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Brady Bunch Secrets from Behind the Camera

Marcia was a Shoplifter.

Marcia was a Shoplifter.

Maureen McCormick was allegedly a shoplifter according to co-star Susan Olsen. When she was younger, Maureen allegedly shoplifted with a friend and was caught by the police. Her friend, however, ended up taking the blame for the incident. The friend in question was Susan Cowsill.

According to Olsen, “There was a family band called The Cowsills, and the show ‘The Partridge Family’ was based on them. When we were all at Hollywood Professional School, Susan Cowsill, who also went there, became very good friends with Maureen. They used to go shoplifting just as a sport and one day they got caught and Maureen bolted and hid in a car for hours and let Susan take the rap for it.”

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Marcia Dated Greg.

Marcia Dated Greg.

Marcia dated her brother? EWW. But for real, Barry Williams and Maureen McCormick briefly dated while the show was filming in Hawaii. They even took a moonlight walk on the beach. But apparently as they got closer, it started to feel a little weird for McCormick.

She wrote in her memoir, Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice, “It was our first kiss, and it was long, passionate and deep. It was wonderful, too, though as we continued to kiss and press against each other so closely that we could feel each other's body heat, a part of me - a tiny part, admittedly - said to myself, 'Oh my God! I'm kissing my brother. What am I doing?'”

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Marcia Struggled With Addiction.

Marcia Struggled With Addiction.

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia may not have been so perfect in real life. Maureen McCormick, who played the beautiful and smart Marcia Brady wasn’t quite what she appeared to be on-screen. In real life, Maureen McCormick struggled with addiction through much of her career as an actress.

Dealing with the pressures of Hollywood and with family trouble, McCormick became depressed and turned to drugs. Her addiction became so severe that she would even have relations with her dealer in exchange for more drugs. Her addiction ultimately cost her career as she lost out to parts like Raiders of the Lost Ark because of it.

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Bobby was an Alcoholic.

Bobby was an Alcoholic.

A mere child on the show, Bobby became an alcoholic later in life. Having lost the opportunity to be a child, due to his role in the show, Mike Lookinland tried to recapture his youth while in his 20s. The results were much like you’d expect of any child star and soon enough little Bobby Brady became an alcoholic.

Mike Lookinland eventually sobered up, left the film industry and now lives a quiet life with his family. Lookinland offered this advice in an Oprah interview, “You should really try to live your childhood when you’re a child, because if you do it when you’re 26, it can be dangerous.”

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Peter and Jan were Caught by the Police.

Peter and Jan were Caught by the Police.

Like Marcia and Greg, Peter and Jan almost dated in real life. Originally, Peter played by Christopher Knight developed a crush on his younger sister Cindy played by Susan Olsen but things soon changed as Jan played by Eve Plumb grew up, turning his eyes in the other direction.

Before you know it, Knight and Plumb began briefly dating. Knight set up a date in the back of his pickup truck with candles, beer and blankets, and the two were promptly interrupted by police who put an end to their night of romance. Wasn’t meant to be, I guess.

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Robert Reed was in the Closet.

Robert Reed was in the Closet.

Robert Reed, also known as Mike Brady, the father of the Brady Bunch was actually LGBTQ+ and spent most of his life in the closet, a fact that he struggled with for a long time. Reed was HIV positive and eventually died from intestinal cancer in 1992.

Susan Olsen had this to say about her on-screen father:

“Because it was so taboo, he could never make peace with himself. He never allowed himself to have a genuine love. He was forever taunted by his own disdain for the natural inclinations that he was born with. Bob was a family man. Had he been allowed to form a relationship with another man, he would have been the best husband ever and might still be alive.”

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Cindy’s Hair Started Falling Out.

Cindy’s Hair Started Falling Out.

Susan Olsen for almost every episode had bleached hair. While she was already a blonde, she wasn’t blonde enough for the showrunners. The star had to bleach her hair so much it ended up getting damaged to the point that it would fall out in chunks.  

However, she wasn’t the only star forced to color her hair. Mike Lookinland, who had natural strawberry blonde hair, had to cover up with dark brown hair dye. That being said, I guess the producers were not aware of the natural wonders of genetics…

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Tiger Got Hit by a Car.

Tiger Got Hit by a Car.

Tiger, the family dog, ended up getting hit by a car during the filming of the first season. The deceased dog’s grieving trainer, went to a pound to pick up a lookalike and it did not go well for the producers. While the dog did look like the old Tiger, it did not act like the old Tiger - in fact, the dog couldn’t act at all.

The new Tiger was completely untrained and wouldn’t follow any kind of directions. The producers ended up having to nail his collar to the ground, just so the dog would remain in the scene and not wander off. The dog was then gently written out of the show and only appeared in a few select episodes.

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Peter Felt Exploited.

Peter Felt Exploited.

Peter felt exploited as a child, telling Oprah, “My dad, he was unemployed. Literally, his solution early when there wasn't any money -- and there was my brother and myself, 13 months apart -- he said, 'Feed them every other day.' I think that's when my mom said that she realized there might be a problem."

“I’m feeling totally [exploited] at that point by my mom. I think in a way, I totally was, and by her own admission it was, and that she was sorry about it."

His parents, and in particular his mother, hated The Brady Bunch and television in general.

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Alice the Housekeeper Died in a Tragic Accident.

Alice the Housekeeper Died in a Tragic Accident.

Alice the Housekeeper was always the life of the party on the Brady Bunch. The wise-cracking housekeeper was really the highlight of the entire cast. The talented actress, Ann B. Davis already had four Emmy nominations and won twice before ever taking on the role of Alice.

 Ann B. Davis died in a tragic accident later in life, at the age of 88, in a freak bathtub accident. She had fallen and hit her head in the bathtub, which caused a subdural hematoma. She never regained consciousness and died shortly after, in 2014.

 

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Mike Didn’t Approve of the Finale and Doesn't Appear in It.

Mike Didn’t Approve of the Finale and Doesn't Appear in It.

Mike Brady, aka Robert Reed is notably missing from the finale, which most fans noticed right away and found odd. Finally, there is an explanation and it has to do with a disagreement he had with the producers of the show over a plot point he found unrealistic.

In the finale, Greg gets his hair dyed orange accidentally, which Reed had a problem with since hair tonic wouldn’t do that. Out of all the cast members, Reed had been famously difficult to work with and this time demanded that the script be changed. He refused to leave the set at first but eventually did, and so he does not appear in the episode.

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There's No Toilet.

There's No Toilet.

That’s right, the Brady’s never went to the bathroom. Diligent viewers might have noticed that the Brady’s bathroom never had a toilet in it. The reason? Television censorship, of course. The rules were even crazier back then and during the time the show aired, you could not show a toilet on screen.

Apparently, the thought of even going to the bathroom was indecent. Moreover, censorship dictated that you couldn’t show a toilet bowl and so the producers decided to eliminate the toilet from the set altogether. In many cases, you couldn’t even reference a toilet on television.

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Only Three Actors have Appeared in Every Show.

Only Three Actors have Appeared in Every Show.

The Brady Bunch cast is pretty huge and in fact difficult to fit everyone into every show. That being said, only three cast members have made the cut in each and every episode: cast members Florence Henderson who plays Carol, Barry Williams who plays Greg, and Ann B. Davis who plays Alice.

Robert Reed was in every episode except for two. The first being the episode, “Goodbye, Alice, Hello” and the second being the finale as mentioned earlier. Greg appeared in every episode since he was easily the fan-favorite of all the children.

(Image via: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images for TV Land; Rob DiCaterino from Clifton, NJ, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons;  Gregg DeGuire/WireImage/Getty Images)

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images for TV Land; Rob DiCaterino from Clifton, NJ, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons; Gregg DeGuire/WireImage/Getty Images

The Brady Bunch Almost Got a Spinoff Series.

The Brady Bunch Almost Got a Spinoff Series.

The Brady Bunch almost got a spinoff series based on the fourteenth episodes of season 5, called “Kelly’s Kids.” The Kelly’s were the Brady’s new neighbors Ken and Kathy Kelly who adopt three children. Since one of the kids was Asian, and the other African America, it upsets their racist next-door-neighbor Mrs. Payne.

The episode acted as a backdoor pilot for a series that would not be produced. However, the concept for the show would be used for a new show titled  “Together We Stand” which aired in 1986. The show was short-lived but starred Elliot Gould, Dee Wallace and Scott Grimes. 

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Robert Reed Saved Everyone’s Life in "The Cincinnati Kids.”

Robert Reed Saved Everyone’s Life in "The Cincinnati Kids.”

In the episode, “The Cincinatti Kids,” the cast was meant to go on a real rollercoaster but Robert Reed sensed something was wrong and demanded that the coaster be tested before filming. And it turned out that Robert Reed was correct and there was something very wrong.

During the test run, the camera flew right off the roller coaster and had the actors appeared on camera during the actual run, they would likely have been hit directly, potentially killing one of them. It turned out that Reed’s demanding behavior ended up saving at least one life.

(Image via YouTube)

The Show Was Based on a Newspaper Article

The Show Was Based on a Newspaper Article

It’s hard to believe that something as simple as a newspaper article could spawn The Brady Bunch, but that’s exactly how this iconic show got started!

According to series creator Sherwood Schwartz, he was reading an article that said 30% of marriages at the time included children from previous relationships.

(Image via Adobe)

Gene Hackman Was Considered for Mike Brady

Gene Hackman Was Considered for Mike Brady

We can’t imagine anyone but Robert Reed portraying the easygoing dad Mike Brady, but another famous actor almost managed to nab the role! 

Producers were also considering Gene Hackman at the time but decided to go with Reed since he was a more well-known actor at the time. Obviously, this rejection didn’t seem to hurt Hackman’s career a single bit! 

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More Than 250 Kids Auditioned for the Show

More Than 250 Kids Auditioned for the Show

It’s clear that producers wanted to get casting for the show just right because they auditioned more than 250 kids for the roles of the six Brady children.

According to Sherwood Schwartz, he interviewed the potential actors in a room with lots of distractions that were appealing to kids. Only the ones who managed to stay focused on the task at hand made the cut. 

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The Show Wasn't a Hit Until Syndication

The Show Wasn't a Hit Until Syndication

When it originally aired in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, The Brady Bunch struggled in the ratings, never breaking the top 30 during this time.

However, that all changed when the show began syndication later in the 1970s. For whatever reason, people were much more interested in the Brady’s antics much more this time around, and the show became the classic we know it as today. 

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Maureen McCormick and Eve Plumb Hated Each Other

Maureen McCormick and Eve Plumb Hated Each Other

When Marcia and Jan fought on screen, that wasn’t just acting…Maureen McCormick and Eve Plumb actually hated each other in real life! 

According to Susan Olsen, the actress who played Cindy, like on the show, Plumb was growing jealous of the attention that McCormick began to get. However, it seems like the two have settled their differences long ago. 

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Florence Henderson Wore a Wig in Season 1

Florence Henderson Wore a Wig in Season 1

When Florence Henderson got the job of Carol Brady, she was just leaving Broadway, where she had been part of a revival of South Pacific. Unfortunately, the bob she sported for the musical wouldn’t work for the show. 

So, she had to wear a wig while filming season one until her hair grew out again. Considering some of the hair horror stories associated with this show, she got off pretty easily! 

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The Football Episode Was Written Because of a Real-Life Injury

The Football Episode Was Written Because of a Real-Life Injury

One of the most famous episodes of the Brady Bunch is the one where Marcia gets hit in the face with a football and her nose swells.

The show originally had no plans for an episode like this, but when Maureen McCormick’s nose was injured in a real-life car accident, they didn’t want to stop filming, so they invented an in-show accident to explain Marcia’s injured nose. 

(Image via Redwood Productions/Paramount Television)

Maureen McCormick Actually Got Hit in the Nose During Filming

Maureen McCormick Actually Got Hit in the Nose During Filming

Despite her nose actually being injured only a week before, Maureen McCormick injured again while filming that famous football episode.

In the scene where she gets hit, the crew was struggling to make it look realistic. Unfortunately, one toss of the football ended up a little too realistic and smacked McCormick right in the face. 

(Image via Redwood Productions/Paramount Television)

Robert Reed Had Lots of Complaints About Scripts

Robert Reed Had Lots of Complaints About Scripts

Despite Mike Brady being a beloved character, Robert Reed was not particularly thrilled about having to be on the show and frequently clashed with production about scripts. 

While he most famously refused to film the final episode, he frequently argued about plotlines that he found particularly ridiculous. His formal Shakespearean training may have had something to do with his complaints about the show. 

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Mike Lookinland Dyed His Hair for the First Two Seasons

Mike Lookinland Dyed His Hair for the First Two Seasons

Mike Lookinland was one of two of the Brady kids who had to dye their hair for the show. However, unlike Cindy, who dyed her hair blonde, production wanted Bobby to have darker hair, so Lookinland went brown.

It doesn’t appear that he had the same troubles with hair loss from the dye as Cindy’s actress did. 

(Image via Redwood Productions/Paramount Television)

It's Implied That Carol is Divorced

It's Implied That Carol is Divorced

The entire premise of the Brady Bunch is that Carol and Mike are coming from previous relationships. While it’s established that Mike’s first wife has died, what happened to Carol’s first husband is a bit of a mystery.

The implication is that Carol got divorced, but, because that was a controversial topic at the time, it’s never said outright. In the 1996 comedy movie spin-off A Very Brady Sequel, it’s implied that Carol’s first husband is The Professor from Gilligan’s Island (another show that Sherwood Schwartz created). 

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No One in the Cast Liked Cousin Oliver

No One in the Cast Liked Cousin Oliver

For several episodes in the final season, the Brady’s kid cousin Oliver comes to live with the family. This last-minute addition was not received well by fans, and it appears that the cast wasn’t thrilled about the poor kid either.

While no one has outright insulted the actor (he was a child at the time, after all), many cast members seem to tiptoe around the subject of cousin Oliver (played by Robbie Rist) and simply say that he didn’t “fit in” with the rest of them.

(Image via Redwood Productions/Paramount Television)

Robert Reed Had a Drinking Problem

Robert Reed Had a Drinking Problem

Robert Reed’s troubled personal life and dislike of the show led to some problems for the actor. While his difficult behavior on set was well-known, it wasn’t until the release of a 2019 book about the Brady Bunch that his struggles with alcoholism came to light. 

According to the book, Reed would often spend his lunch breaks drinking, making afternoon filming a challenge. Despite his apparent and genuine love for the child actors, he was also prone to angry outbursts towards them while drinking, too. 

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Characters Were Sometimes Cut to Save Money

Characters Were Sometimes Cut to Save Money

Because it wasn’t a runaway hit when it originally aired, budget problems were a constant concern for production.

In a misguided attempt to save money, the show went through a period where one Brady kid per episode would not be present to cut down on salary costs. However, these shows were never well-received by the public, and the practice of choosing a sacrificial Brady for each episode eventually ended. 

(Image via Redwood Productions/Paramount Television)

The Cast Didn't Get Rich From the Show

The Cast Didn't Get Rich From the Show

Despite the success of the show (especially in syndication), none of the cast ever made a ton of money from the Brady Bunch.

At the time, it was customary for actors to only be paid for the first few airings of a TV show; even if it got syndicated for years, they wouldn’t see a dime of most of that money. Unfortunately, that’s the deal Bradys got, and the royalty checks stopped rolling in after only five airings. 

(Image via Redwood Productions/Paramount Television)