eight is enough star dies
Dick Van Patten, 'Eight Is Enough' Star, Dies at 86. The actor, one of TV's 'Greatest Dads,' began on Broadway at age 7 and was a regular in films from Disney and Mel Brooks. Dick Van Patten, who played the family patriarch on the ABC series Eight Is Enough, has died, his publicist Jeff Ballard confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. He was 86. The soft-spoken actor died Tuesday morning at Saint John's Hospital in Santa Monica due to complications from diabetes.