I recently bought picked up season 4 and plan on getting season 5 to complete the series. Anyone else here a fan or like the show ? It's one of those shows that takes me back to my childhood. I posted a recent interview with Brian Patrick Clarke where he talks about the series and playing Merle.

 

The sad thing is most of the cast has had a lot of troubles much like the cast of Diff'rent Strokes. Willie Aames (Tommy), Adam Rich (Nicholas), Lani O'Grady (Mary), have had substance abuse problems. Susan Richardson has had a lot of problems as well and was living in a rotting trailer in recent years. Lani died in the early 2000's of a drug overdose. I think Grant Goodeve (David) admitted to being a recovering alcoholic and Joan Prather (who played David's wife Janet) hit a cop with her car.

 

The cast reunited with the passing of Dick Van Patten last year.

 

I loved this show.  Lani was the sister of one of the guys from My Three Sons.  I remember the sordid details of all of their messy lives.  Too bad. 

Loved the show and have all the seasons on dvd….great show!

I think Lani was on Days for a short time. Loved the show. Still sad about DVP.

I recently bought picked up season 4 and plan on getting season 5 to complete the series. Anyone else here a fan or like the show ? It's one of those shows that takes me back to my childhood. I posted a recent interview with Brian Patrick Clarke where he talks about the series and playing Merle.

 

The sad thing is most of the cast has had a lot of troubles much like the cast of Diff'rent Strokes. Willie Aames (Tommy), Adam Rich (Nicholas), Lani O'Grady (Mary), have had substance abuse problems. Susan Richardson has had a lot of problems as well and was living in a rotting trailer in recent years. Lani died in the early 2000's of a drug overdose. I think Grant Goodeve (David) admitted to being a recovering alcoholic and Joan Prather (who played David's wife Janet) hit a cop with her car.

 

The cast reunited with the passing of Dick Van Patten last year.

 

Thanks for posting this photo!

Who is the guy next to Adam Rich? 

Who is the guy next to Adam Rich? 

I don't recognize that guy next Adam either. Someone posted it was Brian Patrick Clarke, but it doesn't look like him to me. Susan Richardson is not in the pic. I guess do to her health. 

I have the first two seasons on DVD and plan to buy more as I work my way through the series. I love all of the 70s family dramas. They were sorta like precursors to the 80s nighttime soaps but with an earnestness that actually worked. People often pit EiE against Family, but I think they're really two very different shows with two different purposes. While Family thrived on being quiet and understated, EiE was all about the raucousness of a house full of people who didn't always get along, and it was just a very busy show. And it worked!

I had not seen the picture from DVP's funeral. Susan's absence really does make me worry for her...

I have the first two seasons on DVD and plan to buy more as I work my way through the series. I love all of the 70s family dramas. They were sorta like precursors to the 80s nighttime soaps but with an earnestness that actually worked. People often pit EiE against Family, but I think they're really two very different shows with two different purposes. While Family thrived on being quiet and understated, EiE was all about the raucousness of a house full of people who didn't always get along, and it was just a very busy show. And it worked!

I had not seen the picture from DVP's funeral. Susan's absence really does make me worry for her...

I agree, Family and Eight Is Enough are 2 very different shows. Family was strictly more dramatic and EiE mixed in comedy. Susan was in pretty rough shape a while back.

 

I noticed Adam Rich is holding a glass in his hand. I know he had substance abuse problems in the past, so maybe he was drinking something non alcoholic. I remember reading by the time he was 10 that some of the backstage crew and people that traveled with him on personal appearances etc... had turned him on to pot and alcohol and let him watch hardcore porn. One person said at a cast party Adam was walking around with a mixed drink. 

@ChitHappens @SoapDope @Hunk Chandler Massey @All My Shadows @slick jones you may enjoy this. Singing, banter, and Dick Van Patten deciding to harshly call Betty Buckley out on national television. Fun all around.

 

 

 

OUch at DVP....did he and Betty not get along? And Willie Ames... I always had a crush on him. He was better than Baio on Charles in Charge. I never understood the big hoopla with Baio.

Eileen Davidson is married to Dick Van Patten's son Vincent.

13 hours ago, DRW50 said:

@ChitHappens @SoapDope @Hunk Chandler Massey @All My Shadows @slick jones you may enjoy this. Singing, banter, and Dick Van Patten deciding to harshly call Betty Buckley out on national television. Fun all around.

 

 

 

Thank you for alerting me to this. Eight Is Enough is one of my favorite shows. Over the years a lot of the stories of the backstage drama has come out. I had heard that Betty was very difficult to get along with. In an interview with the Archive of American Television, Lee Rich was asked about the sudden cancellation of the show in 1981 and he said they decided to pull the plug because the cast was out of control behind the scenes and instead of putting up with that mess any further, they cut their losses and ended it. The show could have ran a bit longer. Adam Rich (Nicholas) was drinking, smoking pot and watching porn by age 10.

Edited October 26, 20178 yr by SoapDope

A few weeks ago, I went on Amazon and purchased a random eppy just for the memories. Thoroughly enjoyed it. 

9 hours ago, Hunk Chandler Massey said:

OUch at DVP....did he and Betty not get along? And Willie Ames... I always had a crush on him. He was better than Baio on Charles in Charge. I never understood the big hoopla with Baio.

 

I always preferred him to Baio as well...at least until the "Bibleman" nonsense. Now that I know what scum Baio is I guess I'd still prefer him over Chachie.

I wish that someone would rerun, stream, or put out on DVD those old episodes Dinah Shores 70's/early 80's talk show. When I see clips or random episodes show up on youtube, I like watching them. The same way with the Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin shows.