Eight is Enough
Editor: David Tanny
Coroner: "Eight Is Enough" Star OD'd (Updated Jan 16, 2002)From press releases:Clarification: Lani O'Grady--the former actress best known as Dick Van Patten's eldest daughter on Eight Is Enough--died from accidental causes. From name withheld by request: "All sites list Lani O'Grady as having death due to a drug overdose, since an overdose is something that can be taken many different ways, let me say, that I knew Lani, and I know of the special circumstances of her death, and she died from a drug reaction, resulting in the effects of a overdose. She was prescribed Prozac and Vi-Codine, together, and when these drugs are taken together, they cause an overdose. These drugs are both build up drugs, and when they build up, the result is an overdose, this is why these drugs are never to be prescribed or taken together. This was a medical error, that these drugs were prescribed together. The family is aware, and prefers no letters on this matter from fans. However, to set the record straight, Lani died from accidental causes." Despite a history of addiction, the actress--whose body was discovered in her mobile home by a neighbor last September--was originally believed to have died from natural causes. Her death came a week shy of her 47th birthday. But toxicology tests released Wednesday reveal O'Grady died of "multiple drug intoxication," the coroner said. Fatal levels of the prescription painkiller Vicodin and the antidepressant Prozac were found in her bloodstream. The coroner said it was undetermined whether the overdose was accidental or a suicide. Although O'Grady retired from acting in the '80s to become a talent agent like her mother, she long ago secured her place in the TV Land pantheon as Mary, the braniac wannabe doctor in Eight Is Enough's expansive Bradford brood. The dramedy, starring Van Patten as a newspaper columnist and superdad, ran on ABC from 1977-1981. Aside from her four-year stint on the show and two late-'80s Eight Is Enough reunion specials, O'Grady racked up appearances on such other '70s tube staples as The Love Boat, as well as TV movies like The Kid with the Broken Halo, before leaving Hollywood. She had been dogged by health and pill problems dating back to her Mary Bradford days. In a series of interviews in the 1990s, she admitted to having suffered panic attacks for the previous 20 years. Scores of doctors misdiagnosed her; to cope with the frequent anxiety episodes--sometimes she'd shake so badly she couldn't leave her dressing room to shoot a scene--she was fed a veritable pharmacy: Xanax, Valium and Librium. She became hooked on the pills and, eventually, alcohol, too. "I drank two bottles of Chardonnay a day, took a ton of prescription pills," she told Geraldo Rivera during a 1994 interview. She went into rehab at least five times. By the mid-'90s she declared herself clean, thanks to an alternative-medicine regimen, and even went to work for her doctor as a recovery counselor. But, in 1998, she checked herself into the mental health ward of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for detox. She had become hooked on a prescription drug called Ativan. While in Cedars, she claimed she was sexually battered by a medical technician and sued the hospital. The suit was pending at the time of her death. O'Grady came from a show-biz family. Her brother, Don Grady, was an original Mouseketeer and member of another notable TV family--he played Robbie on My Three Sons. Her mother, Mary Grady, was a noted agent who represented several child actors. 'Eight Is Enough's' O'Grady Death Ruled Overdose Sun, Jan 20, 2002 11:31 AM PDT LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - The Los Angeles coroner's office has ruled the death of "Eight Is Enough" actress Lani O'Grady an overdose. O'Grady, who died last September at age 46, had high amounts of the antidepressant Prozac and the painkiller Vicodin in her blood stream, according to the AP. The actress played the eldest daughter on the '70s drama "Eight Is Enough." During that time she later admitted to taking Valium during her time on the show to deal with severe panic attacks. At the time of her death she was recovering from two painful knee operations.
It has not been, and seems unlikely to be, determined whether or not the
overdoes was intentionally or accidentally. The cause of death is being
categorized as "multiple drug intoxication."
Lani O'Grady Memorial Page set up by Sunflowr: http://www.geocities.com/sunflowr8/lani.html To many of the teenagers growing up in the 1970's, the TV characters from such shows as The Brady Bunch, Patridge Family, Waltons, Happy Days, Welcome Back Kotter, Good Times, One Day at a Time, What's Happening, Little House on the Prarie, The Hardy Boys, Donny and Marie, and Eight is Enough spoke to this generation of adolescents learning life's lessons from the TV teens as well as from the viewers' own schools and activities. The TV stars were welcomed into their homes each week to entertain as well as to enlighten, enrich, educate, enjoyment, and otherwise for escapism for an hour or so from life's frantic pace even back in those days. For many viewers, they thought of these teenagers as members of their own generation. Greg Brady, Danny Partridge, Laura Ingalls, Marcia Brady, Richie Cunningham, Vinnie Babarino, et al, were role models for them as they were growing up with them as they thought of the characters as close as members of their own family. This past September 25th, 2001, this TV generation has lost another one of our own TV sisters. In 1976, we lost Anissa Jones, who played Buffy on Family Affair. I can't recall any more TV teen stars from my teenage generation that died since she died and the day we lost "Mary", who is now among the angels along with the other stars of years past. Lani O'Grady the actress who played the oldest daughter "Mary" on that favorite 70's show "Eight Is Enough" was found dead in her mobile home in Castaic, California, a week shy of her 47th birthday, according to Los Angeles' City News Service. She was 46. Lani had been living for two months in the Travel Village recreational vehicle park, located in Valencia off state Route 126, west of Interstate 5. A neighbor discovered O'Grady's body just before noon September 25th in her mobile home at her Henry Mayo Drive residence in Castaic, California, a town north of Los Angeles. A sheriff's spokesman said the former child star apparently died of natural causes, but the official cause won't be determined until the coroner's office completes an autopsy. The police are investigating. Unable to rouse O'Grady from outside her motor home, the neighbors called 911. "We got a call of a woman down", said Rich Hall, a Los Angeles county firefighter who responded to the call. "Neighbors said they looked into the window and saw her lying on the bed. That's when we entered through a small window." Hall said it appeared O'Grady had been dead since at least earlier that morning. Management at the Travel Village recreational vehicle park declined to allow reporters to interview O'Grady's neighbors, but a woman behind the registration counter acknowledged that the former actress was well-liked. "I'll say this much - she had an awful lot of friends around here. A lot of friends." Scott Carrier, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, said O'Grady's body was examined Wednesday. "The coroner said there was no foul play suspected and no apparent signs of any struggle," Carrier said. He added that toxicology tests are pending and the cause of death has not yet been determined. Sgt. Chris Bradpool of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau said O'Grady was supposed to have coffee with a neighbor Tuesday morning but did not show up. The neighbor then went to O'Grady's home and found her dead, he said.
Authorities pronounced O'Grady dead in her home at 11:59 a.m. and believe
she died of natural causes, though officials from the Los Angeles County
Coroner's Office said the exact cause of death won't be determined for
three months, pending information from the doctor's investigation.
Although O'Grady retired from acting in the '80s to become a talent agent like her mother, she long ago secured her place in the TV Land pantheon as Mary, the braniac wannabe doctor in Eight Is Enough's expansive Bradford brood. The dramedy, starring Van Patten as a newspaper columnist and superdad, ran on ABC from 1977-1981. Born Lanita Rose Agrati in Walnut Grove on October 2, 1954, she changed her name once she landed her Eight Is Enough gig. She was the daughter of Louis Agrati and talent agent, Mary Grady, who runs a top Hollywood childrens talent agency, and the youngest sibling of Marilou Agrati and actor/musician, Don Grady, who was an original Mouseketeer and member of another notable TV family--he played Robbie on My Three Sons from 1960-1972. It was while visiting her brother on the "My Three Sons" set when she was 6 that O'Grady began thinking of following in his footsteps. In a 1994 interview with The Los Angeles Times, O'Grady recalled that when the show's star, Fred MacMurray, heard her naturally low voice, he turned around and said, "Who said that?" She looked up at the towering MacMurray and said, "I did, sir." MacMurray responded by saying, "Boy, you ought to be in the business." Aware of the emotional toll on child actors, Mary Grady never pushed her daughter into acting. But when Lani was 13, her mother finally gave in to her persistent requests to be sent on an audition. After reading a two-line bit for "High Chaparral," she won the lead role in the episode. O'Grady never looked back, working constantly as a teenager. Following her sibling's lead, O'Grady landed her first regular TV series role at age 13 on the failed Andy Griffith vehicle, "Headmaster" (1970-71). She was 22 by the time she was cast as med-school student Mary Bradford on "Eight Is Enough." After the series, O'Grady became an acting coach and returned for the two "Enough" reunion TV-movies, "Eight Is Enough: A Family Reunion" (1987) and "An Eight Is Enough Wedding" (1989) -- her last film credit. Lani made a few game show appearrances in the late 70's. The last game show appearrance was from the week of October 1987 when she played for charity with co-stars Adam Rich, Grant Goodeve, and Susan Richardson on an all-star special "Password" hosted by the late Bert Convy. Although many child stars bitterly complain about the drawbacks of growing up in show business, O'Grady was not one of them. "I have a real hard time with people who have been successful in this business as young children . . . and [as adults] they are no longer wanted by Hollywood--and, yeah, Hollywood is not a user-friendly place," she said in 1994.
"But rather than accepting responsibility for their life, it's easier to say, 'The business is the reason I'm
so messed up today.' I hate that."
"I drank two bottles of Chardonnay a day, took a ton of prescription pills," she told Geraldo Rivera during a 1994 interview. She went into rehab at least five times. By the mid-'90s she declared herself clean, thanks to an alternative-medicine regimen, and even went to work for her doctor as a recovery counselor. In 1993, she told "Entertainment Tonight" that her chronic panic attacks were the cause for her chemical dependency, being a daily thing. "ET" reported that Lani had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, and that she also had a history of panic attacks, which led to the drug and alcohol abuse. She said in interviews that she was addicted to painkillers for years. In a 1994 Times interview, O'Grady said she had long suffered from severe panic attacks, which led to her abusing prescription drugs and alcohol for more than a decade. Although fans were never aware of it, O'Grady said, the attacks caused her to frequently run to her dressing room to pop a Valium. She said she once shook so much during a scene that she had to be driven home. Although she began experiencing panic attacks at 18, O'Grady said, she was not diagnosed with panic disorder until she was 21. Over the years, she said, she saw 32 doctors, most of whom prescribed various tranquilizers. After the series ended, O'Grady said, she was in and out of five rehabilitation clinics. The lowest point in her long struggle with panic attacks, she said, came in 1993, when agoraphobia kept her at home, and her body was so filled with toxins from abusing prescription drugs and alcohol that she was experiencing memory blackouts. But in 1994, she began being treated with a nonnarcotic medication for what was diagnosed as a brain chemical imbalance. The treatment, she said at the time, made all the difference in the world. "I have a life today," she said. In December 1998, however, O'Grady checked herself into the Thalians Mental Health Department at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to detoxify from a prescription drug. She had become hooked on a prescription drug called Ativan. While in Cedars, she claimed she was sexually battered by a medical technician and sued the hospital. The suit was pending at the time of her death.
She had just finished a detox and rehab treatment.
The coroner's office will complete an autopsy to determine a cause of death.
"I feel awful," Van Patten said. "She was a very good actress, a natural." Van Patten reminisced about the trip trip he, his wife, Pat, O'Grady and her mother went on together. They took a three-week cruise through the Panama Canal and around the West Indies. "It was such a great time," he said. Van Patten said he last spoke to O'Grady about six months ago. She called a few months later and Van Patten tried to return her call, but never got through. "She was very hard to get a hold of," he said.
Van Pattten is touring with the play "Sunshine Boys" and will not be able to make the funeral.
Lani O'Grady, who played Mary, the eldest daughter of the Bradford clan on ABC-TV's "Eight Is Enough" (1977-81), was found dead September 26 in her mobile home in Castaic, California, according to Los Angeles' City News Service. She was 46. Born October 2, 1954, O'Grady was the younger sister of "My Three Sons" star Don Grady. Following her sibling's lead, O'Grady landed her first regular TV series role at age 13 on the failed Andy Griffith vehicle, "Headmaster" (1970-71). She was 20 by the time she was cast as med-school student Mary Bradford on "Eight Is Enough." After the series, O'Grady became an acting coach and returned for the two "Enough" reunion TV-movies, "Eight Is Enough: A Family Reunion" (1987) and "An Eight Is Enough Wedding" (1989) -- her last film credit. (POSTED: 9/26/01) -- Former Child Star Central http://www.formerchildstar.net m.alheron posted on the Eight is Enough forum: Sad to report Lani was a monthly resident at a trailer park in Valencia, CA. She reportedly had a very difficult and on going battle with alcohol. Ultimately she lost her fight with the bottle. Ingrid (Jochems) Holzman e-mailed me the following: I met Lani when I took a commercial and acting workshop with her. We became friends and I helped her start her own commercial workshop in Marina del Rey. I have not had contact with her in many years, but her death has stunned me nonetheless. She was much too young! Longtime eightisenough board friend Christine posts the following: Lani, I loved your show, and I loved you. I just hope now that you will Rest In Peace. You will never be forgotten. From Jon: Sadly just learned about the death of Lani O'Grady. I hope that there will be some type of memorial page for her. It's a shame! I feel as though I lost a sister. Mark on an Eight is Enough mailing list: My deepest sympathies and condolences to Lani's family and friends. Karen on the same mailing list says: I can't believe it. I'm so shocked and sad. Several years ago, she was on a talk show of former 70's/80's stars and she was talking about how she suffered from a chemical imbalance, but for years, she didn't know she had one, until a very caring doctor, as she called him, diagnosed it, and the doctor was in the audience, talking about her case and Lani was so happy that her life was finally getting back to normal and she was feeling better. This interview was approx. 5 or 6 years ago. This is so tragic and I am so sorry for her family and friends - and her tv family that must be taking this news so very hard. Stephanie posted in the Eight is Enough forum: As a sufferer of panic attacks, my heart goes out to her family and friends. She was my favorite character on EiE and I am sad to see she has passed. Lani, the presence you brought to the character Mary could not have been done without you. Rest in Peace. Leon Worden, the City Editor at The Signal newspaper in Santa Clarita, where Lani O'Grady died yesterday, e-mailed me for permission to reproduce a couple of the photographs of Ms. O'Grady.
From The New York Post:
"EIGHT is Enough" star Lani O'Grady, who struggled throughout her life to
break free from a long-time dependence on tranquilizers, has died.
She was 46. The body of the honey-blonde actress, who played eldest daughter
Mary on the popular ABC series, was found by a neighbor at her home in
Valencia, Calif., on Tuesday.
There was no evidence yesterday that drugs played a part in O'Grady's death.
Authorities said there was no evidence of foul play and they believe she died
of natural causes, Los Angeles' KABC-TV reported yesterday.
A cause of death was undetermined, pending an autopsy.
It was during her career as a teen-aged actress that O'Grady says she began
to rely on Valium to ease her sense of panic on the set.
Eight is Enough was originally an autobiography by columnist Tom Braden about his large family of eight kids. The book inspired the television show of the same name, and the real-life Bradens inspired the creation of the fictional Bradfords. Dick Van Patten played Tom Bradford, a columnist for the Sacramento Register who had fathered eight kids with his wife Joan. Even Tom and Joan had trouble keeping track of them all and had to come up with the phrase “Never Try Eating Nectarines Since Juice May Dispense” to remember the names of Nicholas (8), Tommy (14), Elizabeth (15), Nancy (18), Susan (19), Joanie (20), Mary (21) and David (23). In the episode "Yes, Nicholas, There Really Is a Santa Claus", another acronym for the first names of the eight children of Tom is revealed as "Dumb Martians Just Sit Nearby Eating Tender Noodles". Abby commented on it when Tommy was so upset about finding his mother's Christmas present she had hidden for him. Abby said he really was 'tender'. Although so many characters were featured on the show, somehow the kids were able to distinguish themselves. David (played by Star Wars' Mark Hamill in the pilot) was a construction worker who acted as a second parent to his younger siblings. Mary, the oldest daughter, was a pre-med student and the realist of the family. Joanie was an aspiring actress who eventually worked for Channel 8. Susan was an athlete who eventually started her own family with minor league baseball player Merle "The Pearl" Stockwell. Obviously, such a large family doesn’t stay bored long, and in the pilot episode alone, David moved out, young Nicholas got his tonsils removed and Elizabeth was arrested for possession of narcotics. Sadly, things quickly changed when actress who played Joan, Diana Hyland, suddenly died (on March 27, 1977) after only five episodes had been filmed. The show's producers wrote Joan out of the series during the first season. In the second season, it was explained that Joan had died a year ago and Tom was now a widower. Later that year, Sandra Sue "Abby" Abbott (Broadway's Betty Buckley) arrived at the house as a tutor. Soon enough, she and Tom fell in love and got married. The Bradford children were always up to something in every episode, and usually their escapades resulted in chaos. When the kids tried to plan Tom and Abby's wedding, their plans were so over the top that the ceremony was nearly canceled. Yet Tom and Abby always seemed to manage their tight-knit clan with kindness, humor and love. More changes followed when David married attorney Janet McArthur, and Susan and Merle had a baby of their own. Later in the series, a young Ralph Macchio (The Karate Kid) joined the cast as Jeremy, Abby's troubled nephew. The gang regrouped for Tom’s 50th birthday in 1987’s Eight is Enough: A Family Reunion, with Mary Frann (Newhart) as Abby. Two years later, the family came home again in An Eight is Enough Wedding, in which David married a second time. This time the honors of playing Abby went to Sandy Faison, and Merle was played by Dick’s real-life son, James Van Patten. Given the extraordinarily large cast of regulars (most shows feature an average of seven, by the way), it wasn’t hard to find someone in the Bradford family with whom you could relate. And while the show was never saccharine, the family always loved each other, and as evidenced by their famous family-bonding football games, they worked as one.
Release History 3/15/77 - 8/29/81 ABC
Cast
Tom Bradford............................Dick Van Patten |
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