I always thought it extremely hypocritical of the Bradys to keep telling Alice how they considered her a member of the family and still never felt the need to stop her from addressing them as Mr. and Mrs. Brady and call them Mike or Carol.

Anybody out there address any members of their own family as Mr. or Mrs.?

And even after Alice had long since stopped working for the Bradys, she still addressed them as Mr. & Mrs.. Member of the family: yeah right.

even if they did she wouldn't do it because she is respectful.

You have a brain: yeah right.

I have to agree.Also if Alice was apart of The Brady Family why did she have to wear a uniform? Also you never see Alice having supper with The Bradys.And when they all went to The Grand Canyon,and the whole bunch was sitting around a camp fire singing,how come Alice was not sitting with them?Some vacation Alice gets to go with them to The Grand Canyon and shes the one doing the cooking.Also since she was living with The Bradys did she have to pay Mike and Carol rent? Also why did they need a housekeeper?Carol did not work.What did Carol do while Alice was doing all the house work?

Just curious, can you see this post?

She sure was a member of the family, they let her live in their house, they took her on vacations, she didn't sue them after tripping on the Chinese checkers, she didn't sue after they scared the hell out of her with the ghost, the family gave her boyfriend all of their meat business, they let her aunt stay with them, and the kids even tried to get back at her after she snitched, just like they would any other family member.

She sure was a member of the family, they let her live in their house,

As a live in maid. Where she was available night and day.

they took her on vacations.

Where she did the cooking and cleaning up; the location changed but the job didn't.

She didn't sue them after tripping on the Chinese checkers, she didn't sue after they scared the hell out of her with the ghost.

That was just her being a decent person who wasn't malicious or greedy.

The family gave her boyfriend all of their meat business.

Where the family benefitted by getting better cuts of meat because Sam was her boyfriend.

they let her aunt stay with them.

I don't recall Alice's Aunt staying with the family. However if you're referring to her cousin Emma, she was filling in for Alice while she was away. Apparently, the Brady's were helpless without a maid, if even for a little while.

and the kids even tried to get back at her after she snitched, just like they would any other family member.

Actually the kids assumed she snitched and rather than try to learn the whole truth, decided to give her the cold shoulder; in effect shutting her out. Apparently all those years of loyal service and kindness she gave them, meant nothing to them. Yeah, real nice family.

^^^^^nice response caladon.

Excellent points, caladon!

I always thought having her call Mike & Carol "Mr. & Mrs." was strange. I got the feeling she was one level below the Bradys even though she was "part of the family."

She even got to scrub Tiger's @ss!

You convinced me too, what a bunch of meanies ! I think I'm switching over to the Partridges.

Excellent points, caladon!

I always thought having her call Mike & Carol "Mr. & Mrs." was strange. I got the feeling she was one level below the Bradys even though she was "part of the family."

She even got to scrub Tiger's @ss!
Bingo!

Thanks folks, I'm glad you liked the posts.

You convinced me too, what a bunch of meanies ! I think I'm switching over to the Partridges.

Speaking of that, did you ever see the Saturday Night Live sketch (from a show hosted by Susan Dey, sometime around 1991 or 1992)?

In one sketch, Susan Dey played Laurie Partridge, Dana Carvey played Keith ... it starts off with the "Partridge Family" 'rehearsing' in their garage... "Jan Brady" (Melanie Hutsell) discovers that the Partridges only lip-synch on their songs, so she brings all of her brothers and sisters over, and they engage in a "battle of the garage bands"...

Kevin Nealon played Greg, I think Adam Sandler played Peter, I forget who played Bobby... I'm not sure who played Marcia, but Victoria Jackson played Cindy... I think Mike Meyers was in there too, he played either Bobby or Danny Bonaduce's character... I'm thinking that David Spade was in there too, maybe he played the youngest boy from the Partridges...

Anyway, Susan Dey, as Laurie, makes a snide comment about how the Bradys treat Alice "like crap" because "you don't even let her eat DINNER with you!" ... to which Cindy (Victoria Jackson, speaking with a lisp) replies "that's not true, we LOVE Alith"

Great sketch! If you haven't seen it, and you ever notice that a SNL rerun (shown on "E") has Susan Dey as the host, that's an episode to watch!

no comment....................:rolleyes:

I meant that the Bradys were meanies for treating Alice in that manner, so I would watch the Partridges instead, not anything else, forgive me if it seemed otherwise !!

Everyone has made some very good points. I don't even see why they needed Alice in the first place (after the marriage, that is). Carol didn't have a job, and the older kids didn't need as much supervision, so maybe they could've freed up Alice's salary to build a few more rooms!! :lol:

Alice was the glue of the family. They were helpless without her. What the hell did Carol do, anyway? She "helped" with meals and drove kids around sometimes.

Mike should have married Alice! ;)

I think her calling them Mr. and Mrs. Brady was just something she did out of respect. Though it doesn't make a whole lot of sense since they were either the same age or younger than her. Different times I guess... different times.

I think her calling them Mr. and Mrs. Brady was just something she did out of respect. Though it doesn't make a whole lot of sense since they were either the same age or younger than her. Different times I guess... different times.

Yes! This was what I was going to say. Times were different back during 1969-1974.

I thought she was part of the family. They always included her in everything.

Alice was the glue of the family. They were helpless without her. What the hell did Carol do, anyway? She "helped" with meals and drove kids around sometimes.

Mike should have married Alice! ;)
Don't forget about Carol Brady's Women's Club and charity luncheons! :lol:

Thanks folks, I'm glad you liked the posts.

We couldn't help but like these posts you did in response to Alice being thought of as a family member. You addressed each issue point by point, adding comments to each to support your viewpoint. You systematically broke down kooky12 arguments, presented proof and examples like you were Clarence Darrow.

We couldn't help but like these posts you did in response to Alice being thought of as a family member. You addressed each issue point by point, adding comments to each to support your viewpoint. You systematically broke down kooky12 arguments, presented proof and examples like you were Clarence Darrow.

Thank you, cleverfun3000; I appreciate the compliment.

Back than maids/housekeepers wore uniforms. Hazel did, she even wore a maids cap too!! LOL . I can't remember if Florence from the Jefferson's did? I think so though. Hazel called the Baxter's , Mr. B and Missy! Florence called the Jefferson's . Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson. I guess that is just how it was back than!

Tripping over the Chinese checkers though!! I don't think I would have been as nice as Alice was about that. I probably wouldn't have sued the family, but I would be more angry than Alice was! I sprained my ankle about a year ago, and it was so painful and it s*cked!!!!

To my knowledge, Hazel didn't wear a cap as part of her uniform -- instead, she wore a little white tiara that matched the design of her collar.

To my knowledge, Hazel didn't wear a cap as part of her uniform -- instead, she wore a little white tiara that matched the design of her collar.


Oh wow, I guess it is more of a tiara type of thing rather than a cap! I knew she wore something on her head! :)


http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Z7jeDbucjFo/0.jpg

In Hazel we trust! But remember, when taking her photo, Hazel stipulates "no cheesecake!" LOL

Yes! This was what I was going to say. Times were different back during 1969-1974.

Along the same lines, I always wondered why Sam and Darrin weren't on first-name basis with the Kravitzes after years of being neighbors on "Bewitched", or why Oliver Douglas wasn't on first-name basis with the folks from Hooterville when all the others seemed to be.

It was the '60s, after all...

All do respect, I totally disagree with you. Alice addressed them as Mr and Mr.s as a form of respect. When the family went to Hawaii and on other trips, they always took Alice with them, and I point out that she wasn't treated as a servant on those trips, rather as a part of the family. She also joined in on activities with the family as well. Doesn't that seem like a part of the family? It does to me.

Sherwood Schwartz wrote about it many times. The reason the Bradys needed a housekeeper was so Carol would have someone to talk to in the kitchen. The stories needed things to be discussed among the adults and Alice was there.

Schwartz pointed out that the decision to cast both Alice and Carol revolved around the other. (I might be misremembering the order of these decisions, but...) The original choice for Alice was Kathleen Freeman, who was not even a little bit funny. The original choice for Carol was Joyce Bulifant, a funny woman. Then they were able to sign Florence Henderson, and that meant two straight (i.e., non-comedic) women in the kitchen. So they got Ann B. Davis, a funny woman, to counterbalance Florence.

Alice was needed to be "a member of the family" to make her larger role in relating to both the children and the adults meaningful. That wouldn't have worked if all she did was cook and clean and go home to her own place after dinner was made.

Everyone has made some very good points. I don't even see why they needed Alice in the first place (after the marriage, that is). Carol didn't have a job, and the older kids didn't need as much supervision, so maybe they could've freed up Alice's salary to build a few more rooms!! :lol:

Yes, but then again it is for the particular structure of the show.
Alice was to be the fall gal to a lot of the kids' jokes and even some from Mr and Mrs. Brady. Also the Brady's had six kids. When the series began the oldest ones were about 13 and the younger ones about 8. Kids that young can be more than a hand-full and it is apparent that all those kids were too much for Carol Brady alone even though she had no other job so Alice was supposed to be "representative" or "proof" of the fact that the Bradys were a large family with six underaged members.
The details were not supposed to be deeply considered and of course it is likely the writers either did not think about details of the relationship between Alice and the Bradys or they figured most people would take for granted that the set-up makes sense. The specifics were not supposed to be thought of as relevant to the plots otherwise you would notice as a lot of you mentioned. that Alice is very much considered to be a close member of the family and she goes on vacations with the Bradys etc, but also she is a live-in maid , but there really isn't a need for her to wear a uniform (but then I guess that is so that the viewing audience does not forget that she is a maid and not a family member) .

But also about the odd relationship between Alice and the Brady's ;it is very much as if she is some widow or unmarried woman with no life of her own, no kids or husband of her own which is unusual for a woman Alice's age, and though she has a boyfriend and a cousin she is depicted as if she is just someone who is practically an orphan and was adopted into the Brady family to live with them .

Bingo!

Hi Irene...:wave:

Should they have also told her she no longer had to work and just let her live there? lol

I mean they treated her basically like a member of the family BUT at the same time she was still a PROFESSIONAL made and acted professional at her work.

This was a fun thread!!:D Bumping it up!!:)