Adam Rich, the boy from 'Eight is enough,' dies at 54

Adam Rich (New York, 1969-2023), the actor who played the boy in

, has died at the age of 54 at his home in Los Angeles, according to

.

The cause of his death is unknown, since the family has not wanted to inform.

The interpreter rose to fame for playing Nicholas, the youngest and most mischievous member of the Bradford family, in the American television drama.

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The curse of 'Eight is enough'

The series

, which aired on ABC between 1977 and 1981, was inspired by the real life of journalist Tom Braden, father of eight children, who wrote a book with the same title.

The series, created by William Blinn, follows the Bradfords, a large family.

Among its interpreters, in addition to Van Patten, the presence of Lani O'Grady, Connie Needham and Ralph Macchio, the child hero of

and adult of

, stands out .

However, Rich had made his acting debut even younger, at age seven, in an episode of the series

, in 1976. He also appeared in other television shows and a variety of television movies in the late from the 1970s and 1980s, before his acting career went into decline.

Some of those credits include

,

,

, and a voice role in the animated series

, in which he voiced Presto the Wizard.

The character of Nicholas Bradford continued to haunt him and he also participated in two telefilms in the wake of the most famous large family on television:

(1987) and

(1989).

These were his last performances.

The actor retired from acting very early and did not have a good life when he stopped being famous.

In 1991 he was arrested for breaking a pharmacy window to get drugs.

His former father in fiction, Dick Van Patten, posted bail, although Rich was soon arrested again for other crimes.

After several years of rehab, he was arrested again in 2002 on a DUI charge after he nearly crashed into a California Highway Patrol car, according to

.

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