What Are the ‘Brady Bunch’ Kids Doing Now?
Every once in awhile, a show comes along that defines American culture. 50 years ago, that show was The Brady Bunch. So many of us have wonderful childhood memories of watching the Brady family. Even those of us that were too young for the original show came to love the bunch through its multiple spin-offs and reboots. For Brady fans everywhere, here’s the scoop on what the cast has been up to, and why you may be seeing much more of them very soon.
What did the cast do after ‘The Brady Bunch?’
When The Brady Bunch came to an end, each of the stars went in their own directions. Maureen McCormick, who played Marcia Brady struggled with drug addiction to cocaine and quaaludes, as well as bulimia. While working on one reboot, The Brady Brides, McCormick missed three days of production. Her agent finally found her in the closet, high on cocaine. Eventually, though, she was able to overcome her addiction with the help of rehab and therapy.
Eve Plumb, who played Jan Brady, appeared in The Love Boat and Fantasy Island.
The youngest of the bunch, Susan Olsen, who played Cindy Brady, became a soap star in The Young and the Restless. Another Brady to transition to soaps was Christopher Knight, who played Peter Brady. He appeared in The Bold and the Beautiful.
Each star had their own part in various projects as they struggled to build a career outside of The Brady Bunch, but the iconic show remained the role they were most known for. The public demanded more Brady, and so multiple reboots were made with the original actors, including The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, The Brady Brides, A Very Brady Christmas, and The Bradys.
What are ‘The Brady Bunch’ stars doing now?
It’s been 50 years since The Brady Bunch was on the air, so many of the actors are reaching an age where they are settling outside the public eye, enjoying their families. “My biggest accomplishment is, I just celebrated 34 years of marriage to my dear husband Michael [Cummings], and we have a beautiful daughter together, Natalie,” McCormick recently told Today.
Olson is also enjoying a quiet life with her family. “I’ve been a graphic artist,” she told Today. “I teach acting for kids, and my universe is my son, Michael.”
Some of the cast are no longer with us, including Florence Henderson, who played Carol Brady, Robert Reed, who played Mike Brady, and Ann B. Davis, who played Alice.
But not everyone is done with acting. Most notably, Plumb was on an episode of the HBO show, Crashing, and also does theater in New York. Knight was recently in a made for TV movie on the SyFy channel, called The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time. Barry Williams, who played Greg Brady, has gone in a different direction but is still in the public eye as part of a musical trio called The Traveliers.
The next project: ‘A Very Brady Renovation’
The next project for the surviving members of The Brady Bunch cast will be on HGTV’s new show, A Very Brady Renovation. Last year, the network purchased the iconic house that was featured on The Brady Bunch show, and they plan to renovate it to appear exactly as it did during the show.
The actual house was only featured during the opening and closing scenes. Most of the internal scenes were shot in a studio, so the house interior doesn’t match what you saw during the show. But that’s all going to change when the cast remodels the home. The plan is to make the house appear exactly as it did in The Brady Bunch, both on the inside and outside of the home. And the original cast members, working with design professionals will be the ones to do it.
“What resonated with me the most was that it was a different take on Brady,” Plumb said. “They weren’t asking us to come back and play Brady Bunch characters again. It was, ‘Let’s explore what the house will look like if we can make it in real life.”
A Very Brady Renovation will air on HGTV starting September 9.
