Adam Rich Movies
Best known as Nicholas Bradford on the popular TV show Eight Is Enough, Brooklyn-born Adam Rich began acting on the series when he was just nine years old. He stayed with Eight Is Enough throughout its run, from 1977 through 1981, and a few years later he began providing the voice for Presto the Magician on the animated series Dungeons & Dragons. In 1996, author and then indie-magazine publisher Dave Eggers worked with Rich to run a fictional article in Might magazine announcing the actor's untimely death. Part parody, part practical joke, the stunt stuck with Rich so that years later, he continued to meet fans who'd thought he was dead. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide- 1989
Having racked up excellent ratings for the 1987 TV movie Eight is Enough: A Family Reunion, the producers concocted yet another "retro" film, 1989's An Eight is Enough Wedding. Dick Van Patten returns as Tom Bradford, who anxiously prepares for the wedding of his oldest son David (Grant Goodeve). While most of the original cast shows up for the nuptials, Tom's wife Abby is played by Sandy Faison. She replaces Family Reunion's Mary Frann, who in turn had replaced the original Abby, Betty Buckley. Dick Van Patten's real-life wife and son Pat and Jimmy also show up in supporting roles. Like Family Reunion, An Eight is Enough Wedding was telecast opposite the World Series (on October 15, 1989, to be exact); and like the earlier film, Wedding won its timeslot in the ratings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Most of the original cast members of TV's Eight is Enough are on hand for the "retro" feature Eight is Enough: A Family Reunion. The single most conspicuous defector is Betty Buckley, who is here replaced by Mary Frann in the role of Abby Bradford. The premise: On the eve of his 50th birthday, Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten) is in danger of losing his job as a journalist. He is offered moral support by his offspring, who have gathered together to celebrate Tom's half-century mark. Grant Goodeve, Willie Aames, Susan Richardson, Lani O'Grady, Adam Rich, Connie Needham, Dianne Kay and Laurie Walters portray the Bradford kids. The warm-and-fuzzy script is by Gwen Bagni-Dubov, who'd been churning out teleplays since the black-and-white era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
When his mother is wrongly accused of jewel theft, a young blind boy must discover the identity of the true thief and clear his mother's name. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
The title character, a nasty landlord (Elliott Gould), is killed in a car accident and descends into hell. There he meets the Devil (Bill Cosby), who promises him his life back if he can find three people willing to sell their souls in three months. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elliott Gould, Bill Cosby, (more)
- 1980
Getting a late start due to the 1980 Hollywood actors' strike, the fifth and final season of Eight is Enough makes up for lost time with a frantic 90-minute opening episode, in which Susan Bradford Stockwell (Susan Richardson), one of the eight children of journalist Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten), delivers the family's first grandchild, named Sandra Sue in honor of Susan's stepmother (Betty Buckley)--who of course prefers the nickname "Abby" to her given name. While the arrival of Sandra Sue is a high point in the lives of Susan and her professional-ballplayer husband Merle (Brian Patrick Clarke, things aren't quite so jubilant later down the line when Merle suffers an injury that injures his career. This is the season that Ralph Macchio joins the cast as Abby's troubled nephew Jeremy, who takes a bit of time adjusting to his new surroundings when he is brought into the Bradford household after his father drops out of sight. Also new to the cast is John Louie as Melvin, the geekish best friend of youngest Bradford son Nicholas (Adam Rich). Major developments this season include the breakup of the marriage between oldest son David Bradford (Grant Goodeve and his wife Janet (Joan Prather), though the couple eventually considers patching things up. Also, Abby lands a job as guidance counselor in a tough inner-city school; daughter Elizabeth (Dianne Kay) moves in with her boyfriend; the Bradfords are forced to economize when Tom is laid off during a newspaper strike; daughter Nancy (Dianne Kay) finds that her chosen career as an actress and model is fraught with professional perils and pitfalls; son Tommy (Willie Aames) and his pal Ernie (Michael Goodrow) return from college with a new "sophisticated" outlook on life; and later on, Tommy proposes to girlfriend Ellen (Tara Nutter) when he learns she is pregnant. The series concludes with a tense battle over legal custody of Jeremy between the Bradfords and Jeremy's irresponsible dad (George Ralph Dicenzo). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Van Patten, Betty Buckley, (more)
- 1979
As Season Four of Eight is Enough gets under way, David Bradford (Grant Goodeve), the oldest of Sacramento journalist Tom Bradford's (Dick Van Patten) eight children, is eagerly anticipating his marriage to his attorney fiancée Janet (Joan Prather). Romance also enters the life of David's sister Susan (Susan Richardson) when she falls for charming minor-league baseball player Merle "The Pearl" Stockwell (Brian Patrick Clarke). Thus it is that the wedding ceremony becomes a double header when Susan and Merle wed on the same day as David and Janet (conveniently just in time for the Fall ratings sweeps!). Elsewhere in the Bradford household, Tom's wife Abby (Betty Buckley) studies for a PhD in Education; daughter Joannie (Laurie Walters) lands a job at a local TV station, when she meets and falls in love with coworker Jeffrey Trout (Nicholas Pryor); 18-year-old Elizabeth (Connie Newton, previously billed as Connie Needham) enters college; David establishes his own construction business; second-youngest son Tommy (William Aames) organizes a band; Tom's freewheeling sister Vivian (Janis Paige) treats the family to a Hawaiian vacation (no, they don't meet the Brady Bunch); the kids and Abby help Tom come to grips with his 50th birthday; youngest son Nicholas (Adam Rich) "jinxes" the Bradfords by breaking a chain letter; and Susan finds out that she's pregnant--just after Merle has walked out on her. New to the series this season is Michael Goodrow as Tommy's new friend Ernie, who turns out to have a serious drinking problem. As Season Four draws to a close, Susan prepares for motherhood, and Tommy throws a graduation party that gets him into hot water with the local constabulary. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Van Patten, Betty Buckley, (more)
- 1978
Season Three of Eight is Enough finds Abby Bradford (Betty Buckley) fully accepted as the second wife of Sacramento columnist Tom Bradford (Tom Bosley) by Tom's extremely judgemental brood of eight children, who now range in age from 10 to 25. Also, recurring actress Jennifer Darling has been promoted to "regular" status in the role of Tom's hardworking secretary Donna. The realm of "Higher Education" figures prominently in this season's episodes, as Mary Bradford (Lani O'Grady) contends with male chauvinism during her first year of medical school, Nancy Bradford (Dianne Kay) flunks out of college, Elizabeth Bradford (Connie Needham) tries to win a dance scholarship, and Susan Bradford (Susan Bradford) entertains the notion of training to be a policewoman. In other developments, Abby thinks she's pregnant, and later despairs when she learns her parents are divorcing; Nicholas Bradford (Adam Rich) has his first kiss, and also invites Vice President Mondale to have Thanksgiving dinner with the Bradfords (though the VP accepts, we never see him!); on a dark and stormy night, Nancy brings home a blind date (Larry Gilman who bears a frightening resemblance to Anthony Perkinsin Psycho); Nancy, Susan and their sister Joannie (Laurie Walters) defiantly move out their parents' house and into their own apartment; and in a foretaste of a plot development which will occur in the series' final season, Tommy Bradford (Willie Aames) offers to wed his pregnant girlfriend (played by a young Rosanna Arquette), even though he's not the father. The biggest news this season concerns oldest Bradford son David (Grant Goodeve), who falls in love with an attractive attorney named Janet (Joan Prather. By the time the season finale rolls around, David and Janet have embarked on a cross-country vacation to celebrate their engagement. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Van Patten, Betty Buckley, (more)
- 1977
In most respects, the extended-length pilot episode of Eight is Enough bears a close resemblance to the series that follows, with Sacramento columnist Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten) presiding over a rambunctious but loving brood of eight independent-minded children. Also, the series wastes no time plunging the Bradford clan into a maelstrom of crises: oldest son David has a fight with his father and moves out of the house, youngest son Nicholas needs his tonsils removed, and daughter Elizabeth is arrested on a drug-possession charge! Appearing in the pilot are Mark Hamill as 23-year-old David Bradford, Kimberly Beck as 18-year-old Nancy Bradford and Chris English as 14-year-old Tommy Bradford. But by the time the series' first season "officially" began one week after its debut, Grant Goodeve had taken over as David, Dianne Kay as Nancy and Willie Aames as Tommy. The rest of the series' younger actors were carried over from the pilot, including Lani O'Grady as 21-year-old Mary, Laurie Walters as 20-year-old Joannie, Susan Richardson as 19-year-old Susan, Connie Needham as 15-year-old Elizabeth and Adam Rich as 8-year-old Nicholas. Also retained from the pilot is Diana Hyland as the Bradford children's mother Joan. Tragically, Hyland died on March 27, 1977, after filming only four episodes; her last appearances in the episodes "Pieces of Eight" and "Turnabout" were telecast posthumously. To explain her absence from the remainder of the season, the writers contrived to have Joan "away" from the family on an extended visit; the character would not be officially declared deceased until the opening episode of Season Two. Among those showing up in guest roles during the first season of Eight is Enough are Janis Paige as Tom's freewheeling sister Vivian, an "Auntie Mame" clone; Adrienne Barbeau as an older woman with whom David Bradford becomes briefly infatuated; and Charlene Tilton as Tommy's "dream girl" Wendy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Van Patten, Diana Hyland, (more)
- 1977
Acknowledging the death of series regular Diana Hyland during the previous season of Eight is Enough, Season Two opens with Sacramento columnist Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten) being identified as a widower, whose wife Joan has been deceased for nearly one year. While this time passage makes it respectable for Tom to re-enter the dating scene, it does not explain the fact that his eight children have only aged a few months since last we saw them at the end of Season One! But Tom does not remain unattached for long. In the season's second episode, Betty Buckley joins the cast as Sandra Sue "Abby" Abbott, a widowed teacher hired to tutor Tom's son Tommy (Willie Aames) while the boy is healing from a sports injury (in the same episode, daughter Mary [Lani O'Grady] defiantly moves out of the Bradford home to set up housekeeping with her boyfriend, played by no less than Don Johnson). The subsequent romance between Tom and Abby leads swiftly to the altar, as they become man and wife in the two-hour episode "Children of the Room", originally telecast November 9, 1977 (which is the same day that they wed in the context of the episode!) The following week, the entire family honeymoons in Hawaii, where the younger Bradfords characteristically stir up as much trouble as possible. Later on, an emotional high point is reached when the children celebrate their first Christmas without their "real" mom. In other episodes, daughter Joannie (Laurie Walters) precipitates a crisis when she agrees to appear nude in a stage play; Mary despairs when she is rejected from medical school; Tom is strongarmed into writing a newspaper advice column as "Ms. Dinah"; Tommy (Willie Aames) resorts to cheating in order to pass his English class; and when Abby suffers a serious concussion, the kids keep her awake until the doctor comes by describing highlights from past episodes (yes, it's a "clip show"). The season finale "Who's on First" takes place during a community talent show, permitting Broadway veteran Betty Buckley to show off her spending singing voice (no, she doesn't sing her signature tune from "Cats", mainly because it hadn't been written yet). Guest stars during Season Two include Sylvia Sidney, Robin Williams, Will Geer, Danny Bonaduce, Stepfanie Kramer, and Dick Van Patten's own sons Jimmy and Timmy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Van Patten, Betty Buckley, (more)
