Adam Rich (October 12, 1968 – January 7, 2023) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Nicholas Bradford, the youngest son on the television series ''

Eight Is Enough ''Eight Is Enough'' is an American comedy-drama/sitcom television series that aired on ABC from March 15, 1977, to May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight childre ...

'', which ran for five seasons (1977–1981). Known for his

pageboy The pageboy or page boy is a hairstyle named after what was believed to be the haircut of a late medieval page boy. It has straight hair hanging to below the ear, where it usually turns under. There is often a fringe (bangs) in the front. This s ...

haircut, Rich's character on the show led him to be known as "America's little brother".

Personal life

Rich was born on October 12, 1968, the son of Francine and Rob Rich. His family was Jewish. Growing up as a child actor, Rich lived in

Granada Hills, Los Angeles Granada Hills is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. The community has a sports program and a range of city recreation centers. The neighborhood has fourteen public and ten private schools. History The Granada Hills ...

, with his parents and younger brother. The family briefly lived in Florida where he learned how to act at the local gym. He was active in sports, including baseball,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, bicycle riding, skateboarding, and swimming. He also had an interest in drawing. At age 14, he tried smoking

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

, and at 17, in 1986, he dropped out of high school. He almost died of a

valium Diazepam, sold under the brand name Valium among others, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. It is used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, muscle spas ...

overdose in 1989. On April 16, 1991, he was arrested after a shoplifting spree at a pharmacy and a Bullock’s department store in

Northridge, Los Angeles Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center. Originally named Zelzah by settlers in 1908, the ...

. He was released on bail, with his television father

Dick Van Patten Richard Vincent Van Patten (December 9, 1928 – June 23, 2015) was an American actor, comedian, businessman, and animal welfare advocate, whose career spanned seven decades of television. He was best known for his role as patriarch Tom Bra ...

paying his bail. In 1996, there was a media hoax that Rich had been murdered; the story was published in the San Francisco-based magazine '' Might'', with Rich's consent. In 2002, Rich was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI). Rich had publicly discussed his experiences with depression and substance abuse in the months before he died and had a history of many

drug rehabilitation Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin, and amphetamines. The general int ...

stints and several overdoses. He tweeted in October 2022 that he had been sober for seven years after arrests. He urged his followers never to give up.

Career

Rich won the role of Nicholas on ''Eight is Enough'' at the age of eight. After ''Eight Is Enough'', he had roles in

Irwin Allen Irwin Allen (born Irwin O. Cohen; June 12, 1916 – November 2, 1991) was an American film and television producer and director, known for his work in science fiction, then later as the "Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film genr ...

's short-lived 1981 TV series '' Code Red'' on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

and the 1983 sitcom '' Gun Shy'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

. Rich made guest appearances on television series including ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...

'', ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. After the final first-run telecast on NBC in May 1983, the series went into reruns on Sundays fr ...

'', ''

Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. ...

'', ''

The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After being seriously injured in a NASA test f ...

'', ''

St. Elsewhere ''St. Elsewhere'' is an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as ...

'', and ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...

''. He also did voice work on the cartoon series ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

'', along with ''Eight Is Enough'' co-star

Willie Aames Albert William Upton (born July 15, 1960), known professionally as Willie Aames, is an American actor, film and television director, television producer, and screenwriter. He is widely known for playing Tommy Bradford, one of the children of Tom ...

. Rich appeared in television commercials for

Betty Crocker Betty Crocker is a brand and fictional character used in advertising campaigns for food and recipes. The character was created by the Washburn-Crosby Company in 1921 to give a personalized response to consumer product questions. In 1954, Gener ...

Snackin' Cake and

Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco' ...

's Wheatsworth crackers.

Death

Rich died at his Los Angeles home on January 7, 2023, at the age of 54. The L.A. County Medical Examiner's autopsy report indicates the actor died from an accidental

fentanyl Fentanyl is a highly potent synthetic piperidine opioid primarily used as an analgesic (pain medication). It is 30 to 50 times more Potency (pharmacology), potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Its primary Medici ...

overdose.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Adam 1968 births 2023 deaths Accidental deaths in California American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Drug-related deaths in California Jewish American male actors People from Granada Hills, Los Angeles Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from New York City 20th-century American male actors