Dick Van Patten, star of 'Eight is Enough,' dies at 86

80’s actor Dick Van Patten, famously known for his fatherly role as Tom Bradford in Eight is Enough, has died at the age of 86.

People confirms that Van Patten died Tuesday morning at Saint John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, California. The cause of death was from complications due to diabetes.

Van Patten was known for being a happy and caring TV actor. He was always generous towards his co-star and was described as always having a sunny demeanor.

He was born in 1928 in Kew Gardens, New York. Van Patten entered the entertainment right away as a child star and model. At the young age of 7, he appeared in the Broadway play Tapestry in Gray. He remained in Broadway for 30 more different shows.

Around 1949, Van Patten moved to television and played the part of Nels Hansen in I Remember Mama, which became an instant TV hit. After the show ended in 1957, Van Patten acted in several other dramas and comedies.

According to Yahoo TV, he played the supporting role in a numerous amount of shows. Van Patten can be seen in Naked City, Adam-12, The Streets of San Francisco, That Girl, Banachek, Cannon, and Happy Days.

It wasn’t until his role in Eight is Enough where he became a known star. The sitcom told the story of newspaper columnist Tom Bradford who had to handle his huge and crazy family.

Van Patten had recently appeared in Arrested Development, That 70’s Show, and Hot in Cleveland. In 2009, he achieved a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

He will never be forgotten for his charm, humor, and warmth that he brought to his work.

Credit: Jean Catuffe/INFGoff.com

{"code":"internal_server_error","message":"

There has been a critical error on your website.<\/p>

Learn more about debugging in WordPress.<\/a><\/p>","data":{"status":500},"additional_errors":[]}