Eight Is Enough Dad Dead at 86

Dick Van Patten, who starred as the patriarch of the Bradford family in the late 1970s show Eight is Enough, is dead at 86 from diabetes complications, reports ABC News. Van Patten also was a regular on the Love Boat for six years and "was a familiar face on American TV for decades," notes USA Today. Though he was partial to TV roles, Van Patten also starred in several movies, especially of the Mel Brooks variety, including High Anxiety, Spaceballs, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. More recently, he appeared in Hot in Cleveland and Arrested Development. He is survived by his wife, Pat, and three sons.

"He was the kindest man you could ever meet in life," says his rep, Jeff Ballard. "They don't make them like him anymore." (More obituary stories.)