It centered in the arethe of a Sacramento, California family with eight babies (from either oldest to immature: David, Mary, Joanie, Susan, Nancy, Elizabeth, Tommy, & Nicholas). A father, Tom Bradford (Dick Van Patten) was a newspaper editorialist for the fancied Sacramento Register. His married woman Joan (Diana Hyland) took care of the children. Hyland was lone within quatern episodes prior to falling ailment; she was written out for the remainder of the foremost year. In a period of a spring, Hyl& died, and the 2nd year began in the fall of 1977 with the revelation that Tom got be the widowman.

Tom fell smitten using Sandra Sue Abbott (nicknamed "Abby," played by Betty Buckley), a school teacher world health organization come to the home to tutor one of his youngsters. It were married around one of Eight is Plenty's favorite TV-movie broadcasts inside November 1977. These deuce-hour television cases ordinarily occurred when you took sweeps periods, and habitually grabbed viewing numbers when high as a Xl television part.

around another TV-movie event in September 1979, two of the toddlers (David & Susan) were married murder around the favorite double wedding tunelessly. When a indicate went in, Abby had her Ph.D. in education and started a job counseling students at the local high school.

When a prevent of the indicate's fifth year, production costs & declining ratings caused the indicate to exist as canceled, along by having sevener more shows that year (Eight is Plenty seemed to attach to the virtually all headlines, when a click got a field day by having ABC's selection to bring "eight shows in" & kick "eight shows out"). Reunion moving picture were broadcast inside 1987 and 1989.

A series jumpstarted acting careers for some of the "eight," & cemented teen idol status for Grant Goodeve, who played David, & Willie Aames, who played Tommy. Aames would last in to star by using Scott Baio in Charles in Charge. Goodeve began the minor cantabile career, due to his rendition of the theme "Eight is Enough to Fill Our Lives With Love."

For a select few of a more tykes, nevertheless, profits did non came & two or three ended higher by using household heartbreak, whether it be condition with the law (prefer Adam Rich, who played Nicholas) or even suicide (Lani O'Grady, who played Mary).

the indicate was modeled when a real-life father by using eight tikes, Thomas Braden, who wrote a book by owning the equivalent title.

Eight is Sufficiency was parodied in Family Guy, where it was implied that a indicate's title come from either how else several slaps Tom was allowed to give his girl Nancy through a face. His more girl Mary rushed into a room, exclaiming "Dad! Dad! Eight is enough!"

Cast list

A ages of the kids come given alongside their character list; which are actually their ages inside the 1st episode in 1977.

Core cast members

Dick Van Patten - Tom Bradford Diana Hyland - Joan Bradford (first year single) Betty Buckley - Sandra Sue Abbott Bradford ("Abby") (seasons two across 5) Grant Goodeve - David Bradford (23) Lani O'Grady - Mary Bradford (21) Laurie Walters - Joanie Bradford (20) Susan Richardson - Susan Bradford Stockwell (19) Dianne Kay - Nancy Bradford (18) Connie Needham - Elizabeth Bradford (15) Willie Aames - Tommy Bradford (14) Adam Rich - Nicholas Bradford (8)

Recurring cast members

Brian Patrick Clarke - Merle "The Pearl" Stockwell (1979-1981) Jennifer Darling - Donna (1978-1981) Henderson Forsythe - Big Bud Michael Goodrow - Ernie Fields (1979-1981) James Karen - Eliot Randolph Ralph Macchio - Jeremy Andretti (1980-1981)