Former child star Adam Rich was found dead at 54 years old. He was best known for his portrayal of Nicholas Bradford in the hit television series Eight Is Enough. The bereaved family has not yet revealed the actor’s cause of death.
Dubbed America’s Little Brother, Adam Rich landed his big role in Eight Is Enough as an 8-year-old child actor. Prior to that, he was already doing small acting projects which include appearing in an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man and The City.
After his appearance in the hit TV series, Adam Rich was regularly invited as a guest star on several television shows and theatrical gigs. He also played the role of Danny Blake in another TV series Code Red which ran for a year. His last acting on TV was on a 1993 episode of Baywatch and his last movie was in Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, produced by Adam Sandler in 2003.
The comedy show Eight Is Enough was about the life of a newspaper editor Tom Braden who raised 8 independent children. It follows the story of kids as they grow, date, marry, and have children of their own. This drama has gotten quite popular with millions of fans.
While many of its other cast members found their way to Hollywood fame like Mark Hamill and Ralph Macchio, Adam Rich’s path went in a different direction. Despite the popularity of Eight Is Enough, he found it difficult to land another role in TV or film.
Dick Van Patten, who played the character Tom Bradford in the show, essentially became friends with Adam. When Adam was charged with shoplifting in 1991, he was the one who bailed him out of jail.
In an interview with UPI, Van Patten revealed that Adam had been having trouble getting roles even though he’s wildly popular. He added that Adam was short and not as cute as he used to be so he was difficult to cast.
In 1991, he gave an interview with Orlando Sentinel to talk about what happened to him.
“I don’t know why this happened, but I know I am sick. I have a disease. I am very remorseful, very embarrassed about this whole thing. [When] I was 15, I realized I had been working most of my life. I felt like I was almost ready to retire; I was so tired. I began hanging out with the wrong people. I guess it was rebellious, like, ‘Hey, I’m not cute little Nicholas.’”
Adam Rich’s life was not easy despite his fame. At 14 years old, he was smoking marijuana and dropped out of high school at the age of 17. In 1991, he overdosed on valium which almost cost him his life. He was also arrested for attempted burglary of a pharmacy and DUI in 2002 which led him to rehab a number of times.
He also shared a sentiment regarding the passing of Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss last year.
It is never easy to lose a loved one or even someone we remotely know. Feel free to share this story and send your thoughts and prayers for Adam Rich, his family, and his friends.