Actor Dick Van Patten dies at 86
Actor Dick Van Patten, best known for playing Tom Bradford in the television series Eight is Enough, died Tuesday due to complications from diabetes. He was 86.
Van Patten began acting as a child, and is said to have made his Broadway debut at 7, ABC News reports. He had success in television and film during a career that spanned decades, appearing in High Anxiety, Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Arrested Development, Hot in Cleveland, and That ‘70s Show. Van Patten also was an animal welfare advocate, and founded Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods.
"He was the kindest man you could ever meet in life," said his representative, Jeff Ballard. "They don't make them like him anymore." Van Patten is survived by his wife, Pat, and three sons.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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