Adam Rich, an actor who rose to fame as a child playing the youngest member of the Bradford family, Nicholas, on the TV drama “Eight Is Enough,” has died, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.
He was 54.
Rich died Saturday at his home in LA, according to a TMZ report, citing his family. They did not share the cause of death.
Although Rich is best known for his role on Eight is Enough, he also appeared in several TV shows and various TV movies throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. Some of these credits include “Fantasy Island”, “CHiPs”, “Small Wonder” and a voice role in the animated series “Dungeons & Dragons”.
Rich’s final television credit was an episode of Lifeguards in 1993 before he retired from on-camera appearances for 10 years.
He later played himself in the 2003 David Spade comedy Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star and portrayed Crocodile Dundee in the television series Reel Comedy the same year.
Rich ran into legal trouble for an alleged burglary in 1991. His “Eight Is Enough” TV dad, actor Dick Van Patten, once posted his bail, according to a Los Angeles Times report.
As part of a celebrity death satire, Rich participated in a 1996 hoax that falsely reported his death, as written by “Heartbreaking Work of Stunning Genius” author Dave Eggers for Might magazine.
The former child star was featured on CNN’s The History of the Sitcom in 2021 and reflected on her career in an Instagram post at the time.
“Grateful for the joy I had while working on 8!…” Rich wrote. “I hope it brought you some joy too.”
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