Richard Vincent "Dick" Van Patten

 Richard Vincent "Dick" Van Patten (December 9, 1928 – June 23, 2015)

He was best known for his role as patriarch Tom Bradford on the ABC television comedy-drama Eight Is Enough. Van Patten began work as a child actor and was successful on the New York stage, appearing in more than a dozen plays as a teenager. He worked in radio, on Duffy's Tavern. He later starred in numerous television roles including the long running CBS television series, I Remember Mama and Young Doctor Malone. Later, he would star or co-star in many feature films, including Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Spaceballs, Charlton Heston's Soylent Green and the Academy Award-winning Charly. Van Patten was the founder of Natural Balance Pet Foods and National Guide Dog Month. In January 2005, Van Patten was taken to Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after suffering a diabetic stroke. Van Patten, who suffered from Type 2 diabetes, made a full recovery. Van Patten died at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, on June 23, 2015, at age 86. Complications from diabetes were the listed cause. He is buried at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills.