Adam Rich, former 'Eight Is Enough' child star, dies at 54 - The Associated Press - en Español

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Adam Rich, the kid histrion with a pageboy mop-top who charmed TV audiences arsenic “America’s small brother” connected “Eight is Enough,” has died. He was 54.

Rich died Saturday astatine his location successful the Brentwood conception of Los Angeles, said Lt. Aimee Earl of the Los Angeles County Medical-Examiner Coroner’s office. The origin of decease was nether probe but was not considered to beryllium suspicious.

Rich had a constricted acting vocation aft starring astatine property 8 arsenic Nicholas Bradford, the youngest of 8 children, connected the ABC deed dramedy that ran from from 1977 to 1981.

He had respective run-ins with constabulary related to drugs and intoxicant — and sought attraction astatine the Betty Ford Center successful Rancho Mirage.

Rich suffered from a benignant of slump that defied attraction and helium had tried to erase the stigma of talking astir intelligence illness, said publicist Danny Deraney. He unsuccessfully tried experimental cures implicit the years.

Deraney said helium and others adjacent to Rich were disquieted successful caller weeks erstwhile they couldn’t scope him.

“He was conscionable a precise kind, generous, loving soul,” Deraney told The Associated Press. “Being a celebrated histrion is not needfully what helium wanted to be. ... He had nary ego, not an ounce of it.”

Rich discussed his intelligence wellness connected Twitter and noted successful October that he’d been sober for 7 years. He said helium wasn’t cleanable — referring to arrests, galore stints successful rehab, respective overdoses and “countless detoxes (and) relapses” — and urged his astir 19,000 followers to ne'er springiness up.

“Human beings weren’t built to endure intelligence illness,” Rich tweeted successful September. “The specified information that immoderate radical see those to beryllium weak, oregon person a deficiency of volition is wholly laughable … due to the fact that it’s the full opposite! It’s takes a very, precise beardown idiosyncratic … a warrior if you volition … to conflict specified illnesses.”

Rich posted a representation of himself from his heyday with one-time kid prima Mickey Rooney.

“Everyone utilized to accidental to me, ‘You are the modern time Mickey Rooney,’” helium tweeted. “But erstwhile Mickey Rooney told maine that himself, it meant a helluva a batch much to me!”

Nearly 27 years ago, Rich participated successful a hoax that Might mag published astir the histrion getting killed successful a robbery extracurricular a Los Angeles nightclub successful 1996. The nonfiction successful the little-known mag was intended arsenic a satire of America’s personage obsession but fizzled erstwhile the spoof was revealed.

“I deliberation we were a small excessively subtle. People were not getting the joke,” Rich aboriginal told the Chicago Tribune. “I don’t privation to beryllium dead.”

Rich was the small member to a procreation of TV viewers arsenic the mop-top lad of a paper columnist played by Dick Van Patten, who has to rise 8 children unsocial aft his woman successful the amusement — and the histrion who played her — died during filming of the archetypal season.

Rich starred successful the bid “Code Red” from 1981-82 and voiced the quality of Presto the Magician connected “Dungeons & Dragons” from 1983-85, according to the IMDB.com. He reprised his best-known relation successful 2 “Eight is Enough” TV movie reunions.

But the equilibrium of his acting vocation was successful single-episode appearances connected immoderate of the astir fashionable TV shows of the time: “The Love Boat,” “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “Silver Spoons,” and “Baywatch.” His astir caller recognition listed connected IMDB was playing Crocodile Dundee connected “Reel Comedy” successful 2003.