Susan Richardson


Susan Richardson is a retired American actress, best known for her role as Susan Bradford on the television series Eight Is Enough, which she played from 1977 to 1981.

Early life

Born in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, Richardson first started acting in plays in high school. She graduated from Coatesville Area Senior High School in Coatesville, Pennsylvania in 1969, and moved to Hollywood in 1971.

Career

Initially, Richardson played bit roles in feature films American Graffiti and A Star Is Born, and she guest-starred on the television series Happy Days and The Streets of San Francisco. Shortly before her 25th birthday, about six years after moving to the West Coast, Richardson was picked to play the fourth-oldest child in the Bradford family on Eight is Enough.
In her Eight Is Enough heyday, Richardson appeared in two installments of Battle of the Network Stars, as well as numerous appearances on The $20,000 Pyramid, Password Plus, and Match Game, in addition to a one-hour All-Star episode of Family Feud in 1978 and a three-episode celebrity tournament on the daytime version in May 1979.

Personal life

On March 15, 1978, Richardson married Michael Virden, and shortly thereafter became pregnant, which was also written into Eight Is Enough. She gave birth to their daughter, Sarah, on February 27, 1980. After her pregnancy, a rumor was spread that Richardson would lose her job if she did not shed her pregnancy weight; she had gained. Finding it very difficult to slim down by normal means, she started using cocaine. After Eight Is Enough, Richardson suffered a debilitating tailbone injury after doing a concert.
In January 2013, The Huffington Post published a report from a National Enquirer interview with Richardson. She reported she had experienced extremely hard times, living in an unheated trailer with a rotting floor in Wagontown, Pennsylvania, not far from her hometown of Coatesville. Richardson said she had developed diabetes, suffered three mini-strokes, had lost, and lost her teeth as the result of a digestive condition.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1973American GraffitiJudy
1974NakiaNancyEpisode: "A Matter of Choice"
1975'Marlene HollanderEpisode "The Programming of Charlie Blake"
1975Happy DaysCarol DansonEpisode: "Fonzie Joins the Band"
1976A Star Is BornGroupie
1977The McLean Stevenson ShowSharleneEpisode: "The Great Rift"
1977–81Eight Is EnoughSusan Bradford Stockwell112 episodes
1979The RunawaysKathleen RandolphEpisode: "Screams in the Night"
1981'Emily ParkerEpisode: "He's My Brother/Zeke and Zelda/Teach Me Tonight"
1982Fantasy IslandEllenEpisode: "The Magic Camera/Mata Hari/Valerie"
1982CHiPsSnow PinkEpisode: "Battle of the Bands"
1982One Day at a TimeEloiseEpisodes: "The Honeymoon Is Over", "First Things First"
1987Eight Is Enough: A Family ReunionSusan BradfordTV movie
1987Soldiers of InnocenceSister Elizabeth
1989An Eight Is Enough WeddingSusan BradfordTV movie