Dick Van Patten, 'Eight Is Enough' father, dies at 86 - FOX31 Denver

Budd Burton Moss, Van Patten’s longtime agent, confirmed his death. Van Patten, a former child actor, was a familiar face on movie and TV screens for decades, going back to the late ’40s show “Mama,” based on the play and movie “I Remember Mama. He appeared in three Mel Brooks movies, many commercials, dozens of character roles and such films as “Charly” (1968) and “Westworld” (1973) — not to mention several Broadway plays. “I’ve probably had more jobs than any other actor living,” he told a Los Angeles site, The Pet Press, in 2006. (He was also a pet food mogul, having founded Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Pet Foods. But he probably had his biggest fame with “Eight Is Enough” in which he played Tom Bradford, a Sacramento, Calif. Though the series kept little of Braden’s life, his demeanor and love for his children resonated with Van Patten. It was the same with me. ”. Van Patten and his wife, Pat, had three sons, Nels, James and Vincent, all of whom went into acting. His sister, Joyce Van Patten, is also an actress, and his half-brother, Timothy, is a famed director who has overseen episodes of “The Sopranos” and “Boardwalk Empire. “Eight Is Enough” ran for four seasons, from 1977 to 1981. During its run, Van Patten was also an. Source: kdvr.com