Eight is Enough

Grant Goodeve is all one needs to know about Eight is Enough.

Did Susan Richardson die? It seems like she was on death's doorstep about 7 years ago, but you never hear anything about her any more. I'm wondering if she passed away and she requested her loved ones to keep quiet about it because of all the bad press she's received. Similar to what Beth Howland did.

AHEM!!

I remember that 2-part episode where Grant Goodeve goes hang-gliding. It was the most boring 2-part episode ever.

Willie Aames had deliciously pert nipples when shirtless on Eight Is Enough. My pre-puberty eyes would be wide open when he'd take his shirt off. One of my first boy crushes.

From what I've heard Betty Buckley was impossible to work with on the show. She did massive amounts of coke and had quite a blowups with cast and crew.

Susan was happy with her trailer life.

R5, you should seek out the movie Paradise, a 1982 Blue Lagoon ripoff. You see a lot more than his perky nips. Sadly most online versions are from a pixelated Japanese DVD that blurs out Willie’s willy.

Triggered.

[quote]Joanie (Laurie Walters) was the actress who was very passionate about her craft. At one point she posed nude in a stage play.

How passionate do you have to be to "pose" nude on stage?

Susan's dog was named "Honey Bunches of Oats"?

That doesn't sound the least bit completely fucking crazy to me.

Lany O’Grady portrayed a burgeoning lesbian as “Mary”.

Good lord what a mess Susan became (though she appears to be alive at age 69). I always liked her on the show and didn't get any 'crazy' vibes. From wikipedia:

On March 15, 1978, Richardson married Michael Virden, and shortly thereafter became pregnant, which was also written into Eight Is Enough. She gave birth to their daughter, Sarah, on February 27, 1980. After her pregnancy, a rumor was spread that Richardson would lose her job if she did not shed her pregnancy weight; she had gained 90 lb (41 kg). Finding it very difficult to slim down by normal means, she started using cocaine. After Eight Is Enough, Richardson suffered a debilitating tailbone injury after doing a concert.[citation needed]

In January 2013, The Huffington Post published a report from a National Enquirer interview with Richardson. She reported she had experienced extremely hard times, living in an unheated trailer with a rotting floor in Wagontown, Pennsylvania, not far from her hometown of Coatesville. Richardson said she had developed diabetes, suffered three mini-strokes, had lost 60 lb (27 kg), and lost her teeth as the result of a digestive condition.[1]

No mention of her being sold into white slavery by some film producer in the 80s?

Mary always had the potential to end up as a lesbian.

R15 I’m convinced Mary was a lez.

I always thought Betty Lynn was lez.

[quote] Susan's dog was named "Honey Bunches of Oats"? That doesn't sound the least bit completely fucking crazy to me.

Me neither.

This is a disappointing thread, I opened it thinking it was about big dicks

One of the biggest campfests of all time was the reunion movie when the kids were coming back to celebrate Tom's 50th birthday, and half the kids had to be in their 40s at the time. Not to mention that one of the sisters (and not the lone pretty one) was a famous international actress.

From the last tv movie, their endings were sad. Elizabeth had a miscarriage and committed suicide. Nancy had gone off the grid and married a hunky farmer(she was ashamed of) and he turned out to be a serial killer. Susan's husband Merle lost his major league baseball career and dumped her and Sandra Sue to run off with Ashley Abbott. Joanie missed out on an Oscar nomination for her French film director husband, Jean-Pierre, with the rest of the family gossiping behind her back that he was obviously gay, and only married her to get American citizenship. And Mary, she lost her medical license for stealing drugs and going into drug dealership with Nicholas.

Adam Rich is on Twitter.

He's cleaned his life up, now enjoys a quiet life out of Hollywood. I think he works as a mental health counselor. He's also a huge democrat, and trashed Ricky Schroeder a couple of weeks back.

That is good to hear about Adam. I thought we would have read about him being found dead behind a dumpster by now.

Didn't Betty Buckley terrorize Adam Rich onset?

Or am I making that up?

Looking back on this show, today I would find anyone with a family of that size just disgusting. Now, seeing episodes again, all the girls look so different it's almost like no one said "they should look related."

Nancy, Mary, Elizabeth, Joannie, Susan looked nothing like each other

Lani O'Grady, as Mary, was a dyke icon. She likely received passionate fan mail from obsessed lesbian fans.

Susan Richardson likely received mail from ex-cons and serial killers.

In real life Joanie was older than Abby. And in real life she finally found a good haircut.

Connie Needham (Elizabeth) had wonderful hair.

She also was on a few episodes of Fame.

How did I not know Ralph Macchio was on Eight is Enough when he was a little boy/adult man?

The arrival of Jeremy infuriated the actresses who played the daughters. Enough pre-teen heartthrobs! Jeremy was akin to Cousin Oliver, Ricky Segall and helped speed EIE to cancellation.

Dianne Kay took Michael Jackson to the hospital when he had his first nose job because no one in his family would take him. She was interviewed the night after he died and told the story to Inside Edition.

Grant Goodeve singing the theme song

Grant Goodeve shaving in his underwear in the first season got me going before I even had the hormones

Grant Goodeve did a speedo scene in a first season episode of "Murder, She Wrote."

As a 12 yr old I had wet dreams of wrestling adam rich.

As a kid I got very confused when Connie Newton became Connie Needham. Had they just been misspelling her name?

Honey Bunches of Oats???!!! I don’t know her.

Connie finally accepted her Judaism R37.

Didn’t Betty want Abby to have a dyke affair with one of the daughters?

Was Dick Van Patten the only cast member not on coke? Was a coke dealer on the production payroll?

R37 Connie got married.

Adam Rich knew where to find the booze and the boys.

Grant Goodeve as David almost didn't happen.

The Eight is Enough pilot episode, starring Mark Hamill as David (and Diana Hyland as the mom):

R32, proof?

Dianne Kay was beautiful

How did this thread not summon the “America’s Sweetheart” troll?

[quote]From what I've heard Betty Buckley was impossible to work with on the show.

I remember a story in the National Enquirer about Betty screaming at poor Adam Rich for not "understanding his motivation" while she was directing an episode.

Lani and Dianne were close friends during and after show.

Hands down the best Betty Lynn post on DL:

[quote]I had a friend who was a company manager at a regional arts center. She said her most bizarre encounter with a star was Buckley. She apparently was insistent on being driven to a local CVS so she could buy some makeup before her evening gig. Standing in one aisle was a Sarah Michelle Gellar cutout, and when Buckley saw it, she took a Sharpie out of her purse and drew a mustache on it! I never could figure out what their connection was but now I know.

Poor Susan...

R37 Connie married the son of director Hal Needham. He was a set designer for the show.

Dianne Kay was known for her kindness and intelligence.

Poor Lani...

Poor Mary my ass!

Eight inches is NOT enough

Of the girls, Laurie Walters appeared nude in The Harrad Experiment (also starring Don Johnson who appeared nude), Lani O' Grady had her top off in Massacre at Central High, Joan Prather did a nude scene in Big Bad Mama and Dianne Kay had a wardrobe malfunction for a paparazzi photo where she had no bra on and her breast was exposed out of her blouse. The photo was published in High Society magazine.

Of the guys, Willie Aames appeared nude in the 1982 film Paradise, Grant Goodeve appeared nude in Take Two (1988), and Brian Patrick Clarke bared all for a Playgirl magazine spread.

Can someone please tell me why,when Diana Hyland died,they just didnt hire another actress(say Stella Stevens or Barbara Eden) to play the mother? The first season of Eight was so good but any role can be recast and the role of Abby seemed strange and very unlikely.The show went downhill after the second season. Betty Buckly has talent, but she was miscast as the kids stepmom.

R57, the producers did not want to replace Diana’s character as she was beloved by cast and crew. They felt it would be a horrible lesson for the kids too. Janis Paige who played Tom’s sister should have moved in and been surrogate mom . The cast adored Paige

[quote] Brian Patrick Clarke bared all for a Playgirl magazine spread.

Link please!

Lani was of course the sister of Don Grady--Robbie of "My Three Sons."

R50 Hard to believe things could get any worse than that, but they have...

R61, she still looks like Susan , unlike these plastic surgery maniacs . I’ve always heard she’s a nice person with a David Lee Roth personality.

If Eight is Enough why did they adopt the Karate Kid?

The book, the TV series is based on is NOTHING like the TV show.

The mother in the book was pissed off when they didn't recast the role and killed her off.

Why did Tom have that huge study that took up like half the downstairs? He could've made that into four bedrooms.

Oh we spend our lives counting pennies and dimes

If we're ever troubled by the change in time

It's spring forward, fall back and a kitchen window still

And eight is enough so 'bortions from now on.

Family Guy's take on "Eight Is Enough"

Mary and Joanie look like spinster sisters of Dick Van Patten by season 3, not like his daughters.

R68 yes! Like she should have been working on “The Recipe”

I don’t remember Elizabeth.

Ernie,, Tommy's friend was butt ugly.

The real father also sounds more interesting than the smiley guy in the TV show.

Fun fact: Actress Susan Richardson was overseas to do a low-budget flick when the "producers" shaved her head & tried to sell her into white slavery!! Who was her agent at the time: The sleazy Sultan of Brunei? She told this scary tale on TV years ago...she managed to escape and get back to USA just in time for those loveable Bradford reunion tv movies 1.Eight Is Enough Wedding, An (1989) 2.Eight Is Enough: A Family Reunion (1987) The "second" Abby was played by the late Mary Frann in tv movie reunion (in a cowl neck sweater of course!)

r71

You got that right. Ernie is probably one of the most unattractive people I've ever seen on television. Receding hairline, helmet hair, chipmunk teeth. UG-LY! Talk about having a face only a mother could love.

Abby and her "lets sit down over a hot mug of tea and talk" shit. Sister loudmouth Mary who was half caveman half pitbull, what a loudmouth hysterical cow. Tommy "Nugent tickets" needed a pop in the head too. I did get a kick out of the Bradfords pet pig Nicholas. Yeah right, Dick Van Patten swept Abby off her feet. What did he do, chew a tree down in front of her with his beaver teeth?

He didn't bare it all, r59

A friend of mine used to work on the MGM lot and told me that during warmer days Lani and Dianne would relieve tension by sunbathing nude on the rooftop of Stage 9 where the show was filmed.

R74 I don't know how he ever got a job on television. I remember that horrible episode where Tom, the dad, tried to help Ernie overcome his alcoholism. Probably the worst episode next to the 2-parter where David goes hang gliding.

Great fantasy r77, I don’t buy it . Top less perhaps.

Did David and Tommy jerk off together?

There were rumors circulating that Dianne used to give blowjobs to the male cast members on the show - Grant, Willie, Brian, Ralph and 2 of the Van Patten brothers.

Not true! Dianne was well liked and respected.

8” is enough in my ass!

They wish, r81. Point your gaze at a certain Broadway diva instead

Tom Bradford had a New York accent- how was that explained away?

In 1978 the cover of MAD magazine did a satire of the show, they called it EIGHT IS TOO MUCH.

I watched for Grant Goodeve and just tolerated the rest.

If I was on set, I would have blown Grant Goodeve until the cows came home.

R81 No BJ's for Dick?

Who would star in a big budget movie sequel reboot?

Mary - Sigourney

Joanie - Meryl

Susan - Julianne, seriously

Nancy - Michelle

Elizabeth- Cher

And Glenn as Abby

I think Willie Ames penis shot from Paradise is a stunt double. He turned down Blue Lagoon because he didn't want to do the nudity.

Doubt he'd do it for this lame ripoff. (and I think I remember him talking about using a double at the time of release.)

I just looked it up. Diana Hyland only did four episodes? So odd they didn't just recast the role.

What was the reason? They thought it would offend the kids in the cast?

Four was enough.

Buckley has an odd relationship with the show.

I've heard her say that it was great like going to acting school for four years.

But then other times she'll say it was awful. She just told Alec Baldwin on his podcast that it was like factory work for an actor. She's also described her career and then says and that show happened! That show. I think she felt it kept her off Broadway where she really wanted to be.

What shows could she have missed out on while on the series?

They're Playing Our Song!

Did anyone else 's city have this in the 80s, around the time images of "Bob Dobson" were getting plastered all over the place? Someone posted a bunch of homemade posters on telephone poles that showed a black and white photo of a smiling Willie Aames captioned, "Willie Aames Says Eat More Meat".

Betty doing a Neil Simon comedy probably wasn't in the cards r95! Her lack of comic ability has been discussed endlessly here.

She would have been good as the wife in Nine. (She recorded the song Be On Your Own. It's quite good.)

R90. What, no "Karen"?! LOL at those era-specific names. They're like American Girl dolls.

The Aames shot in question

The opening to An Eight Is Enough Wedding is hilarious. Lani O'Grady looks like a grandmother.

I liked when the dad had his 50th birthday party for like the fourth time.

R88- That's the type of slim, natural body that was all over the place in the late 1970's. Today almost everyone is either fat, muscular, covered in tattoos or all three.

R100) Funny how Willie’s cock is blurred, but not Phobe’s muff.

I was always fond of Mary's real-life brother, Robbie Douglas.

r103 Racist

r105

He was no Mike Considine

They syndicated episodes I watched growing up always started with the season after he left and they adopted Ernie. I think MeTV might actually play the old black and white episodes.

Shows you what a bad Dad Steve Douglas was - oldest son gets married and is never mentioned again for the remaining 5 or 6 years of the show. Actually, when I caught a few episodes a few years ago it did seem like while Steve was always patient and did not yell, he was pretty aloof and did not really seem to connect with the kids ([probably because the actor came in early and filmed all his scenes for the season separately to shorten his work year).

They were Mormon right? It was understated on the show, but Mormon nonetheless.

I believe the real-life family who the show was based on were Catholic.

Several of the surviving cast members went to Betty B’s opening night of Hello Dolly! in LA and Betty paid a heartfelt tribute to Van Patten when he passed so if there was drama on the set it doesn’t look like there are hard feelings.

The generic Casio opening theme for the reunion movie was hideous! Couldn't they have used the original? And Willie Aames' mullet and his enormous '80s cell phone...oy vey. 🙄

[quote]I was always fond of Mary's real-life brother, Robbie Douglas.

Really? Who knew?

[quote]He was no Mike Considine

TIM Considine (who's still alive, unlike Grady), who played MIKE Douglas.

That very special episode where they find Tommy’s Christmas gift that the mother bought and hid long before Christmas and her death always breaks my heart and I haven’t seen it in four plus decades.

[quote] Several of the surviving cast members went to Betty B’s opening night of Hello Dolly! in LA

They let anyone buy a ticket.

[quote] That very special episode where they find Tommy’s Christmas gift that the mother bought and hid long before Christmas and her death always breaks my heart and I haven’t seen it in four plus decades.

Mary! Bradford

Tommy’s Christmas gift was a butt plug starter kit, which he desperately needed.

Oh good, it’s even more brutal then I remember it. Half the cast is visibly upset and weeping, I think it’s real, because they weren’t that good of actors. Professional Gay Grandpa Will Geer guest stars as a felonious Santa Claus.

And by the by, why didn’t Tom name his first male child after himself, and then did so for the second?

We drove all around LA looking for the park that the Bradford's played touch football and never found it. I believe it was the same park that Lindsay Wagner was filmed running in the opening credits of the Bionic Woman.

It probably the same one they filmed for the opening of Bosom Buddies, that despite the tight shots you can still see palm trees and know it wasn’t filmed in NYC.

I thought they played football outside their house, which is in Studio City, though it was torn down years ago.

Not the first nor the last time I saw Grant Goodeve on all fours. Same expression though.

[quote]Several of the surviving cast members went to Betty B’s opening night of Hello Dolly! in LA

Not a Tampex in the house!

This link includes a photo of the cast at the Hello Dolly premiere, minus Betty who couldn’t be bothered.

Willie Aames found true love, for the 3rd time. He looks good, better than his Celebrity Fit Club appearance in 2008. He should keep his curls cut short.

Asian wife?

I assume Willie is no longer friends with Chachi.

[quote] A friend of mine used to work on the MGM lot and told me that during warmer days Lani and Dianne would relieve tension by sunbathing nude on the rooftop of Stage 9 where the show was filmed.

And just across town at the same time, that's also how Sada Thompson relaxed on the "Family" set.

"I'm off to the roof to warm up the puppies," she would announce boldly to a shocked but secretly titillated Meredith Baxter-Birney and Kristy McNichol, "Care to join me?"

Remember the time they got robbed at Christmas, and the youngest child was going to give each member of the family a pickle but he couldn't and he screamed out "I'm pickle-less"

R128, is Scott lying?! I can’t see Willie doing that

R131 Does a bear shit in the woods?

How is it supposedly possible to blame somebody else for exposing yourself? Did Willie Aames first don a Scott Baio mask to confuse the kid?

I’m not proud to admit I would have eagerly gawked at Scott and Willie’s wangs as a teen.

Did any of the actors fuck?

R134, highly likely...they were all young and good looking...well...most of them. I'm pretty sure Connie Needham and Willie Aames dated at some point during its run, presumably before she got married.

Willie admitted to an out of control crush on Dianne Kay.

I’m fascinated by this show, benign Dick Van Patten leading a band of insane drug addicts. Watching now they all seem a little strange.

I hated the father and the way he overreacted constantly.

Laurie Walters and Grant Goodeve appeared on an ep of Insight with Jeanne Cooper. I always wondered if she got him the job as David after Mark Hamill quit.

Completely agree, r138. I like Dick van Patten, but I loathed the way the father was written. I especially hated when he would say (almost every episode) how something one of the children was doing was "not the Bradford way!"

He always wanted his adult children living under the same roof, which seemed insane to me. There's one episode where three of the older girls (Nancy and Joanie for sure, but maybe also Susan?) move out to live in an apartment together and he's so furious he won't even speak to them for days.

The whole show was usually about someone in the family (usually the dad) not speaking to someone else in the family, and you had to wait for the whole episode for them to work it out.

Tom Bradford had control issues and was possible abusive off screen.

I always assumed Susan Richardson was blacklisted in Hollywood after she got pregnant. they had to rewrite the whole show and add a new character for her husband because of her stupidity in getting pregnant. And it wasn't like when established actresses got pregnant during the runs of the show, and the network would think, "Well, this is awful but we'll make it work because this is a big star"--she was one of the worst actresses among the sisters, so they were extremely nice not to fire her then and there. But they probably remembered how much she cost them in the long run for being an idiot, and so they blacklisted her.

Happens to the best of us. At least I got a bulimia episode down the line.

How did Porky Pig Van Patten produce two out of three hot sons?

R144- He really did sire a good looking ARYAN brood of sons.

Vince Van Patten was so hot.

R146- Is that the son in the back. He was VERY good looking in the late 70's

Nels was always odd looking and did not age well. James and Vincent still look good.

Dianne Kay was lovely

R149- She was literally BEAUTIFUL in the late 1970's but on the reunion movie by the late 1980's her looks had faded considerably.

Lani O'Grady never looked better than when she was on Jenny Jones.

R150 Those godawful hairstyles TV producers gave her, and many of the other girls on the show, aged them considerably.

[quote]Tom Bradford had control issues and was possible abusive off screen.

BIRTH control issues too.

By the third season Lani O Grady's hair was styled like a middle aged woman when she couldn't have been older than 27.

R152- She has OLD LADY hair in that photo.

The natural straight unadorned hair styles of the 1970's were so much more attractive than the permed and frizzy UGLY styles that were ubiquitous by the mid 1980's.

Dianne got too thin in 80’s. She looked gaunt

I was surprised to find out that Timothy Van Patten (Salami from The White Shadow) was Dick's brother and not his son.

R157- Timothy Van Patten was not Dick Van Patten's brother but his cousin.

Hot!

R120 / R121: The Bosom Buddies intro was filmed at Lafayette Park in the MacArthur Park area of the Los Angeles (and just a few blocks from the eponymous park). Also filmed at Lafayette Park: an episode of Charlie's Angels titled "Angel Trap" (Kelly posed as a hot dog cart vendor) and White Men Can't Jump.

I don't know where Lindsay Wagner is jogging in the Bionic Woman intro, but I'm certain that it isn't Lafayette Park. Bionic Woman was filmed at Universal Studios in the Valley. They wouldn't schlep all the way over to Lafayette Park to film five seconds off her jogging in a park. Also: different kind of trees. My guess is that sequence was filmed either at North Hollywood Park (Tujunga Blvd/Magnolia Blvd) or somewhere in Griffith Park.

Magnolia and Tujunga I’m certain

Vince Van Patten appeared in an episode of DL's favorite CAMPY show from the 1970's - Wonder Woman as an alien called the SCRILL. The episode was titled- Mind Stealers From Outer Space it first aired December 1977.

Dianne Kay looks started deteriorating around end of 4 th season . She was under a lot of stress I think . She was sumptuous in first 3 seasons

R164 I'm sure by the 4th season working with a bunch of co-stars dealing with drug and mental health issues was pretty stressful.

Timothy was Dick's half brother according to wikipedia.

R162: Yep, NoHo Park was my first thought, having spent time there. She's jogging north, parallel to the 170, in the late afternoon.

Dianne was one of the cast members who didn’t do drugs .

Timothy van Patten was Joyce van Patten after his transitional surgery.

r163, I never noticed until your photo how bizarre the design of Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman bustier was. That golden design was supposed to look like an eagle, like in the comics, but it looks more like a gigantic dragonfly.

I think lani was secretly in love with Dianne

R148 if they do a re-boot, Caitlyn Jenner can play Mary. Fits.

I still remember being upset as a kid when Dianne Kaye burned to death in the pilot of "Flamingo Road".

R161, do you know where the office building Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari run under in the opening credits are? I've always wondered where some of those spots are. I recognize the parking meter street.

Met Willie Aames at an autograph show a few years ago. He was very nice and still looked good. I had him sign my DVD of Paradise. He looked at it and mentioned of Phoebe Cates, "Oh, the one that got away". I was looking at his face and he looked really sad. It was a nice personal moment.

Anyone know why Kimberly Beck (final girl in Friday Part 4) was fired after the pilot? I'm guessing she was Nancy?

R176 I always wondered why Beck was dropped for Dianne Kay. Kimberly was a sort of 70's minor Kay Lenz- she seemed to be in tons of tv. She did marry a Hilton around the time the show premiered. Later she was fired from the soap Capitol because David Hasselhoff called in a favor to John Conboy(producer) to get his then wife Catherine Hickland the role Beck had originated.

R176, she looked older than 18 and the kid who played tommy in pilot was too wooden and not attractive

Grant Goodeve was so fine. I always wondered why his career didn't go further.

Dianne had a crush on Grant . Her boyfriend at the time was ugly and treated her poorly

We all had crushes on Grant. Even the lesbian!

Dianne and Lani were close friends for decades

From IMDB trivia page:

Grant Goodeve portrayed David, who was the oldest of the Bradford children, but in reality, Susan Richardson (Susan), Laurie Walters (Joanie) and Dianne Kay (Nancy) were older than he.

If you went by the ages of the actual actors, the order of the kids from oldest to youngest would be: Joannie, Susan, Nancy, David, Mary, Elizabeth, Tommy, and Nicholas.

Laurie Walters is actually six months older than Betty Buckley, who plays her stepmother on this series.

Also from IMDB:

[quote] For the first four seasons, the writing staff successfully rotated storylines so that each Bradford was given equal screen time. By the final season, Willie Aames' popularity with adolescent females led his character, Tommy, to be featured in nearly every episode, which explains why regulars Grant Goodeve, Susan Richardson and Lani O'Grady barely figure in the plots. O'Grady's character was the hardest hit, nearly disappearing from the show, while Goodeve became so frustrated by his peripheral presence that he convinced the writers to divorce David and Janet so he could return to the nucleus.

WTF? I watched for hot David and couldn’t stand whining chip-on-his-shoulder middle child Tommy.

So, Laurie was the Andrea of 8 is Enough?

I bet with Willie’s popularity they wish they would have done five boys and three girls instead.

What if Bonnie Franklin and Betty Buckley had traded TV roles?

Bonnie would have given the kids a lot of bra-less hugs…and Betty would have slapped the shit out of MacKenzie Phillips.

Merle the Pearl in 2018.

R187 it doesn't sound like a switch would have been very different on either side.

Janis Paige was excellent as Aunti V

In season 5, Dianne looked so haggard that people wondered if she was sick. I know someone who worked on the set and said Diane’s boyfriend at the time was abusive and had no problem spending her money. Plus right around season four she was in the movie 1941 and in people magazine she made a comment that I think it really hurt her career .- “ I see lots of drugs used in show business, especially cocaine and I am totally against it. But I can’t tell people what to do with their lives.“ This had to infuriate her costars etc

Why didn’t Dick get his sister Joyce to play Aunt Viv?

He wanted her r192, But the producers wanted Paige . I just got done reading Janice page autobiography, and She wrote about after her husband died she started dating a producer on the show she gets starred in the late 70’s . He was a sociopath and caused her much heartache . I wonder if it was eight is enough?

Dianne developed an eating disorder I think from stress

Dianne was not only exquisite, she was known for her kindness and compassion. Willie said she was “ fresh and fun.”

Dianne was in a 1983 sitcom called “Reggie” with Jean Smart (who achieved DL icon status just this year)!

She looks terrible in tat pic. The 80’s hair was dreadful for everyone

I hated the last reunion movie. Hated David’s new bride and fake Abby #2 was only marginally better than Mary Frann. You could already see the Loony Toons in Susan Richardson and Tommy’s mullet pony tail was awful.

[quote] No BJ's for Dick?

No. He declined her offer saying he was happily married, but called up his sons, Vince and Nels, to meet Dianne at her trailer on the studio lot.

Betty looked like a train-wreck on the show. You can tell she was using because her nose was always red and runny and face very thin. She never appeared happy. She was a perfectionist and a stage diva who demanded professionalism on the set. At one point she passed out Stanislavsky acting manuals to the cast members.

R167 Looking at google maps It's possible that Valley Village Park (located just on the other side of the freeway) might have been the park where the Bradford's played football. I know it's the same park that was used for the touch football games played in the movie "Last Married Couple in America"

R177 I wonder if Kimberly Beck and Lani O'Grady knew each other from filming "Massacre at Central High."

This was the film in which Lani appeared topless.

R202 Kimberly is nude in that film as well. She gets to hang around with naked Andrew Stevens and Derrel Maury, the later also guest starred on an episode of "8"

There was talk about producing a Dianne Kay poster during the 70s poster boom (which began with the famous Farrah Fawcett and Cheryl Tiegs posters) but Dianne's agent didn't like the idea and felt it would create conflict among the actresses on the set of EIE, so the poster was given to Adam Rich.

I remember as a kid when Merle the Pearl fell in love with Susan, and I found it 'so romantic'. I think I just had a crush on Merle and didn't realize it.

I was surprised Merle didn't dump Susan for Nancy.

He just should have cycled through marrying and divorcing each sister.

and each brother, R207, since it takes nine people to play ball.

[quote]might have been the park where the Bradford's played football.

Oh, dear.

Dianne's pussy is so wet.

In addition to a nude Lani O’Grady and the original Nancy, “Massacre at Central High” starred cute Ray Underwood as one of the villains. He died of “unknown causes” in his late 30s.

(IMDB also shows that he guest starred on one episode of EiE…so I haven’t strayed toooo off topic.)

r81 I don't really like the idea of anyone blowing Ralph when he looked 8 years old. (Even though he was probably in his mid 20s at the time.)

It’s SKRILL r163!

R204, true story: in the fifth episode they wanted Diane’s character to pose nude for a magazine. This was a publicity ploy as the show became stale and the actors were completely depleted and demoralized. Dianne, who was always the most amenable and nicest cast member , was shocked and outraged. She refused and they were going to fire her on spot . Dick Van Patten came to her defense and basically said if you fire her, you fire me. Dick was a good man .

R204, the producers back then were really sexist and tried to actually create drama between female cast members. Fugly men who resent women and are vengeful.

R211, was Ray gay? Did he die of AIDS ?

Yep r216.

Sad 😞 poor guy

I believe that Grant Goodeve's Eight would be Enough for me.

Laurie, Susan and Lani were militant about the daughters screen time and pay, to the point of jeopardizing their jobs. Van Patten often had to talk them off the ledge. Betty Buckley refused to support them, and felt the 3 characters could easily be written off as having been married/sent to college, etc.

Joanie was the most interesting of the daughters--they seemed to give her more plots than the other ones as time went on.

I felt like they gave almost no personality to either Mary or Elizabeth, other than that Mary was sensible and gave the other children advice, and Elizabeth liked to talk on the telephone.

To me this show is really the biggest ancestor of Seventh Heaven. It had that same sort of idea that in a large white family, family is always everything and you spend every waking moment obsessed with your family. My friends from large families say that's not really so, especially if you're not Catholic.

Buckley can be so tactless. I saw a Broadway video interview on youtube where someone says how hot Grant Goodeve was. Buckley says flat out she preferred Willie Ames and thought he was going to be the next James Dean. So I guess she didn't like Goodeve but why say it?

R119, the Christmas episode was so touching because the cast and crew loved Diana Hyland . Those tears were indeed real. In real life the Braden family,which eie is based on, the oldest son was named David and second son was dad’s namesake .

So was the John Travolta/Diana Hyland love affair real?

Well, I think Dick van Patten once referred on Johnny Carson to Dianne Kay as "You know, the pretty one!", so I think both Tom and Abby were pretty tactless when it came to talking about their "children."

I think they were platonically in love

Hyland had a really long career. Was she known at all before Eight is Enough?

Sort of odd how both of Travolta's great loves died young from breast cancer.

Dianne was too sensitive and kind this business

Travolta seemed truly despondent over Diana . I don’t know how he responded to Kelly. She was rumored to be a very nice person

Diana hyland was a great lady

But r228, I thought Paul Barresi was still alive.

Hyland was quite accomplished (I just read.)

She was in the original Sweet Bird of Youth with Paul Newman and Geraldine Page on Broadway.

I guess I should have said his two "public" loves. r232.

I remember an Oprah episode where it sort of seemed like Travolta and Preston barely saw each other. It was a thin period for him and he was going on about how he'd work out all night starting at 2am with his trainer. SOOOOO he clearly wasn't at home in bed with his wife and mother of his kids.

How many of Travolta’s great loves died young from prostrate cancer?

r235 You can get cancer from lying down?

If a Datalounger had been in charge,the series would have been called "Eight Is Sufficient."

R222- I've gotten the LESBIAN vibe from Betty Buckley for MANY years , so her statements about Willie Aames being hot I take with a grain of salt.

The thing that's CRAZY is that one of the SO CALLED children from Eight Is Enough - Laurie Walters is 74 years old!

R77 & R129 It was actually Richard Anderson who started the trend of nude sunbathing on the studio lot. Word got around and soon several stars were sunning themselves on various studio lots. The Van Patten family were big sun-bathing enthusiasts so I'm sure it was Dick who probably suggested it to the other cast members. Betty was tan-skinned as well as Lani, so I imagine she may have partook in the nude sunbathing as well.

Diana Hyland was on Peyton Place in its last season, playing alcoholic Susan Winter. She was also in one of the creepiest Twilight Zone eps where she sees her younger self on a horse, trying to turn back time and avoid a disastrous marriage.

[quote]It was actually Richard Anderson who started the trend of nude sunbathing on the studio lot.

Richard Anderson? I think you must have meant Richard DEAN Anderson. Two different actors.

R242 Yes, Richard Anderson aka Oscar Goldman.

They really didn't seem to know what to do with most of the daughters. As mentioned above, Joanie was the only one who seemed to have regular storylines and a fully realized character. I think having so many young women so close in age was a problem, which is why on most tv shows featuring children they usually space the kids out age wise and then oftentimes get stuck when the young kids go through puberty and then they usually wind up adding a new younger kid. Writing for multiple young women who are approximately the same age and also related is not easy, especially iwith oh-so thin characterizations used on most tv shows from the 70s. This is especially true in the child actor 'Gremlin' syndrome, wherein a once adorable child hits puberty and turns into a monster over night. Tina Yothers on Family Ties and Jeremy Miller on Growing Pains are two good examples (also see Danny Pintauro, though his castmate Alysa Milano escaped Gremlin syndrome).

Agreed, R244. They based the Bradfords on the Braden family so may have felt pressure to keep the names and ages the same, but you can't write effectively for that many kids who are all the same age.

Eight and no twins?

R244 I think they did a good job characterizing the kids on the show. They all had different personalities and aspirations. I can remember a few standout episodes centered around each daughter. Joanie may have seemed to have a lot of storylines when she took the job at the newsroom, and Susan, of course, had storylines revolving around her marriage and having a kid.

[quote]You can get cancer from lying down?

LIARS GET CANCER!

Diana hyland was one of the first AIDS victims, but they didn't know it at the time, but she had all the symptoms so they wrote it off to cancerr.

I hear that DVP helped Susan out with money when she was down and out.

Does anyone know where Susan Richardson is buried?

Susan Richardson is still alive.

All the actors who played the children on the show are alive except poor Lani o'Grady.

I'm convinced that Susan has passed away and her family is keeping quiet about it.

[quote] It was actually Richard Anderson who started the trend of nude sunbathing on the studio lot.

I totally believe this. The man was an extreme sun worshipper.

Richard Anderson (Oscar Goldman) once dated a pre Slick, Grace Wing Slick in the very early 60's.

I fucking love Lindsay Wagner!

R251 Perhaps that park at Magnolia and Tujunga.

Buckley didn't return for the TV reunion. Mary Frann played the part.

When Van Patten died Buckley was front and center leading the kids at the funeral. (this is the "new" Betty who follows a spiritual path and is now nice supposedly.

[quote]Susan Richardson is still alive.

But her career isn't.

[quote] Buckley didn't return for the TV reunion. Mary Frann played the part.

Which was actually genius casting. They did look alike and had similar voices.

Leslie Jordan called Mary Fran the biggest bitch he ever worked with, so she has that in common with Betty (I can’t remember if Betty was actually a bitch, or just pretentious and difficult on the set of 8 is Enough). Anyway neither one was all sunshine and lollipops.

[quote]Anyway neither one was all sunshine and lollipops.

How about rainbows?

Mary Frann was good pals with Susie Blakely, Joan Van Ark and Valerie Harper. She was a great Abby re-cast - likeable, beautiful and very funny. She and Joan used to do those Thanksgiving Day parades for CBS.

Leslie Jordan probably hit on Mary and she rejected him.

There were 2 reunion movies with 2 different Abbys. Mary Frank did the first one and Sandy Faison the second. And I’m just now connecting the dots that Sandy Faison played Grace Farrell in the original Broadway production of Annie. Take away my gay card

[quote] When Van Patten died Buckley was front and center leading the kids at the funeral.

My Rose moment perhaps - but did she lead them in a procession? a prayer? a hymn?

I love Leslie Jordan on the screen, but in interviews he's made it clear he can be incredibly tetchy.

I just cannot take him seriously as to who is a bitch and who is not--he's the sort to get super-offended if someone is distracted and forgets to say hello to him.

[quote] She and Joan used to do those Thanksgiving Day parades for CBS.

The only thing that's seen more cuts than a Thanksgiving turkey is Joan Van Ark's face.

[quote] My Rose moment perhaps - but did she lead them in a procession? a prayer? a hymn?

She conducted their marching band's performance of the Dead March from "Saul," Rose.

I loved Betty on EiE and had absolutely no idea she was such a bitch until many years later. Between this show and Carrie, I was totally convinced she was a warm, maternal figure in real life!

I feel like Betty probably flashed her tits or beaver while coked up at poor Adam Rich, scarring him and sending him into a life of substance abuse.

r271 Would that be wrong?

R272 Oh, not at all.

R119 I love/miss that body type. I also think this casually athletic build looks best on kind of average-height guys, about 5'10 or 5'11".

What do these Eight is Enough girls do all day long nowadays? Do they have jobs or do they sit around hoping for another reunion movie?

They’re seniors now. Retired or dead.

Dianne Kay married wealthy and never had to work after Eight is Enough.

Dianne lives in the Palisades. She’s doing quite well

R278 NJ or CA?

[quote] Dianne lives in the Palisades. She’s doing quite well

You couldn’t throw me a few shekels, Di baby?

[quote] I feel like Betty probably flashed her tits or beaver while coked up at poor Adam Rich,

I think it's far more likely she would do that to Dianne Kay or Connie Needham.

R280, Dianne Is a sweetheart. Susan has good heart too. BTW, Dianne is Jewish

Adjacent to Malibu r279

I’m gonna assume Betty’s beaver was on equal opportunity display

Betty's sexuality is odd. She's flirtatious with men but seems to have some attraction to butch lesbians too. I don't think she's been in a relationship since her divorce which was around the time of Eight is Enough. (at least I've never heard her mention one.)

It’s true that Richard Anderson was an ardent sun worshipper. He’d tan whenever he could on the set. I’ve NEVER heard about him sunbathing nude though, at least at work. He notoriously didn’t wear socks when he was working. Apparently there’s an episode of THE BIONIC WOMAN where he’s walking and you can notice this.

R282- I didn't know Dianne Kaye was Jewish. I thought Adam Rich was Jewish.

Betty was attracted to Dianne K.

R288- I was debating if Connie Newton was as pretty as Dianne Kaye on Eight Is Enough- No, she wasn't . Dianne was VERY pretty in the late 70's and not even Connie was in the same league as her so I don't blame BB for being HOT in the pants for her.

Oh, if only I had a drone circa '77, when Richard Anderson was out in the open on the studio roof ...

I always thought Laurie Walters looked and sounded like Barbra Streisand, especially when she got that perm.

Susan Richardson looked hideous in the reunion movie. That wig, the bow in her hair, and those acid wash jeans tucked into her dirty looking socks.

The second Eight is Enough reunion movies was one of the worst ever. I love watching this intro, especially when Joanie steps out of her limo. So awful.

R293- Lani O Grady has such a FRAU hairdo when she gets out of the car.

R293- You're funny. You say I LOVE this intro.... It's AWFUL

Those late 80's hairstyles were HIDEOUS.

Murdered hair of the 80’s. This Rob men and women of their youth as far as I’m concerned

Susan is a good soul

R293 and R294 meet R101.

R293 Check out Tommy stylin' with his mullet and car phone.

Adam Rich was cute as a little eight year old but here he looks like a DWARF.

This must've been produced by the same people who did the 80s reboot "The Bradys," The entire family is all so unrealistically well-adjusted and successful.

R297. Susan is a fucking nut job. I remember her story of being sold into slavery and how she escaped. She really let the drugs get the best of her. I think that her health problems were the results of all the drugs she was doing. No one to blame but herself.

R301- That's how they presented the kids on The Cosby Show- ALL of them were so trendy, contemporary and HAPPY GO LUCKY. It all rubbed me the wrong way.

R302 She is. Check out the video at R50

When he was very young my brother though Lani O’Grady and Jamie Lee Curtis were the same person. I guess I can kind of see it. They did sport similar hairstyles in the 70s

I wonder what Dianne Kaye is doing right now.

R292- The WORST hair style by far is Willie Aames- It looks like a RATS NEST.

Susan trying to be a country singer, she just "fell into the TV thing". Why the fuck doesn't she have any money?

R305 Late 70's Laurie Strode style was all the rage among more studious girls.

[quote] Why the fuck doesn't she have any money?

Dianne Kay said in an interview that Susan blew all her money on dolls and antiques.

Dianne also mentioned how creative Susan was with arts and crafts

Why do they all have briefcases in that reunion intro? Who's getting married?

How’s come musical prodigy Grant Goodeve didn’t write lyrics for the reunion movies intros, they could have really used it?

R312, I believe they all bought shares in the newspaper Tom Bradford worked for (and eventually bought) and were getting together for a board meeting.

More like a bored meeting, am I right?

From those opening credits of the movie, I thinking there is a possibility that David did not get married to the woman he was engaged to but possibly reconciled with Janet, but sadly cannot find a plot summary for it.

Um, try IMDB r316.

"This second made-for-television reunion film finds eldest son David on the brink of marriage to a divorcee. However, some of his sisters would prefer to see a reunion with his ex-wife Janet."

I don’t know about the others, but Tommy had a kilo of blow in his briefcase and it was too risky to leave it in the car.

R318- I don't know about his character on the show but in real life he was a MAJOR drug addict.

Did Willie Aames and Scott Baio ever hook up?

The IMBD does have a plot summary , but neither that or the handful of reviews tells the end of the movie. Although from reading one of the reviews, I am now leaning towards the marries the new woman, because their is a description of the sisters having misconceptions of her. She also has two kids, and it seems less likely that he is going to leave a woman with two kids he has bonded with at the alter.

So will Tom have himself buried in the middle the first wife on one side and Abby on the other?

Mary Bradford came across as such a dyke.

Dianne looked awful in the reunion movies

Yeah, that perm and hair color did her no favors. Connie looked great.

The DVDs are way overpriced, and it isn't streaming anywhere.

I own them on DVD but I don't think I watched passed the first season. This thread makes me want to dust them off. And you're right, R326, they are way overpriced.

R317 So why does the ENTIRE family need to be present for that? It's not as if they're reading a will.

and to think Joanie flew in from Paris for this.

[quote] From those opening credits of the movie, I thinking there is a possibility that David did not get married to the woman he was engaged to but possibly reconciled with Janet

I hate to break it to you but skip to the end of this (around the 149:00 minute mark) and you’ll see that not only does David marry the bitch, Janet even attends as a wedding guest!

You can also see one of the Van Patten boys playing fake Merle!

Tommy shows up at the end to make peace with his dad, before playing a heavy metal version of the wedding march!

And finally the Casio score returns to bring this shitshow to a climactic end!

[quote] Dianne looked awful in the reunion movies

They all did.

It's as if the show's hairstylist and wardrobe department were dressing the female cast for a ladies tea at the senior home.

R329 That clip would have been funny if they cut to Joanie signing autographs for wedding guests.

R324 Warner Archives should release the 2 reunion movies.

There was speculation on some of the eight is enough boards of why Diane K had such a bad transformation. Some surmised that she was deliberately trying to ugly her self toward off creepy men or an eating disorder. Poor thing

There are EIE boards?

[quote] Some surmised that she was deliberately trying to ugly her self

I don't think there was ever a time when Dianne looked ugly. Tacky, maybe, but never ugly.

She went from super hot , to gaunt and tacky in dress . I saw some publicity photos of her during that period and she seem to cover up a lot of layers of clothing too

Willie didn't come fully into his own as a cock-hungry bottom until "Paradise". I wonder if Christopher Atkins gave him any tips about presenting his ass.

Is Dianne currently the wealthiest of all the kids (Ralph Macchio doesn’t count).

I wonder who Connie made out after her divorce from the son of Hal Needham.

Eight Is Enough is BETTER than Friends

Dianne is happy and healthy enjoying her ocean view.

Babes and baby

Attractive pictures of true happiness r 341

That baby is almost as big as TV's Sweetheart.

I like long hair , but hair down to butt has always been off putting to me .

Dick Van Patten discusses the show.

These threads are hysterical.

I remember as a kid watching this show & I was jealous of their close family life, playing touch football, etc. My parents has 3 kids & acted as if they were on the verge of murder/suicide of the entire family.

Yeah, r346. Eight is Enough threads pop up here all the time. It’s a 40 year old family drama (I guess it was a comedy-drama hybrid really). It was my favorite show when I was a kid and I envied the big family dynamic too. I don’t think it would be as remembered here as much if Betty wasn’t in it. Or Susan. Or Lani. Or Grant and Willie.

Willie Aames shirtless on the show made my teenage heart beat faster.

When it comes to threads devoted to this show, 800 aren't enough!

Of the kids (not including Ralph), Grant Goodeve has had the best showbiz career. In addition to acting work he hosted a travel show for many years.

Grant is still good looking❤️. Willie is a cruise director on a major cruise line sailing the world in luxury . A real dream job

R340 How do you know she has an ocean view?

Both Grant and Willie were born again Christians at some point. Willie was living in Kansas and working as Bible Man at some point in the 90s.

R344- TITS and TWATS have also ALWAYS been off putting to you.

R352, she lives in Pacific Palisades . She has said this .

r344 Oh, fuck off!

What was the deal with the real life guy's son fell out the back of the car and became a vegetable?

Someone posted it on a prior EiE thread.

Lani's tit-tays...

If you're into that sort of thing.

Lani was a very sensitive, gentle soul who was quite nurturing.

Lani was a lez.

Connie Needham was a poor man's Valerie Bertinelli.

Adam Rich really did look like fatty Van Patten's son.

Here's a link to a page with some sexy and nude photos of Grant Goodeve.

Remember when Adam Rich was supposedly going to pose for Playgirl?

Adam’s Twitter.

R364 He decided to go into drug rehab instead.

Rare shot of the pilot episode before cast changes.

I think it's great that Adam is open about his mental health issues and has overcome so many obstacles in life. Good for him.

R364 It was Brian Patrick Clarke who posed for Playgirl.

He didn’t pose naked, r369

Who would want to sleep with Dick Van Patton once let alone eight times?

R367- What is Blair's cousin doing on Eight Is Enough?

R367- That woman is TOTALLY Jeri Jewell.

Susan in 2016.

Maybe Adam Rich needs to consult Ernie.

The EiE house is dead to me!

R367 was Laurie Walters originally cast as Grandma Bradford?

[quote] Willie is a cruise director on a major cruise line sailing the world in luxury . A real dream job.

Sure, Jan.

Merle was hot!

R379 Is Susan on her knees ready to blow him in that shot?

We taught big sis a thing or two, r380.

R367 I could just imagine how awkward the show would have been if they'd kept Geri Jewell.

Was Tom Bradford a control freak who ruled his daughters like the Taliban, or were they just lazy bitches. The daughters didn’t have their own cars, didn’t move out, didn’t work, so they were completely reliant on their dad.

R383 All of them were going to school/college. Nancy was the only one who wasn't and worked at a number of shitty jobs.

r384

Which was stupid, she could've been a government worker the show being set in Sacramento

R384 Nancy may have been the pretty one, but definitely not the smart one.

But she wasn’t the dykey one Mary

Fun fact:

Character actress, Lin Shaye, guest starred on EIE. I don't know if you remember the episode where they put the house up for sale and a punk band came to look at it, but Lin was the punk chick in black. Lin is best known today for the Insidious films.

Lani O'Grady got scalded by Susan Dey in " A Kage Without a Cey"

[quote]I was debating if Connie Newton was as pretty as Dianne Kaye

Dianne was prettier but Connie had a much better ass.

[quote]He always wanted his adult children living under the same roof, which seemed insane to me

Well duh??? If three of them left, Tom would have to get Abby pregnant three more times, to keep the title, just like Steve had to adopt Ernie.

[quote]Was Tom Bradford a control freak who ruled his daughters like the Taliban, or were they just lazy bitches. The daughters didn’t have their own cars, didn’t move out, didn’t work, so they were completely reliant on their dad.

Tom was that classic TV dad that guided his kids & watched over them until Mr. Right could come along & take over the job of watching over the little misses. Dads in real life want you out of the house and off the gravy train asap, so Tom was like "80s Dream Dad"

Dianne gave better head.

from ugliest

Nicholas, Mary, Joni, Susan, Elizabeth, Nancy, Jeremy, Tommy, David

One of the reasons they kept everyone under one roof was to cut the cost and hassle of building more sets.

I was the prettiest one.

r396

No, you were not one of them, NOT EVER

What about Merle?? He was the hot one with an old man’s name.

Auntie V's hair smelled like stale cigarettes.

Tom liked to refer to the girls as his Private Pussy Reserve.

Reunion photo including Betty.

What was the chronological order of the kids supposed to be, I remember that David was the oldest, and Mary was the oldest girl, while Elizabeth was the youngest girl, but not sure about the three other women, something like: David, Mary, Joanie, Susan, Nancy, Elizabeth, Tommy and Nicholas, I think. But I can't remember if Susan or Nancy was older. Also what was Elizabeth's character trait, David was 'the oldest', Mary was 'the smart one', Joanie was 'the actress', Susan was 'the tomboy/jock', Nancy was 'the pretty one', Tommy was 'the wayward one', and Nicholas was 'the baby'. I have no idea what Elizabeth's schtick was supposed to be, except maybe the 'one on the phone all the time'? That's a pretty lame character trait (well, they all are, but at least there's some room for exploration with the other ones).

R401) Who’s supposed to be the gray haired guy on the right? Merle?

Wow, that picture at R401; Dick Van Patten must be relieved he's dead & didn't have to be part of that mess

But I'm glad the guy that played Nicholas got his act together since I remember a time when he was hot mess

R382- That really is Jeri Jewell? I was MOSTLY just kidding.

Joanie’s LinkedIn.

Not many people know about it, but Lucy was supposed to play the mother, but, well, Gary....

Laurie Walters really seems like a nice person. In real life her husband was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. This was only about two years ago. That's sad. Although the pic of him and Laurie I just viewed he looks gay.

Jeri turned out to be a real life lesbian! What were they putting in the water of female comics at the end of the 20th century?

Grant bared his fine ass in a B-movie thriller from 1987 called “Take Two”. Screenshots included in the link below.

R410 Did he have such a dump truck ass that it required two takes?

“Geri” is actually the young actor who played Tommy in the pilot episode.

I guess I'm gullible because I thought that was REAL.

I had 3 older sisters who all worked, bought their own cars and moved out. I was one of 6. The Bradford girls had to whine to Daddy for money to get a pizza. My sisters thought they were pretty pathetic. Elizabeth was the worst. Tommy was a year younger, worked, had a van and Elizabeth did nothing.

R401 That's not Merle. I think it may be the guy who interviewed them.

R409 In her book "I'm walking as Straight as I can" Geri talks about living with Lisa Whelchel and how Lisa walked in on her while she was eating pussy.

R408 That's really sad. I didn't know that. I hope Laurie is doing ok. I've always liked her.

R402 Never Try Eating Nectarines Since Juice May Dispense.

R401, Connie looks youthful. Dianne looks good, very content .

R388, that’s Janis Paige. The cast adored her

[quote]Laurie Walters really seems like a nice person. In real life her husband was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver.

Hey shit happens, get over it.

[quote]the 'one on the phone all the time'? That's a pretty lame character trait

Yeah? Well fuck you.

[quote]that’s Janis Paige. The cast adored her

Why doesn't that job stealing cunt just die already

Tommy/Nicholas/Jeremy (Bedroom 1)

Nancy/Elizabeth (Bedroom 2)

Joni/Susan (Bedroom 3)

Mary/David (Bedroom 4)

Tom (Bedroom and huge den that takes up half the downstairs)

Who farted the most? My guess is Mary. Lani seemed to be gassy.

Mary and David shared a bedroom?? I thought David moved out in pretty much the first episode.

R424 Do you remember when Elizabeth started hanging out with that crazy new age dance instructor and she removed the bedroom door and put up beads?

[quote] Mary and David shared a bedroom??

Mary moved in after David moved out.

Joanie was relieved to not have to be woken up by the sound of Mary's vibrator.

Lani was most likely gay, but deeply closeted and I believe that is what caused her severe anxiety. Drugs and alcohol kill anxiety, and she became dependent on benzodiazepines and booze . Lani was a GOOD person and very nurturing. She was vulnerable.

R401 Dianne has really let herself go.

Dianne is sublime

I remember when Entertainment Tonight did a story on Lani back in the 90s. She was working at a mall kiosk and she said that not a day went by when she wasn’t recognized and strangers would come up to her all the time and ask for a hug. It was all presented as her having come back from hard times, but I remember thinking how that must have absolutely sucked.

R429 Everyone assumed Lani was a lesbian because she had a low voice. She never pinged for me the same was Kristy McNichol or Jodie Foster did back in the day. Also, if she were, I don't think that would have been the cause of her anxiety. Most of the cast was open-minded enough that it wouldn't matter, and she's from a showbiz family. I'm pretty sure the working conditions and the stress on the set were enough to cause her anxiety.

It's funny how Dick Van Patten (in the videoclip above) is so positive about the working conditions on the show and that everybody got along. I've heard so much otherwise from various others who were either on the show or crew. About half of them were doing drugs.

I think Lani regretted baring her breasts in the movie she made before EIE.

Jeremy was even a bigger asshole than Tommy.

[quote] She was working at a mall kiosk and she said that not a day went by when she wasn’t recognized and strangers would come up to her all the time and ask for a hug.

Most likely it was part of her rehab program. A lot of times they recommend taking any job to help get your life back in order.

Laurie’s testimony.

R408 is right about the husband - there’s a plate of homemade wishes on the kitchen window sill…and he’s definitely smelling them in this picture.

R433 is a naive dum fuck

R438 He is very handsome.

R438, I hope the wasted driver gets 30 years.

Lani O Grady was married three times.

Laurie’s statement to her hubby’s killer by driving loaded were very powerful. She was very gentle in my opinion.

R442, nope

Lani said she started getting panic attacks while filming EIE and took xanax or some similar drug that is highly addictive. My friend who lived in LA said that in the 1990s she was always offering acting classes in the trades.

R444 yes.

Lani’s acting specialty was looking anxious and uptight .

The neighbor who discovered Lani dead in her trailer was former child actress, Kathy Coleman, who played Holly in TVs "Land of the Lost."

Did Brian Patrick Clarke pose for this painting?

R438- THAT is the photo I was referring to that her husband looks like a queen ( gay).

R447, Lani and Laurie hair style was atrocious

R450, beard/ merkin marriage of super close platonic marriage ? Read Laurie’s court testimony

Here is the Playgirl centerfold in question

My mom wouldn’t let me watch the show because she felt MARY was a lesbian.

Your mom was a bigot r454 . That’s really sad .I’m wondering if Lonnie went through that her whole life and her mom was a Hollywood agent, she’s probably a very tough woman . I don’t know how much nurturing she got .

Was R76 wrong or is the BPC nude above a fake?

R455 Lani grew up in a tough Italian household, probably Catholic too. She probably had to repress her lesbian tendencies.

Lani's mother looks like a mean woman.

R456 Nobody is ever wrong on DL. Everything you read here is true.

I believe Lani is her only daughter too. Poor Lani

Brian Patrick Clarke’s homely son.

Brian Is in his late 60’s and he has a college age kid?

His wife is former Olympic gymnast, Kathy Johnson, who I believe is in her early 60s, so change of life baby

I wonder if any of the EIE girls diddled themselves to Brian's nude centerfold.

Which of the daughters do you think received the most fan mail during the show's run?

Dianne, hands down . She was pretty and enthralling

the nudes of Brian Patrick Clarke are all fake. He just posed shirtless in Playgirl like lots of Soap stars did in that era.

I worked at CBS as a page in 1990. Awful job. The soap opera people were just terrible. He was the nicest. Would actually say hello if he passed you in the hall. Others didn't. (Darlene Cates and Eric Braeden!!! were the worst.)

How much fucking shampoo did those Bradford girls use? And only one bathroom to share?? No wonder David flew the coop.

Robbie Douglas had nothing but complementary things to say of both his TV and real life families.

So obviously Lani is the problem.

R467 Were they Breck girls? Maybe they should have gotten sponsorship for some shampoo, but Tom would never have allowed it to be Body on Tap.

David didn't have his own room. He and Mary would have had to share it or else there would be too many people in one room. In the pilot episode he already moved out of the home.

Did David and Merle ever hook up? If so, who was the top and who was the bottom?

David was the top

Merle the bottom

[quote] Which of the daughters do you think received the most fan mail during the show's run?

I'm sure they got tons of letters from kids and teens who were inspired by their characters on the show. I wonder how many girls enrolled in med school because of Mary or became dancers because of Elizabeth.

R472 Considering how short Grant Goodeve is I'd say he was the bottom.

I inspired lots of fans to lace up their first pair of roller skates!

Suze, We're concerned! We need an update!

I heard rumors that Dianne and Lani lezzed out during original run

R477 There has been speculation. I think they had a close relationship and that Lani probably wanted to take it further. Dianne was a knockout and that combined with her gentle nature probably stirred a lot of sexual and emotional feelings within Lani.

[quote] Were they Breck girls?

I vaguely remember seeing Dianne Kay in a Breck Shampoo magazine ad.

Connie Newton was the Noxzema girl.

Were they “bright and shiny” because of all the blow on set?

Lani O’Grady received and unspecified number of letters from midwestern lesbians who were nspired inspired by her sincere portrayal of a young lesbian woman living in late 70s Calicut.

I was the spokesperson for KIWI shoe polish!

R478- and Betty

R483- She's dressed so TRASHY in that photo with her TACKY stone washed jeans and her PUFFY white sneakers.

R485 Not to mention that Goldilocks wig.

Dick Van Patten was the spokesman for Ivory Snow

Susan’s daughter

The late Greta Garbo was a huge fan of Joannie, I read somewhere.

The heirs of Marcel Proust have said that he would have been a huge fan of Susan Richardson...

Noxema had the most foul smell. Has it been banned as a petroleum byproduct now? We used it for sunburns in the 1970s.

It's awful, R491, and totally clogs your pores while claiming to remove oil and makeup.

Noxema is the best!

Grant Goodeve is short? Well there goes my everything! Now he just reminds me of George Thorogood.

[quote]Noxema is the best!

[quote]Noxema had the most foul smell.

Oh Dear!!!

Noxzema contains: camphor, menthol, eucalyptus, linseed oil, and soybean oil.

It's Noxzema, because it KNOCKS ECZEMA -- get it?

[quote]Dick Van Patten was the spokesman for Ivory Snow

He was no Marilyn Chambers.

Dianne Kay beat kidney cancer . She was sick for several years and the doctors were mis diagnosing her, and she listened to her gut feeling and went to another doctor and they found a tumor on her kidney. If she had waited one more month , the cancer would have spread out to other organs. She suffered and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia after doctors couldn’t find what was really wrong with her. She was so lucky . She had a kidney removed and is now healthy thank God

Is Dianne Kay on her way to becoming a full fledged DL icon?

No chance: Kay can't sing or dance. Some icon.

Somebody claiming to be Dianne Kay posted once in an EiE thread. It was short but sweet, she answered a question somebody had asked about her then said something like "the things you find when you Google yourself! You're all so funny. Bye!" Some people responded to her but she didn't post again, if I recall correctly.

Of course I don't remember which EiE thread, just that it happened a few years ago.

r502

Someone obviously lied.

r501

He is thinking of DANNY KAYE

[quote] She suffered and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia after doctors couldn’t find what was really wrong with her.

Lois) You sit here all day and don't help, while I have fibromyalgia

Brian) You don't have fibromyalgia

Lois) NO ONE DOES.

Dianne Kay would have made the perfect Jane Bennet in “Pride and Prejudice”. The pretty, kind hearted, but not terribly interesting older sister of the main protagonist, Elizabeth.

[quote]Is Dianne Kay on her way to becoming a full fledged DL icon?

Not unless she was molested.

Or likes the color blue.

I'm watching I Claudias on Amazon. Sian Phillips looks like Betty Buckley.

r506 I like how you think. What about the rest of the sisters in P&P? Elizabeth = Lydia, Joannie = Elizabeth, Susan = Kitty, Mary = Mary? Aunt V = Lady Catherine? Abby = Miss Bingley?

Why the fuck am I Kitty??!? I have half a mind to pull out this IV from my stomach and strangle you with it, r510!!!

R511 sorry you are right. Susan = Lydia and Elizabeth = Kitty.

How about a Golden Girls reboot:

Dorothy - Laurie Walters

Sophie - Betty Buckley

Blanche - Dianne Kay

Rose - Susan Richardson

Lani O'Grady could still play Sofia

r513

Coco - Willie Aames

R506 or Meg March

What is it with the older sister always being prettier and blander...

R514, she'd have to do it from the grave.

What the fuck do "homemade wishes" taste like, and how the fuck do you bake them?

With a half a cup of sunshine of course.

I had to wash the “homemade wishes” from Tommy’s bedsheets at least every other day!

I have concerns if it's over six inches.

r517

And she'd still be a good Sofia

I wouldn't leave a plate of homemade wishes on the kitchen window sill in this day in age. An open window is an invitation for burglers, and anything edible can attract bears.

They need a good old fashioned pie safe to keep those platefuls of homemade wishes from walking, I’ve heard Yogi and Boo Boo have been sniffing around their window sills as well looking for a little somethin’ somethin’.

Wouldn't it have been great if the original Bradford house was still around and HGTV produced an Eight is Enough renovation show like they did for The Brady Bunch?

R525, what happened to that house? Was it razed?

R526 Yes...

Tom Bradford was insatiable in the sack! More like eight is all we know about!

David’s “wanna have one last fuck before we’re hitched” look at Merle in this scene!

It would have been exciting if an illegitimate child had show up from one of Tom’s old newsroom flings at some point in the story. They could have even killed off one of the daughters to keep it to eight children.

R530 Had this been a Netflix or HBO series the possibilities would've been endless.

The should reboot the show. Maybe even have Dianne Kay in a comeback role as Auntie V.

R532 or Laurie Walters reprise her role as Joanie, only now she's an eccentric old Norma Desmond-like stage queen.

Joan Braden (the basis for Diana Hyland’s character) was a tramp. She tried to fuck Bobby Kennedy after JFK died when he was still Attorney General. And Katherine Graham said of her in her memoir that Joan had “a strange hold on men,” so she probably fucked her husband.

I wonder if Mary had any true tender moments with Joanie or Abby?

[quote] Laurie Walters reprise her role as Joanie, only now she's an eccentric old Norma Desmond-like stage queen.

Ready for my close-up!

Susan and Merle live out of their trailer parked in the Bradford driveway. Daughter, Sandra Sue, is now a topless dancer working at the old Sacramento porn theatre which has now been revamped into a swanky gentlemen's club.

Thanks R527. That was a good read. I love when people do deep investigation into old houses. This was fun.

More about Joan Braden from this review of her 1990 memoir. She fucked McNamara and possibly Kissinger and Nelson Rockefeller. They had an open marriage. And one of the daughters had an abortion.

They should remake the show and put it on HBO with nudity and wife swapping.

I forgot they named the daughter Sandra Sue! Yep, she definitely worked the pole.

[quote] They should reboot the show. Maybe even have Dianne Kay in a comeback role as Auntie V.

Please, if it was rebooted the premise would be a mixed race liberal couple adopt eight kids - black (2), white, latino, asian, indian, trans and a cripple.

Wasn’t Seven Heaven basically the same show with one less child and a pedo dad?

There was one ep where David - after his divorce - moves into a swinging singles complex. He's at the pool lounging, in little red (maybe gym shorts) bathing suit, with beautiful feet. Grant was so hot.

r541

They did this and it was called "Mulligan's Stew" with Elinor Donahue and the first lez from the first year of the "Facts of Life" and Tracey Partridge.

"Apple's Way" was another Eight is Enough knockoff.

[quote] Please, if it was rebooted the premise would be a mixed race liberal couple adopt eight kids - black (2), white, latino, asian, indian, trans and a cripple.

Then we'll call it "Eight is Enough: The New Generation." Anything to bring back the original cast.

Apples Way was BEFORE EIE, but it did include Vinnie Van Patten, son of Dick. Always thought that Lorimar Waltons vibe was what EIE was supposed to be, in so called modern times. The EIE daughters were not as industrious as Mary Ellen, Erin etc.

A friend who worked on the MGM lot told me that when Susan would get really hopped up on coke she'd get really flirty and go around giving melvins to the guys on the set. She attempted to do this to Vince Van Patten when he was guest on the show, only he wasn't wearing any underpants, so she ended up pantsing him instead - right in front of the cast and crew.

Pretty Dianne Kay.

Was Dianne Kay too old at the point that Star 80 and that TV movie with Jamie Lee Curtis was made, she seems like she would have been a shoo in to play Dorothy Stratten, based on that TV Guide cover alone?

Mr. Fosse asked me to play Dorothy in "Star 80", but I wanted to give Mariel a chance to shine in the spotlight!

She looks like a raging coked up lunatic I’m r551’s photo. I’d like to have Susan and Brenda Dickson doing a panel discussion about Hollywood, it would be wild.

R549 Interesting interview with Dianne (I just read the whole article in that ebay listing). At the end it said she would be open to a sexy scene in good taste.

So the death toll is now 3? Dick, Diana, Lani - or am I forgetting someone?

Three is enough, R554.

[quote]So the death toll is now 3?

And the careers of the rest of them.