What Was ‘The Brady Bunch’ Dad Robert Reed’s Net Worth at the Time of His Death?
It’s been over 50 years since The Brady Bunch ended. As the family patriarch Mike Brady, actor Robert Reed led the charge and set the tone for the show’s five seasons from 1969 to 1974. But he later became a tragic story in the world of celebrity deaths. What was Robert Reed’s net worth at the time of his death?
Here’s the story about a man named Brady
The Brady Bunch follows the titular family led by architect Mike Brady and homemaker Carol Brady. Before they tied the knot, Mike and Carol were single parents with three children each. Mike brought three sons to the new family: Greg, Peter, and Bobby. And Carol brought three daughters: Marcia, Jan, and Cindy. Mike also brought along his housekeeper, Alice. And don’t forget Fluffy the cat and Tiger the dog.
Each week, viewers laughed at the misadventures of the six Brady children growing into their own and learning how to navigate life with new siblings. Mike and Carol also had to navigate their roles as step-parents.
Reed was a classically trained American actor, but he became best known as the dad on The Brady Bunch. He reprised the role for sequels and spinoffs, according to IMDb.
On and off the set, Reed acted as a surrogate father to the six kids. He took them on weekend trips and shepherded them to England to expose them to Shakespeare and culture when the show wasn’t shooting in the summertime. The now-adult actors still speak affectionately of Reed.
What was Robert Reed’s net worth when died at age 59?
Robert Reed died in May 1992 from colon cancer.
Co-star Florence Henderson, who played Carol Brady, revealed to ABC News that he had asked her to tell the child actors about his diagnosis. Reed had been keeping his illness a secret for years.
“He was very brave, he was very courageous … and he asked me if I would call all the kids and tell them,” Henderson recalled. “It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do.”
Reed’s main cause of death was colon cancer, but his death certificate also noted HIV. Reed was gay but kept that fact a closely guarded secret.
“Here he was, the perfect father of this wonderful little family, a perfect husband. Off camera, he was an unhappy person,” Henderson said. “I think had Bob not been forced to live this double life … it would have dissipated a lot of that anger and frustration. I never asked him. I never challenged him. I had a lot of compassion for him because I knew how he was suffering with keeping this secret.”
Robert Reed’s net worth at the time of his death was about $3 million (adjusted for inflation), according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Robert Reed was difficult on the set of ‘The Brady Bunch’
Though Robert Reed played a lovable dad on The Brady Bunch and acted as a surrogate father to the six child actors, he was also notorious for being a “diva” behind the scenes, the New York Post reported.
Reed was particular about how things should be on the show. He was meticulous in his fact-checking and refused to act if something didn’t seem right. Sometimes, he even penned multi-page memos to the producers if something upset him.
Reed was trained as a Shakespearean actor and took the TV gig for the money. His heart was never entirely in the role, which caused many distractions. He often spent his lunch breaks getting drunk and returned to the set intoxicated. It forced the producers to end filming early. However, the children rarely saw these events because they were usually done acting for the day.
Reed’s behavior forced the showrunners to cut him from some episodes, including the series finale in 1974. The Brady Bunch creator Sherwood Schwartz even said that if the show had continued to a sixth season, he planned to kill off Mike Brady and restructure the storyline around the children helping Carol find love again.
