Eight is Enough star Dick Van Patten‘s life-and-death drama!
Eight Is Enough star Dick Van Patten saved the life of a mentally unstable woman on the verge of committing suicide.
Last month, Dick, 80, and his son Jimmy used a passkey to get into the apartment of the troubled woman. They own the Sherman Oaks, Calif., building where she lives and became concerned when she didn’t answer repeated calls.
"We found her huddled in a corner," Dick told The ENQUIRER in an exclusive interview.
"The place was completely dark because she’d blackened out the windows, and there was garbage strewn all over!
"Apparently, she’d had a complete breakdown!
"She hadn’t left the apartment and thought the place was haunted by ghosts, who were holding her captive. She said that voices were telling her to kill herself…and she would have if we hadn’t come in when we did!"
Dick said he’d become worried about the woman, who’d always been a reliable tenant, when she stopped making rent payments. And Jimmy, who lived next door, realized he hadn’t seen her for several months.
"He became very concerned…we both did," said Dick. "We tried calling and calling, but she never responded to our voice mail messages."
They left one last message letting the woman know they were coming over – and were shocked by what they saw when they entered her apartment.
"We saw her staring at the wall," Dick continued. "She appeared catatonic.
"I didn’t know what to do so I called my friend David Snowden, who is chief of police in Beverly Hills."
Police took the woman to a hospital, but she has since been released to her family, says Dick.
"She was very grateful to us for coming when we did because she was afraid she would have done something terrible to herself."
