Who is Adam Rich and what happened to him?
Adam Rich was born in Brooklyn, New York City USA, on 12 October 1968 – his zodiac sign is Libra and he holds American nationality. He is a former actor, who is perhaps still best known for his portrayal of Nicholas Bradford in the family comedy drama series “Eight is Enough”, created by William Blinn and which starred Dick Van Patten (his father), Lani O’Grady and Connie Needham. The series follows a husband and wife as they are raising their eight children, and won six awards plus being nominated for eight others including two Primetime Emmys during its airing from 1977 to 1981. For his performance, Adam won two Young Artist Awards for Best Juvenile Actor in a TV Series or Special, and Best Young Actor in a Television Series in 1980 and 1981 respectively.
He retired from acting in the late 2010s and has since been staying away from the media’s attention.
Childhood and education
Adam was raised alongside his younger brother by their father who was a TV personality, and their mother who was a nurse at a local hospital – the family moved to Granada Hills in California after Adam won his first role in 1976.
Adam became physically active while attending elementary school, as he played baseball and football, and also enjoyed skateboarding and riding his bicycle. He then enrolled at Chatsworth High School, and began using marijuana on a daily basis, Adam dropped out before matriculation, and at the age of 21 nearly died after overdosing with Valium. To this day, Adam hasn’t matriculated from high school.
Roles in TV series
Adam made his debut TV series appearance in 1976, when he guest starred as Bob in the episode “A Bionic Christmas Carol” of the action adventure crime series “The Six Million Dollar Man”, then in 1979 he appeared in a single episode of the romantic comedy drama “The Love Boat”, portraying Brian Phillips.
The year 1980 saw Adam star as Nicholas Bradford in a single episode of the family series “3-2-1 Contact”, and then appear in two episodes of the adventure comedy drama “Fantasy Island”. In 1982, he had an opportunity to star in two episodes of the critically acclaimed crime mystery drama “CHiPs”, which starred Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox and follows the lives of two California Highway Patrol officers.
Adam went on to star as Danny Blake in the action adventure drama “Code Red” which also starred Lorne Greene and Andrew Stevens, and is about the wife and children of a Los Angeles Fire Department Battalion Chief – for his performance, Adam was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor in a Drama Series in 1983.
He next appeared in the episode “The Zertigo Diamond Caper” of the drama “CBS Children’s Mystery Theatre”, and two episodes of the western comedy “Gun Shy” before being invited to voice the lead character Presto the Magician in the animated adventure comedy “Dungeons & Dragons”.
Three of Adam’s final roles in TV series before he retired from acting were in the episode “Rick Moves Out” of the family comedy “Silver Spoons” in 1986, the episodes “The Gang’s All Here” and “Chewed Out” of the science fiction family comedy “Small Wonder” in 1988, and the episode “Sky Rider” of the critically acclaimed action adventure series “Baywatch” in 1993.
Roles in movies
Adam made his debut film appearance in 1977, when invited to portray Donnie Collins in the crime drama movie “The City” which was written by John Wilder, directed by Harvey Hart, and starred Robert Forster, Don Johnston and Ward Costello. The story follows two detectives who are trying to catch a wanted criminal.
In 1979, Adam voiced Tukiki in the short animated family film “Tukiki and His Search for a Merry Christmas”, and two years later appeared as Toby Hart in the comedy fantasy film “The Devil and Max Devlin”, which starred Bill Cosby and Elliott Gould. The year 1986 saw him star in the family film “Drug Free Kids: A Parents’ Guide” while the following year saw him play one of the lead characters, Nicholas Bradford in the comedy film “Eight is Enough: A Family Reunion”.
Three of Adam’s final roles in movies before retiring from acting were in the comedy “An Eight Is Enough Wedding” in 1989, the 1996 action fantasy horror “Goosebumps Audiobook – Deep Trouble” in which he voiced Billy Deep, and the comedy “Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star” in 2003.
TV show appearances
Adam has appeared in many TV shows and documentaries – one of his first notable performances was in “Grease Day USA” in 1978. He then guest-starred in two episodes of the talk show “Dinah!”, and then went on to appear in several other talk shows, such as “Kids Are People, Too” and “The Mike Douglas Show” in 1979.
In 1980, Adam competed in the popular game show “All-Star Family Feud Special” and then went on to appear in two TV special documentaries “Circus of the Stars #7” and “George Carlin: Playin’ with Your Head”.
Three of his final appearances in TV shows were in the documentaries “Entertainment Tonight Presents: TV’s Greatest Scandals” and “Biography” in 2000 and 2001 respectively, as well as “Entertainment Tonight” in 2009.
Problems with the authorities
In 1991, Adam was caught trying to rob a pharmacy and was arrested – five years later, he planned a media hoax, and the magazine “Might” published an article about his death, while American writer Dave Eggers later wrote about the hoax in his book “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius”.
By 2002, Adam was part of at least three different drug rehab programs, but srill by the end of the year he was arrested for driving while intoxicated. He has been staying away from the media’s attention for years now, but its believed that he is still drinking and using drugs.
Nicholas ( Adam Rich ) 😊
Posted by La Famiglia Bradford – Eight is Enough on Wednesday, 11 December 2019
Love life and wife
Adam doesn’t like to share the details of his love life with the public, but has been seen with various women on many occasions, and it is widely believed that he is a womanizer. Not long after the media hoax about his death ended, there were rumors circulating the internet about how he was dating his long-term girlfriend, and how the two were planning on marrying, however, Adam hasn’t married the girl.
As of September 2020, he is single, hasn’t married and doesn’t have children.
Hobbies and other interests
Adam was physically very active during his teenage years, as he played football and tennis and was an avid swimmer, while he also had several training sessions at the gym each week.
He likes acting even today but has stated that he doesn’t like fame, which is supposedly why he’s decided not to be part of the film industry.
He has his own favorite actors and actresses, some of whom are Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Natalie Portman, and a few of his favorite movies are “Scarface”, “The Sleepers” and “V for Vendetta”.
How much is Adam Rich worth?
Adam’s age is 51. He has short brown hair and blue eyes, his height is 5ft 5ins (1.65m) and he weighs around 130lbs (59kgs).
As of September 2020, his net worth has been estimated at over $1 million.