TV today has large families like the Duggars of 19 Kids and Counting and the Gosselins of Jon and Kate Plus 8. But before reality shows, there were the Bradfords of Eight Is Enough. The comedy-drama series aired from 1977 to 1981. It was based on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, who had eight children. He wrote a book, and ABC turned it into a successful TV series of the same name. So, which Eight Is Enough cast members are still alive?
What was ‘Eight Is Enough’ about? ‘Eight Is Enough’ cast portrait, 1978 | Jim Britt/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
Eight Is Enough centered on parents Tom and Joan Bradford and their eight children: David, Mary, Joanie, Susan, Nancy, Elizabeth, Tommy, and Nicholas. Dad was a newspaper columnist, and mom was a homemaker.
Sadly, Diana Hyland, who played Joan, was diagnosed with breast cancer during season 1 and died.
What was ‘Eight Is Enough’ about? ‘Eight Is Enough’ cast portrait, 1978 | Jim Britt/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
Eight Is Enough centered on parents Tom and Joan Bradford and their eight children: David, Mary, Joanie, Susan, Nancy, Elizabeth, Tommy, and Nicholas. Dad was a newspaper columnist, and mom was a homemaker.
Sadly, Diana Hyland, who played Joan, was diagnosed with breast cancer during season 1 and died.
- 2/11/2023
- by Stacy Feintuch
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Steven Spielberg's "1941" is one of the most blissfully chaotic movies ever made. It is obscenely expensive, narratively scatterbrained, and unabashedly irreverent about one of the most devastating acts of war ever carried out by a foreign nation on American soil. It's more of a model train set than a movie, one operated by a spoiled brat who'd rather send the cars soaring off the track into the basement wall than keep his meticulously constructed railroad running smoothly. Crammed somewhere in the movie is an unruly satire about self-destructive, run-amok jingoism, but it's also a live-action Looney Tunes cartoon where a runaway Army tank crashes through a paint factory and then a turpentine factory.
After the back-to-back blockbuster triumphs of "Jaws" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," Spielberg could call his tune at Universal, and he threw his all into this nutty World War II flick scripted by...
After the back-to-back blockbuster triumphs of "Jaws" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," Spielberg could call his tune at Universal, and he threw his all into this nutty World War II flick scripted by...
- 11/24/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
1962: Search for Tomorrow's Marge was upset when adoption
plans fell through. 1982: Sft made its NBC debut.
1982: The first daytime episode of Capitol aired on CBS.
2004: All My Children's Kendall told Bianca her baby was dead."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1962: On Search for Tomorrow, Marge Bergman (Melba Rae) reeled from Monica's (Barbara Baxley) decision to not give Jimmy up for adoption. She later went to friends Joanne (Mary Stuart) and Arthur Tate (Terry O'Sullivan) for solace.
1962: On As the World Turns,...
plans fell through. 1982: Sft made its NBC debut.
1982: The first daytime episode of Capitol aired on CBS.
2004: All My Children's Kendall told Bianca her baby was dead."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1962: On Search for Tomorrow, Marge Bergman (Melba Rae) reeled from Monica's (Barbara Baxley) decision to not give Jimmy up for adoption. She later went to friends Joanne (Mary Stuart) and Arthur Tate (Terry O'Sullivan) for solace.
1962: On As the World Turns,...
- 4/1/2019
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
1962: Search for Tomorrow's Marge was upset when adoption
plans fell through. 1982: Sft made its NBC debut.
1982: The first daytime episode of Capitol aired on CBS.
2004: All My Children's Kendall told Bianca her baby was dead."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."
― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1962: On Search for Tomorrow, Marge Bergman (Melba Rae) reeled from Monica's (Barbara Baxley) decision to not give Jimmy up for adoption. She...
plans fell through. 1982: Sft made its NBC debut.
1982: The first daytime episode of Capitol aired on CBS.
2004: All My Children's Kendall told Bianca her baby was dead."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."
― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1962: On Search for Tomorrow, Marge Bergman (Melba Rae) reeled from Monica's (Barbara Baxley) decision to not give Jimmy up for adoption. She...
- 3/29/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
Remember Eight is Enough? The classic ABC series aired its final episode 35 years ago today.Developed by William Blinn, the dramedy followed the lives of newspaper columnist Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten) and his eight children. The cast also included Diana Hyland, Betty Buckley, Grant Goodeve, Lani O'Grady, Laurie Walters, Susan Richardson, Dianne Kay, Connie Needham, Willie Aames, and Adam Rich.Read More…...
- 8/30/2016
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
“Mama Gene” Runkis, who appeared on the Destination America reality series “Hillbilly Blood,” died Wednesday after a battle with cancer. She was 68. Her son, series star Eugene Runkis, announced her death via Facebook on Wednesday, writing, “Mom lost her fight with stage 4 cancer this morning at 9:25 a.m.” Runkis was born Diane Kay Runkis in Detroit in 1947. The series, which stars Runkis and Spencer “Two Dogs” Bolejack, follows life in Cold Mountain, North Carolina, as Runkis and Bolejack offer tips on backwoods survival, fashioning salvaged items into new devices. Destination America has described the show as “sort of a.
- 7/31/2015
- by Tim Kenneally
- The Wrap
On this morning's edition of the Today Show, several of the castmembers of Eight Is Enough reunited for the first time in 20-30 years.
Eight Is Enough ran on ABC for five seasons, from 1977 until 1981. Based on a book Thomas Braden, the dramady centers around columnist Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten), his wife Joan (Diana Hyland) and their eight children, played by Grant Goodeve, Lani O'Grady, Laurie Walters, Susan Richardson, Dianne Kay, Connie Newton, Willie Aames, and Adam Rich.
Hyland became ill and passed away shortly after the series debuted. She'd only filmed a handful of episodes and her character was written out of the rest of the season. When the show returned in the Fall of 1977, Tom was now a widower who fell for and later married Abby (Betty Buckley), his son Tommy's tutor.
The cast reunited...
Eight Is Enough ran on ABC for five seasons, from 1977 until 1981. Based on a book Thomas Braden, the dramady centers around columnist Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten), his wife Joan (Diana Hyland) and their eight children, played by Grant Goodeve, Lani O'Grady, Laurie Walters, Susan Richardson, Dianne Kay, Connie Newton, Willie Aames, and Adam Rich.
Hyland became ill and passed away shortly after the series debuted. She'd only filmed a handful of episodes and her character was written out of the rest of the season. When the show returned in the Fall of 1977, Tom was now a widower who fell for and later married Abby (Betty Buckley), his son Tommy's tutor.
The cast reunited...
- 3/1/2010
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
'Today' is doing a special series of reunion shows, getting some famous TV families together again. First up: the cast of 'Eight Is Enough,' who appeared on the show this morning (video after the jump) to talk about their time on the show, what went on behind the scenes, what the dinner scenes were like, and how the show compares to what is on TV today.
Note: Meredith Vieira's intro to the interview is over the top. I really don't think that the end of the Vietnam War played such a crucial part in the show's success. And did they actually have to introduce each cast member separately and have them walk on stage to their chairs?
The cast members who appeared were Dick Van Patten, Betty Buckley, Grant Goodeve, Dianne Kay, Laurie Walters, Willie Aames, and Connie Needham.
Continue reading 'Today Show' Reunites 'Eight Is Enough' Cast (Well,...
Note: Meredith Vieira's intro to the interview is over the top. I really don't think that the end of the Vietnam War played such a crucial part in the show's success. And did they actually have to introduce each cast member separately and have them walk on stage to their chairs?
The cast members who appeared were Dick Van Patten, Betty Buckley, Grant Goodeve, Dianne Kay, Laurie Walters, Willie Aames, and Connie Needham.
Continue reading 'Today Show' Reunites 'Eight Is Enough' Cast (Well,...
- 3/1/2010
- by Bob Sassone
- Aol TV.
They've reunited the Keatons and the Cosbys, now NBC's Today show is welcoming the Bradfords, the Partridges, the Bradys, and the Jenkinses. This week, Today stages live in-studio reunions of the following casts: Eight is Enough (Monday, March 1): Dick Van Patten, Laurie Walters, Connie Needham, Grant Goodeve, Dianne Kay, Willie Aames, and Betty Buckley The Partridge Family (Tuesday, March 2): Suzanne Crough, Danny Bonaduce, David Cassidy, and Brian Forster The Brady Bunch (Wednesday, March 3): Barry Williams, Eve Plumb, Susan Olsen, Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland, and Maureen McCormick 227 (Thursday, March 4): Marla Gibbs, Jackée Harry, Regina King, Hal Williams,...
- 2/28/2010
- by Mandi Bierly
- EW.com - PopWatch
Fans of classic 1970's TV will want to tune in to the Today Show next week. The NBC morning news program is reuniting members of the sitcom families from Eight Is Enough, The Partridge Family, and The Brady Bunch.
On Monday, March 1st, members of the Bradford clan from Eight Is Enough are getting together. Scheduled to appear are Dick Van Patten, Betty Buckley, Grant Goodeve, Laurie Walters, Connie Needham, Dianne Kay, and Willie Aames.
The crew hasn't been together on TV since their reunion movies -- Eight is Enough: A Family Reunion (1987) and An Eight Is Enough Wedding (1989). Buckley, who plays stepmother Abby, didn't appear in either reunion movie so this will be her first time back with the cast in 19 years (at least onscreen).
On Tuesday, March 2nd, the singing members of The Partridge...
On Monday, March 1st, members of the Bradford clan from Eight Is Enough are getting together. Scheduled to appear are Dick Van Patten, Betty Buckley, Grant Goodeve, Laurie Walters, Connie Needham, Dianne Kay, and Willie Aames.
The crew hasn't been together on TV since their reunion movies -- Eight is Enough: A Family Reunion (1987) and An Eight Is Enough Wedding (1989). Buckley, who plays stepmother Abby, didn't appear in either reunion movie so this will be her first time back with the cast in 19 years (at least onscreen).
On Tuesday, March 2nd, the singing members of The Partridge...
- 2/23/2010
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
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