Today marks the 40th Anniversary of the debut of Eight is Enough. The family comedy/ drama ran for 5 years and helped make several stars (albeit temporary) household names, such as Dick Van Patton, Adam Rich, and Willie Aimes.
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| Cover to the book on which the TV series was based. |
Eight is Enough was based on a book of the same name by columnist Thomas Braden who wrote about life as a father to 8 children. That's about as close as the book and TV show come because the actress hired to play the mom, Diana Hyland, became ill from breast cancer and ultimately succumbed to her illness just a few days after the first episode aired. She only filmed 4 episodes.
There was another big casting change. In the pilot, the role of oldest son, David was played by Mark Hamill. Hamill wanted out after the pilot in because he sensed that Star Wars was going to make him a star. But, execs on Eight Is Enough refused wanting to cash in on the possibility of having a big star on the show. However, fate came into play when in January of '77, Hamill got into a massive car wreck. Hospitalized, Hamill couldn't work on Eight is Enough and so he was released and Grant Goodeve took his place as David. But this now meant Hamill could focus all his efforts on movies.
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| Hamill, center, in the pilot episode of Eight is Enough. |
I vaguely remember the show. By the time I was old enough to remember and watch it, the show was in syndication. Though there was at least 1 or 2 reunion TV-movies in the late 80s or early 90s. I remember that my mother loved this show and my wife seems to have fond memories of it too. But to me, the big deal is the Mark Hamill connection.
Well, that's all I got for today. But before I go, here's a clip of the shows original theme. Enjoy...
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