Eight Is Enough Tragic Deaths and a Dark Legacy

eight is enough was a hit comedy drama series that first aired on march 15 1977. it ran for five seasons before it eventually ended on may 23 1981 the show was based on the life of a real man by the name of tom braden tom braden worked as a newspaper columnist and he had a total of eight children he wrote a book about his experiences in fatherhood which was also titled eight is enough a man named william blinn who worked as a tv writer was inspired by tom braden's story he realized its potential as a television show and he worked hard to bring the book to life the show did a great job of capturing the life of a parent the term comedy drama describes the show best because parenthood can't really be just one or the other while the show featured plenty of humor the writers weren't afraid to touch on very serious subjects as well for example the first episode alone featured tom braden's 15 year old daughter elizabeth being arrested for possessing narcotics this was an interesting choice for many shows in the 70s that centered around families were far more comedic eight is enough brought a surprising twist to television especially considering most people would automatically assume the show to be a comedy throughout the show tom braden and his wife joan have to deal with the ups and downs of parenthood which was extremely relatable to other parents throughout the country many americans were afraid to admit their struggles and more likely to sweep their familial problems under the rug however eight is enough encouraged people to accept and analyze their own problems this revolutionary decision to talk about such complicated issues on television led eight is enough to become an incredibly popular show it even reached the top 30 tv shows on the nielsen rating for its first four seasons at first the show seemed to leave a positive impact on its young actors many of whom went on to act successfully in many other productions however over time it seemed increasingly obvious that the show's mark wasn't all positive in today's video we're going to look at four young actors from the show who ended up struggling through addiction and mental illness which left the show with a dark legacy make sure you stick around long enough to see which actor was able to remarkably turn his life around susan richardson susan richardson played the character susan bradford in eight is enough the fourth oldest child of the bradford siblings her acting career began when she was relatively young and her first role was in the film american graffiti however her largest role by far was on eight is enough while she was on the show however she became pregnant the writers decided to roll with it and they wrote her character to be pregnant as well while having a child should be a joyous moment for anyone it became a source of stress for susan susan heard rumors that if she was unable to lose weight she had gained from her pregnancy she would be fired sadly too many women are forced to meet unrealistic body standards for the sake of film and tv terrified she'd be out of work if she couldn't lose a lot of weight fast susan turned to a dangerous drug cocaine because it's a stimulant cocaine often results in weight loss however it also comes with many horrifying side effects the use of cocaine had a horrible impact on susan's life she came forward with a news story in 1987 when she claimed she had been kidnapped by filmmakers from north korea after questioning journalists became aware her story simply didn't make sense and it was eventually decided her wild story was the result of her addiction to cocaine while susan's performance on eight is enough was quite impressive and could have led to a prolific acting career her downward spiral with drugs took away any opportunity for a successful life in 2010 when the remaining cast members of 8 is enough got together for a reunion susan didn't show up if you're also saddened by susan richardson's wasted potential click the like button to let us know adam rich adam rich played the youngest son of the bradford bunch nicholas bradford his character was one of the most popular especially among the younger audience many young boys envied his adorable bangs and charming smile his hairstyle became one of the most popular in the following years sadly his young and wholesome energy couldn't last forever while some child actors go on to become famous actors as adults this isn't always the case many young actors become so pigeon-holed into their first roles that casting directors can't imagine them as any other character for poor adam rich this was most certainly the case at first it seemed rich could have a promising and prolific career he starred in a disney film called the devil and max devlin in 1981 directly after eight is enough finished after a few more films and guest star appearances in various shows however adam rich found himself in a sad predicament hollywood was no longer interested in him after he began attending high school rich admitted in an interview he fell in with the wrong crowd of people like susan richardson he turned to cocaine to alleviate his stress he dropped out of high school and fell in and out of various drug rehabilitation programs in 1989 adam rich nearly lost his life to a valium overdose just a year later he was arrested for drunk driving sadly after many more arrests and failed attempts at rehabilitation adam rich remains heavily addicted to various substances as of 2013 he has attempted to appeal to various producers with tv show ideas but to no avail willie ames willie ames played tommy bradford on a's enough and while his life was filled with many struggles he ended up in a more positive position than adam rich and susan richardson his role as tommy bradson is probably his best remembered although he did appear in many other television shows he played buddy lembeck in the 1980s show charles in charge when he reached his 20s willie found himself indulging in the luxuries of many hollywood stars he began to party at the playboy mansion where he was exposed to many new experiences although not all of them positive even while he was still acting willie ames also fell victim to cocaine and he found himself spending all his money on the drug his addiction only grew worse over the years until in 2008 he finally acknowledged his serious problem thankfully unlike adam rich his attempt at rehabilitation was successful after hitting rock bottom ames was determined to come out on top of his addiction he began working as a cruise director for oceana a much humbler job than being a hollywood star nevertheless he embraced his new slower lifestyle later in life willie ames began work as a spokesperson to raise awareness about alzheimer's disease it's truly amazing how willie ames was able to successfully turn his life around and eventually use his fame to raise awareness for a serious problem while willie ames was lucky enough to turn his life around not every cast member from eight is enough found the same fate at the end of the video we'll reveal one cast member whose addiction went too far lainey o'grady lainey o'grady played mary bradford and her story is certainly the saddest even while she was acting as the stoic mary on the show laney suffered from a grave anxiety disorder her panic attacks affected her deeply making it difficult to function on set her doctors prescribed her a laundry list of medications including librium xanax and valium soon enough she became heavily addicted after attending five different rehabilitation centers but to no avail laney o'grady locked herself in her home in 1993 where she became a victim of severe agoraphobia for many years after laney attempted to get help from various other rehab centers but they still didn't work after checking herself into a hospital laney claimed she was sexually assaulted by a member of the staff sadly she didn't have enough evidence to launch a police investigation she attempted to sue the hospital as a result but the world will never learn how the court case would have ended up tragically laney died of an overdose in 2001. laney o'grady's story is a sad one while willie ames was lucky enough to recover lainey's many attempts at rehabilitation simply didn't work her addiction to the very drugs that were supposed to alleviate her anxiety ended up causing her death had she not succumbed to her addiction who knows what amazing things she could have accomplished in her life were you more surprised to learn that lanie o'grady adam rich and susan richardson all succumbed to their addictions or that willie ames was able to overcome his let us know in the comments below and don't forget to subscribe to faxverse for more you

Channel: Facts Verse

Views: 591,644

Keywords: Eight Is Enough Tragic Deaths and a Dark Legacy, facts verse, eight is enough, tragic deaths, a dark legacy, dark legacy, tragic deaths and a dark legacy, eight is enough tragic deaths, and a dark legacy, deaths and a dark legacy, tom braden, joan, joan braden, elizabeth braden, elizabeth, tom braden's daughter, ups and downs, ups and downs of parenthood, struggling through addiction and mental illness, addiction and mental illness

Id: 6KrlGVsTkZ4

Length: 8min 41sec (521 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 25 2020