vincent.