Thanks for the article. I knew there had been an actor cast before Van Patten that didn't work out, but never knew Mariette Hartley had been up for the role of Joan the wife.
Van Patten was one of those actors that was always constantly working up to the end. He knew just about everybody in the business. He was a kind man who loved his family and would often feature them in whatever project he was working on. In the 80's he his wife Pat and their three sons Nels, Jimmy, and Vincent did commercials and print ads for Oldsmobile and Jiffy Lube.
Van Patten also emotionally and sometimes financially supported his Eight Is Enough cast members when they fell on hard times or got into trouble. He also created a line of natural pet food and donated large supplies of it to pet shelters.
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SoapDope78 ·
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