Eight Is Enough Star Dick Van Patten Has Died

While it was reminiscent of another California-based family comedy with lots of kids, “The Brady Bunch”, the hour-long “Eight Is Enough” was more serious; it sought to deal with some of life’s larger issues, at least in passing.

Van Patten is just one of a family of entertainers. But the picture of Dick Van Patten as a charming wholesome family fellow misses the late actor’s range and ambition.

Van Patten died at age 86 from diabetic complications.

“I’m not certain myself who is really mine and who I borrowed from the show”, he said of his brood of real and fictional children.

He made his Broadway debut in Kurt Weill’s “The Eternal Road,” a spectacle of Jewish history, in 1937 (in 2000, the centenary of Weill’s birth, Van Patten attended a full restaging of the mammoth six-hour work at Brooklyn’s BAM).

The New York born actor was also known for his roles in “The New Dick Van Dyke Show“, “The Love Boat“, “I Remember Mama“, and Mel Brooks’ movies “Spaceballs“, “High Anxiety“, and “Robin Hood: Men in Tights”. He co-authored an autobiography called Eighty Is Not Enough, where he discussed his life as an actor all the way through, starting with his time as a child star.

Van Patten’s first series-regular gig came on the brief, Don Adams-created cop spoof “The Partners,” which also starred Adams and ran in 1971-72. His father was an interior decorator and his mother worked in advertising.

In addition to his work onstage, Van Patten was involved in television from early on.

Van Patten served as a commentator for the World Series of Poker from 1993-95. He was rarely absent from the small screen after that.

In recent times, he appeared on “Hot in Cleveland” and “Arrested Development“. Before landing “Eight Is Enough,” he played the part of Captain Stubing in the pilot for “The Love Boat,” a role that eventually went to Gavin MacLeod. His first was Violent Midnight, and it was followed up with Soylent Green, Freaky Friday, The Shaggy D.A.

Being an animal enthusiast, the Native American actor founded National Guide Dog Month which began in 2008 to raise awareness and money for non-profit guide-dog schools in the United States. His sister is actress Joyce Van Patten, and his half-brother is director/producer Tim Van Patten.