THE BRADY BUNCH
THE GROWN-UP CAST OF AMERICA’S FAVORITE FAMILY SITCOM CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF THE BRADY BUNCH
The cast of America’s favorite TV family share never-before-told stories from the set to celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary.
It’s been a mind-boggling half-century since a “man named Brady” married a woman with “three very lovely girls.” Still, the passage of time hasn’t dimmed The Brady Bunch’s popularity. “Tens of millions of American kids would come home from school, make a peanut butter sandwich and watch The Brady Bunch,” Mike Lookinland (Bobby) tells Closer about the show’s enduring popularity in syndication. “Now those people have kids and some of them are old enough to have kids — we’re literally on the fourth generation who grew up with The Brady Bunch!”
The surviving cast — Mike, 58, and his TV siblings Barry Williams, 64, Maureen McCormick, 63, Christopher Knight, 61, Eve Plumb, 61, and Susan Olsen, 58 — recently reunited for A Very Brady Renovation, an HGTV series about the restoration of the series’ iconic house. “I was very excited,” says Maureen (Marcia). “It’s been a long time since we’ve all been together.”
No matter how much time goes by, there remains a genuine familial bond among the cast, who spent long days together on the set during their formative childhood years from 1969 to 1974. “I love these people,” gushes Barry (Greg). “We’ve had great relationships our entire lives.” Adds Maureen:
“For me, it was always fun going to work and being with everyone.”
As divorce and remarriage rates soared at the end of the 1960s, creator Sherwood Schwartz conceived of a comedy about a blended family with six children. From the start, “we interacted like real siblings,” says Mike, “except we liked each other better than an authentic family!”
That warm feeling also extended to The Brady Bunch’s adult cast: the late actors Florence Henderson and Robert Reed, as Carol and Mike Brady, and Ann B. Davis, who played Alice, the family’s live-in housekeeper. “To me, the show was always about the people and relationships. I still think of Florence every day,” Maureen says. “She taught me how to be a TV actress by example,” adds Eve (Jan).
As for Brady dad Robert, “he was a serious actor who had fun with us,” recalls Christopher (Peter). “And Ann was a consummate comedian and a pro.”
A SWEETER AMERICA
The Brady Bunch was on ABC’s primetime schedule during a turbulent period in American history — the show existed alongside the Vietnam War, the rise of feminism and the Watergate scandal — but the sitcom’s plotlines never explored the
“We certainly all love each other. There’s no question.”
— Mike Lookinland
country’s troubles or social changes. “The Brady Bunch reflected a simpler time,” says Christopher, who calls the series a throwback to wholesome 1950s family fare like The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. “The Bradys did a good job of providing a place for kids to tap in and find a friend.”
After The Brady Bunch stopped making new episodes in 1974, the cast went their separate ways. Only Maureen and Eve continued acting into adulthood. The rest went on to lives outside Hollywood — although it wasn’t always easy to escape their Brady Bunch past. “When I was younger, I hated the Bradys’ goody-two-shoes image. I was a tomboy and nothing like my character,” admits Susan (Cindy). “Now that I’m older and wiser, I don’t have any rebellious feeling toward the show anymore.”
The Brady Bunch might have always been old-fashioned, but its core values remain timeless and its family-centered plots relatable. “It was the last show where the parents and the kids respected each other,” Susan adds. “I think if you’re a smart parent, you’ll make your kids watch The Brady Bunch because it really will help you.”