The Brady Bunch

Here's the story of a lovely lady, a man named Brady who could've been played by Gene Hackman, six kids, a wacky housekeeper, and how a series that started as a typical formulaic sitcom grew into a syndicated monster. Here are 16 things you might not know about The Brady Bunch. 1. Robert Reed Was Gay Robert Reed was a closeted homosexual. During the run of The Brady Bunch, most of the cast and crew members knew of Reed being a homosexual, but never commented on it because Reed never wanted to discuss it. 2. The show was based on math! Err, well, kind of. The Brady Bunch found its inspiration in a newspaper statistic: In 1965 nearly 31% of marriages involved children from a prior marriage. Interesting inspiration, for sure. We’re not going to hammer you with more statistics – this isn’t an environmental education class. Let’s keep on moving! 3. Sleeping In the Same Bed Was Frowned Upon During this time, having couples sleeping in the same bed on television was still considered to be scandalous. Carol and Mike shared a bed on the show. It’s hard to imagine, ut shows like I Love Lucy were not far apart in years, and it was still considered a scandalous arrangement. 4. Bobby was not a natural blonde! In showbiz sometimes you have to get your hair treated. Mike Lookinland, the child actor who played Bobby, had to repeatedly dye his blonde hair in order to match the rest of the family. Sure it’s not as difficult as managing sustainable development for sustainable cities, but still! 5. Strict Television Television networks during this time lived for the strict rules placed on television shows. Even though Carol and Mike shared a bed, television networks required that show creator Sherwood Schwartz did not show the toilet from the couple’s bathroom. The same rule was passed onto the Brady children. The bathroom is shown multiple times, but you never see a toilet anywhere. Television networks clearly wanted to spare the audience the horror of seeing a toilet in a bathroom. 6. The cast hated the clothing. Yup, it’s easy to look back now and say that the fashion was bad on The Brady Bunch. However, during filming, all of the younger actors would routinely complain about their outfits – often begging for something more fashionable. They were always refused! 7. Over 260 kids auditioned for the show! That number actually doesn’t sound that high when you consider the sheer number of child actors in The Brady Bunch. The odds were always against the child actors as the producers wanted to see as many people as possible! 8. Producers used psychology tricks during casting. When the producers would see the child actors at auditions they would employ a number of casting tricks. One trick included putting a bunch of distracting children-toys on the table. Kids who paid attention to the toys were passed over immediately! 9. Florence Henderson Knew About Reed’s Sexuality Florence Henderson was the first person to know about Robert Reed’s sexuality. During the filming of the pilot episode, Reed and Henderson were rehearsing a love scene, but Reed seemed uncomfortable throughout the whole ordeal. This is something Henderson noticed and would soon mention in future interviews. Off camera, the two would rehearse scenes, so it would look more natural when it came time to film. Florence Henderson has also been a supporter for LGBTQ rights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v343cJK8TIF8 10. Mrs. Brady had two actors. Florence Henderson wasn’t the only Mrs. Brady that the show had seen! Initially, Joyce Bulifant, a more comedic and zany actress, was brought on board. She was used extensively in screen tests and as an aid during casting in the rest of the show. However, the producers decided to go for a more subdued Mrs. Brady and thus brought on Mrs. Henderson. 11. Susan Olsen and Mike Lookinland had a fling! Well, the word ‘fling’ is probably giving too much charity. The Cindy and Bobby actors admitted to kissing several times – when they were just 9 years old. They used to kiss in the doghouse so as not to get in trouble. Puppy love, eh? 12. Hair Color Mattered If there was one thing that mattered most to Sherwood Schwartz, it was hair color. Schwartz wanted the hair color of the kids to match the parents, before casting Robert Reed and Florence Henderson. Schwartz had 12 kids reserved with a mixture of hair color within the group, three blond girls, three brunette girls, three brunette boys, and three blond boys. 13. Florence Henderson missed a huge chunk of filming! The first season began production without Mrs. Brady! Florence Henderson was obligated contractually to an off-Broadway play and thus she missed filming over the first six episodes. She had to go in and fill her scenes at a later time. 14. Robert Reed’s Unhappiness Robert Reed disliked playing Mike Brady; so much so that he believed the show was beneath him. Reed graduated from the Royal Academy of the Dramatic Art in London and in the early 1960s, starred in the series The Defenders, a critically-acclaimed drama. Reed believed the show had too much of a light tone, considering other rules he had taken throughout his career. Regardless of his feelings towards the show and his character, Reed stayed and repressed his role in later spin-offs because of the close relationship he had with the child actors on the show. 15. Cindy’s Lisp Was Real Susan Olsen had a lisp in real life, which show producers decided to add on to the show. With the years to follow, Olsen took speech therapy until the age 19 and would eventually undergo a minor surgery to correct it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?vhsBg-gNKkuo 16. Best Friends For Life While the actresses playing the Brady sisters seemed to have squabbled, their male counterparts definitely got along. Barry Williams and Christopher Knight became best friends and attended each other’s weddings later on. 17. The Show Filmed Six Episodes Without Henderson At the time filming began, Florence Henderson was wrapping up another project in Denmark. It was here where she first heard the news that the pilot for the show had sold. Once filming for the Song of Norway finished, Henderson flew back to the states and began filming for The Brady Bunch. 18. Marcia and Greg hooked up – off the set. Maureen McCormick shared her first kiss with on-screen brother, Barry Williams (Greg). Maureen noted that, while it was wonderful, a part of her admitted: “I’m kissing my brother. What am I doing?” 19. The Word Sex is Only Said Twice Throughout the five seasons of The Brady Bunch, the word sex is only mentioned twice in the series. Once by Greg in the first season and then once more by Greg in the final episode of the series Credits: standardnews.com horizontimes Do you remember this classic show? Let us know in comments!