Trivia / Eight is Enough

• Died During Production: Diana Hyland, the original mother, only filmed four episodes before she went to the hospital with breast cancer. After she died, the character was killed off.
• The Other Marty: Three of the children would be recast after the pilot:
  • David, the oldest son, was played by Grant Goodeve for most of the series. In the pilot, he was played by none other than Mark Hamill!
    • Fun fact: After ABC initially rejected the pilot, Hamill went off to film A New Hope and had already completed a role in another film, Corvette Summer. When Eight is Enough got picked up, Hamill requested he not do the show so he could focus on his film career. Lorimar rejected his request, citing the fact that he was such a hot commodity at that time as the reason. Naturally, Hamill did not take this well - and shortly afterwards he got in a car accident that required reconstructive surgery, right as the show started filming. It was then that Goodeve was cast as David.
  • Kimberly Beck was originally cast to play Nancy. When the show was about to go to series, Beck found a supporting role on another ABC series, Rich Man, Poor Man - Book II. When Eight is Enough did get picked up, she was replaced by Dianne Kay.
  • Chris English played Tommy in the pilot. When the show went to air he would be replaced by Willie Aames.
• Underage Casting: Abby Bradford, who at age 30 is only a few years older than Tom's oldest children (in the fall of 1977, David Bradford had just turned 23, while his sisters Mary and Joanie were 22 and 21 respectively).