“Eight Is Enough” star Adam Rich’s cause of death has been revealed to be an overdose five months after his body was discovered at his Los Angeles residence.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner said in its report that an accidental overdose of fentanyl caused the 54-year-old actor’s death, the Hollywood Reporter reported.
Rich died on January 7 at his home, where police told TMZ’s sources the former child star was found lifeless by an unidentified person who had arrived at his residence. At the time, a cause of death was not revealed, and foul play was not suspected.
Rich was a child star of the 1970s and ’80s, best known for his role as Nicholas Bradford in the TV drama “Eight is Enough.” The show ran on ABC from 1977-1981.
'Eight Is Enough' star Adam Rich died in January from the effects of fentanyl, according to an autopsy report from a Los Angeles County medical examiner. https://t.co/uURk0TGsIM
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) June 27, 2023
Actor Dick Van Patten, who played Bradford’s father in the series, previously said Rich was “why the show was a big success.”
“People loved him!” Van Patten said. “[Fans] named a child Nicholas and everything because of him. He was cute, and he was a good actor. He was very natural.”
The star’s acting credits also include appearances on “Fantasy Island,” “Love Boat,” “The City,” and “CHiPs.”
At the end of the hit ABC drama, his entertainment career continued on a smaller scale, voicing characters like Presto the Magician in the 1983 animated adaptation of “Dungeons & Dragons,” THR noted.
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During Rich’s adult life, he struggled with substance abuse. In the ’90s, the star was arrested on suspicion of burglarizing a pharmacy.
Page Six noted that he spent the following years in and out of rehab.
In 2002, he was arrested for driving under the influence after nearly hitting a California Highway Patrol car.
In a CBS News interview, Rich denied the charges and told the outlet, “I’ve been sober for ten years.”
The child actor spent his remaining adult life in recovery, THR noted.
