Let's get a crash course in The Brady Bunch. |
I think I can do something with that.
Running from September 26, 1969 until March 8, 1974, The Brady Bunch had 9 main characters, one major recurring character, and an additional character. It had several sequel series and reunion movies, including The Brady Kids (September 9, 1972-October 6, 1973); The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (November 28, 1976; January 23-May 25, 1977); The Brady Girls Get Married/The Brady Brides (February 6 - April 17, 1977); A Very Brady Christmas (December 18, 1988); and The Bradys (February 9 - March 9, 1990). It was followed up by two theatrical movie releases, The Brady Bunch Movie in 1995 and A Very Brady Sequel in 1996, and a made-for-TV sequel to the theatrical movies, The Brady Bunch in the White House, in 2002. Let's get into the cast of characters.
The lovely lady. |
Carol Brady
Carol Brady is the lovely lady of the theme song. A stay-at-home mom in the original series, she went on to become a real estate agent when the kids were all grown up. This was apparently at the insistence of original Carol Brady actress, Florence Henderson, who reportedly wouldn't return for the reunions unless Carol had a job. While Carol Brady does not appear in the animated series The Brady Kids, she was portrayed by Florence Henderson in every other Brady series from 1969-1990. Carol Brady was played by Shelley Long in The Brady Bunch Movie, A Very Brady Sequel, and The Brady Bunch in the White House.
Carol was the biological mother to three very lovely girls. Though it was never stated what happened to Carol's first husband, it was intended that she would be a divorcee.
Three very lovely girls. |
Marcia Brady
Marcia Brady is the oldest Brady girl, but there is a certain irony as she is technically a middle child herself, being younger than Greg. Marcia is intelligent and popular, though sometimes she can be portrayed as vain. Though Maureen McCormick is the most iconic Marcia, and the actress that portrayed her in most of the series, there are actually two fake Marcias. Maureen McCormick was not in the second season of The Brady Kids, with Erika Scheimer taking over the role. McCormick also did not appear in The Bradys, with Leah Ayres taking the role. Marcia is played by Christine Taylor in The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel, and Autumn Reeser in The Brady Bunch in the White House.
Jan Brady
Jan Brady is the middle Brady girl and the fourth oldest Brady kid overall. Jan is the poster child for middle child syndrome, to the point that all of her characteristics that aren't her glasses and braces are stripped in the movies. Jan is a reformed prankster and an artist that marches to the beat of her own drum. Jan is also the only reason that the Brady Kids became a musical act - The Silver Platters - as her mistake was what led the kids to becoming a performers to pay for an anniversary gift. Though the world forever remembers fake Jan - Geri Reischl from The Brady Bunch Variety Hour - original performer Eve Plumb did portray Jan in every other sequel series and reunion movie. Jan is played by Jennifer Elise Cox in The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel, and Ashley Eckstein in The Brady Bunch in the White House.
Cindy Brady
Cindy Brady is the youngest Brady child. Cindy has been shown to have a knack for performing in the show, but her main schtick is just being young and cute. It's also harder to tell what Cindy's thing is because she very unfortunately still manages to live in the shadow of five older siblings. Susan Olsen almost exclusively plays Cindy Brady, as she did return for all of the sequel series and The Brady Girls Get Married, but she was not in A Very Brady Christmas because she was on her honeymoon. Jennifer Runyon filled in for Cindy in that movie. Cindy is played by Olivia Hack in The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel, and Sofia Vassilieva in The Brady Bunch in the White House.
The man named Brady. |
Mike Brady
Mike Brady is the formerly single father to three boys. He was a widower when he met and fell in love with Carol. Mike originally is shown to be short tempered, at times, but he grows to be patient with his children and often imparts useful advice. I don't think it's exaggerating to say that Mike Brady is considered to be one of the top 5 TV dads. Robert Reed hated being on The Brady Bunch and often got into arguments with the creator Sherwood Schwartz and the network over the scripts, and if the show had not been canceled, Mike Brady would have been written off the show. Except for The Brady Kids, where Mike does not make any appearances, Robert Reed still managed to return for every single sequel series and reunion. Reportedly, he was one of the first to sign on to The Brady Bunch Variety Hour. That doesn't mean he was done complaining about the scripts, however - he didn't think the ending of A Very Brady Christmas was very realistic. Mike Brady is played by Gary Cole in The Brady Bunch Movie, A Very Brady Sequel, and The Brady Bunch in the White House.
They were four men, living all together |
Greg Brady
Greg Brady is the oldest Brady child. Though Greg can be short tempered with his siblings, he's normally kind and considerate. He tries to be honest and act judicially. I've heard that a lot of girls had crushes on Greg, but I always just wanted him to be my big brother. Though Greg is almost always portrayed by Barry Williams in every series and movie from 1969-1990, Barry Williams did not return for the second season of The Brady Kids, instead being voiced by Lane Scheimer. What do you know - a fake Greg. Greg Brady is played by Christopher Daniel Barnes in The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel, and Chad Doreck in The Brady Bunch in the White House.
Peter Brady
Peter Brady is the middle boy and third oldest Brady kid, and this middle child got done dirtier than Jan. Besides puberty, a series of catchphrases, and having a doppelganger, name me one major Peter Brady characteristic. A positive - or even a negative - contribution he has made to the Brady family. Most of Peter's non-gimmicky storylines were tied up in one of his other siblings' stories. It turns out there's also a fake Peter - much like Barry Williams, Christopher Knight did almost exclusively portray Peter from 1969-1990. However, he also left The Brady Kids during the second season and Peter was then voiced by David E. Smith. Peter Brady is played by Paul Sutera in The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel and Blake Foster in The Brady Bunch in the White House.
Bobby Brady
Bobby Brady is the youngest boy and fifth oldest Brady kid. Bobby had a much better deal than middle brother Peter and youngest sister Cindy because this kid got some good storylines. He had to worry about catching mumps from a kiss, which is kind of an ambitious story for The Brady Bunch's standards. In season 1, he planned to run away from home. These are actual plots. Bobby is the only Brady kid to not have a "fake" as Mike Lookinland was Bobby's only performer from 1969-1990. Bobby Brady is played by Jesse Lee Soffer in The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel, and by Max Morrow in The Brady Bunch in the White House.
The maid named Alice |
Alice Nelson
Alice Nelson was the long time maid for Mike Brady and his boys, and blended right with them when the Brady ladies all joined the family. Alice is unquestionably part of the family, as she's nearly left over not seeing herself as such and the family stepping in to stop her because she belongs in the Brady home. Much like the Brady parents, Alice was not a character in The Brady Kids, but Ann B. Davis played her in every appearance from 1969-1990. Alice is played by Henriette Mantel in The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel, and by Tannis Burnett in The Brady Bunch in the White House.
Not Pictured
I'm still pretty early in rewatching the series at the time that I am writing this, so I don't have pictures of the next two characters because they haven't appeared yet.
Sam Franklin
Best known as Sam the Butcher, Sam Franklin was the long time beau of Alice Nelson. He was also the butcher at the meat shop, and rumor has it the Bradys always got the best deal. The Bradys didn't have a lot of recurring characters, but Sam was definitely the most prominent. Sam was played by Allan Melvin on The Brady Bunch, Lewis Arquette in A Very Brady Christmas, and David Graf in The Brady Bunch Movie.
Oliver Tyler
Oliver Tyler, also known as Cousin Oliver, was Carol's nephew who moved into the Brady home in the fifth season. He's known as a jinx, but that's not really a characteristic and he wasn't exactly a beloved addition. Cousin Oliver even has a TV trope named after him, and is a known form of Jumping the Shark. For only being in six episodes, he sure left his mark on pop culture. Robbie Rist played Cousin Oliver on the show, and while he never returned for sequels or reunions, he was referenced in A Very Brady Sequel, along with other long lost characters Tiger and Fluffy.
Honorable Mentions
The Brady Bunch did not exist in a bubble. It had four sequel series and one reunion movie (The Brady Girls Get Married is technically part of The Brady Brides and The Brady 500 is part of The Bradys). One of the movies even fleshed out an only heard of and never seen character. So, without further ado, the rest of the names of the rest of the Brady characters:
The Brady Kids
A series with no adults, The Brady Kids added the characters of Marlon, Mop Top, and Ping and Pong, all of whom had cameos in A Very Brady Sequel. The show also had the characters Chuck White, Babs, and Fleetwood, who all went to school with the Bradys.
The Brady Bunch Variety Hour
Rip Taylor portrayed Jack Merrill, a love interest for Alice on The Brady Bunch Variety Hour. I guess everyone just forgot Sam existed for a minute.
The Brady Spouses
Most of the Brady kids get married between 1981 and 1990, and the established spouses returned for every reunion and sequel series after they were introduced. The Brady Brides introduced us to Marcia's husband, Wally Logan (played by Jerry Houser) and Jan's husband, Phillip Covington III (played by Ron Kuhlman). A Very Brady Christmas introduced us to Greg's wife, Nora (played by Caryn Richman). Then Bobby got married to Tracy (played by Martha Quinn) in The Bradys.
Larry Dittmeyer
Mr. Dittmeyer, the unseen but still mentioned neighbor of the Bradys in the original series gets upgraded to main antagonist of The Brady Bunch Movie, where he was played by Michael McKean.
Are there any other notable Brady characters that I should have named? Let me know!