When it comes to truly timeless television shows, it's hard to think of one that's more beloved than The Brady Bunch. This series surrounding a unique family first aired in 1969 and had its last episode in 1974, but its popularity continues even to today. It's spawned multiple spin-offs and even a few movies, and even those who were born long after the series ended are still likely to be familiar with some of the show's most popular quotes ("Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!"). But even lifelong fans of the Brady family might not know some of the most interesting facts about the show.
Those of us who were fortunate enough to grow up with the Brady kids carry a special place in our hearts for both the humorous and heartwarming moments from this show. After all, who can forget the stellar performance of "Sunshine Day" the kids performed on the episode "Amateur Night"? Scenes like these are what make this show so special even after all these years. It's no wonder Davy Jones himself wanted to act in one of the show's most popular episodes of all time!
For a dose of nostalgia, check out these surprising facts about The Brady Bunch. Once you learn these bits of trivia, you might never watch the show the same way again! I know I'm going to keep my eyes peeled now that I've learned about number 11.
Make sure you SHARE these fun and surprising facts with all the Brady Bunch fans in your life!
1. Florence Henderson wasn't always Mrs. Brady.
The first choice for the role was actually comedic actress Joyce Bulifant (pictured above on The Mary Tyler Moore Show), but once Alice's character (played by Ann B. Davis) came around, the show's creators decided they needed a more straightforward maternal character to balance out all the crazy comedy. They later hired Florence Henderson to play the part instead.
2. In fact, Florence didn't even appear for the first few episodes.
She was filming a movie in Denmark and sadly couldn't be in two places at the same time. They filmed the first episodes despite her absence, and she made her first appearance in episode seven.
3. The Brady household didn't have a toilet.
All those kids, one bathroom, and zero toilets. Why? Back then, there were strict rules about showing toilets on air, so to make things easier, the set designers just didn't put one in at all.
4. It also lacked a sliding glass door.
This was because the glare on the glass was causing problems during filming, so instead, the crew just took out the glass and left the frame in.
5. They almost killed off Mike Brady.
Robert Reed was almost as famous for being hard to work with as he was for being an actor. He believed that he was above the material that the show delivered, and executive producer Sherwood Schwartz almost decided to kill off his character just so he wouldn't have to deal with him anymore.
6. The original Tiger died before the series ended.
The first dog that played Tiger was tragically hit and killed by a car in the same area where the show was being filmed. The shelter dog that replaced him was terrible at following directions, so the producers eventually decided to get rid of Tiger's character entirely.
7. The show wasn't always popular.
Considering the start it had, it's a miracle The Brady Bunch survived for so long. When it first aired, it wasn't even among the top 30 shows according to the Nielsen ratings. It managed to stay afloat for five seasons, and after that, its popularity soared.
8. Susan Olsen really had a lisp.
Cindy's lisp wasn't the result of good acting; Susan Olsen struggled with her lisp for most of her life, taking speech therapy classes for years on end. A minor surgery at age 19 finally helped fix her problem for good.
9. This wasn't Carol Brady's first marriage.
It was clear from the start that Mike's previous wife had died, but Carol's past was intentionally kept quiet on the show. However, Sherwood Schwartz has stated before that Carol was actually a divorcée. The reason it wasn't specified on the show was due to the taboo nature of divorce at the time.
10. The concept for the show was based on a statistic.
Schwartz conceived the idea for the show in 1966 after reading in the Los Angeles Times that 30 percent of United States marriages had at least one child from a previous marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Brady's three children each made things interesting indeed!
11. The final episode cuts contain a lot of noticeable mistakes.
Editing and reshoots were kept to a minimum because the show's creators didn't expect it to become too popular. As a result, it's pretty easy to spot continuity errors such as hairstyles changing in the middle of a scene.
12. Greg and Marcia dated at one point.
Or rather, their actors did. Barry Williams and Maureen McCormick kissed for the first time in Hawaii, where they were shooting for the show. The director even had to reshoot scenes specifically because the two kept moving too close together when they shouldn't have been!
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