I think the reason this sitcom failed, is because Marcia ended up marrying a total nerd!. No offense to the guy, but for someone like Marcia Brady, it really seemed unbelievable she would wind up with a guy named Wally Logan...Agree? Disagree?

I couldn't stand the guy who played Wally OR the guy who played Phillip. Wally was a nerd and Phillip was a dweeb.

Terrible casting for both parts.

Hey...I liked Wally. Then again, I'm a Jerry Houser fan - is very prolific in voiceover work and such.

Besides, if Jerry Houser hadn't been cast as Wally, Maureen McCormick may not be here today (according to her book). Check this out:

http://www.thegregbradyproject.com/2008/10/23/and-nowthe-rest-of-the-story/

I always suspected that Jerry Houser was a good guy. Jerry Who? Oh, ye of little Brady knowledge! Jerry Houser, the actor who portrayed Wally Logan, aka The Man Who Married Marcia Brady. I’ve always thought that he is probably a very nice person. Now, I know that the image an actor projects as a fictional character is often unrelated to the true nature of the human being who is speaking the lines. Take Margaret Hamilton, for example, whom we remember as the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. Turns out she wasn’t evil (who knew?). So just because Wally Logan always seemed like the best brother-in-law a family could have, it doesn’t mean that Jerry Houser must therefore be similar. It’s just that his performances seemed endearingly genuine to me. Thanks to Maureen McCormick’s new autobiography, Here’s the Story, I now know that my hunch was on the money.

Oh, you won’t hear much about Houser in the barrage of promotion and press coverage concerning this book. No doubt you’ve heard a salacious detail or two (or three or four) by now, and whether it’s the nature of modern media or the provocation of a publisher that knows sleaze sells, most all of the publicity has taken a decidedly negative slant. There’s little point in elaborating upon those details here. But what’s struck me the most about what I’ve read and heard in all of the recent press is that the positive and redeeming part of Maureen’s story is being largely ignored. I’ll be the first to admit that Here’s the Story isn’t likely to win any literary prizes, but there’s more here than the tabloid headlines would suggest. Some of it is difficult to read, not because of the accounts of very un-Brady-like behavior but rather due to the pathos of an addict repeating the same mistake again, and again, and yet again. Just when it seems like our autobiographer has pulled herself together, she descends into another self-indulgent relapse of destructive behavior. By the time she began working on The Brady Brides, she was a total mess. That’s when Jerry Houser came along.

At first he was smitten with her and sought a romantic relationship. She soon decided they weren’t right for each other. That was far from the end of things, however, as a sincere friendship evolved between the two. He was concerned for her health. He visited her regularly. They took long walks and talked about their lives. One night, he took her into a church, and…(hold your ears, Hollywood)…he prayed for her. Out loud, even. And soon he brought her to his home church, where she met the man she would marry in real life. Nothing changed overnight, but it was the beginning of the end of an addict giving in to her addiction. I would call Jerry Houser a genuinely good guy, wouldn’t you?

So rest assured, folks, it’s not just the story of a lovely lady who was binging, coking up, and sometimes hurled. Like a prodigal daughter, this is also a tale of redemption. You won’t hear about it from most every other media outlet, but take it from The Greg Brady Project: Here’s the Story is ultimately an inspiring testimonial of how faith and commitment can overcome our darkest days.

Hey...I liked Wally. Then again, I'm a Jerry Houser fan - is very prolific in voiceover work and such.

Besides, if Jerry Houser hadn't been cast as Wally, Maureen McCormick may not be here today (according to her book). Check this out:

http://www.thegregbradyproject.com/2008/10/23/and-nowthe-rest-of-the-story/

I always suspected that Jerry Houser was a good guy. Jerry Who? Oh, ye of little Brady knowledge! Jerry Houser, the actor who portrayed Wally Logan, aka The Man Who Married Marcia Brady. I’ve always thought that he is probably a very nice person. Now, I know that the image an actor projects as a fictional character is often unrelated to the true nature of the human being who is speaking the lines. Take Margaret Hamilton, for example, whom we remember as the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. Turns out she wasn’t evil (who knew?). So just because Wally Logan always seemed like the best brother-in-law a family could have, it doesn’t mean that Jerry Houser must therefore be similar. It’s just that his performances seemed endearingly genuine to me. Thanks to Maureen McCormick’s new autobiography, Here’s the Story, I now know that my hunch was on the money.

Oh, you won’t hear much about Houser in the barrage of promotion and press coverage concerning this book. No doubt you’ve heard a salacious detail or two (or three or four) by now, and whether it’s the nature of modern media or the provocation of a publisher that knows sleaze sells, most all of the publicity has taken a decidedly negative slant. There’s little point in elaborating upon those details here. But what’s struck me the most about what I’ve read and heard in all of the recent press is that the positive and redeeming part of Maureen’s story is being largely ignored. I’ll be the first to admit that Here’s the Story isn’t likely to win any literary prizes, but there’s more here than the tabloid headlines would suggest. Some of it is difficult to read, not because of the accounts of very un-Brady-like behavior but rather due to the pathos of an addict repeating the same mistake again, and again, and yet again. Just when it seems like our autobiographer has pulled herself together, she descends into another self-indulgent relapse of destructive behavior. By the time she began working on The Brady Brides, she was a total mess. That’s when Jerry Houser came along.

At first he was smitten with her and sought a romantic relationship. She soon decided they weren’t right for each other. That was far from the end of things, however, as a sincere friendship evolved between the two. He was concerned for her health. He visited her regularly. They took long walks and talked about their lives. One night, he took her into a church, and…(hold your ears, Hollywood)…he prayed for her. Out loud, even. And soon he brought her to his home church, where she met the man she would marry in real life. Nothing changed overnight, but it was the beginning of the end of an addict giving in to her addiction. I would call Jerry Houser a genuinely good guy, wouldn’t you?

So rest assured, folks, it’s not just the story of a lovely lady who was binging, coking up, and sometimes hurled. Like a prodigal daughter, this is also a tale of redemption. You won’t hear about it from most every other media outlet, but take it from The Greg Brady Project: Here’s the Story is ultimately an inspiring testimonial of how faith and commitment can overcome our darkest days.im a huge jerry houser fan too

i foud it strange that jan ended up with an anil retentive stick in the mud like philip in the brady bunch jan always seemed to go for the more laid back types like wally

Thanks for sharing that Monika! I haven't read Maureen's book yet. I am a Jerry Houser fan as well and I always liked him on the Brady Brides and the reunion movies. That was a great story about their relationship.

Thanks for sharing that Monika! I haven't read Maureen's book yet. I am a Jerry Houser fan as well and I always liked him on the Brady Brides and the reunion movies. That was a great story about their relationship.
It's a great read. Jerry Houser is also on Facebook and I have had the pleasure to "friend" him. What a terrific guy. Here is his voice in an old Keebler's ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UKrNez6Zgk

Here are two podcasts featuring Jerry and the actress who played his daughter on a show for Focus on the Family. He refers to himself as the man who married Marcia Brady. :lol:

http://whitsendblog.org/?s=jerry+houser

I agree, the Brady brides had potential but it was horribly cast. Sorry.

I disagree.

The Brady Bunch was a limited concept that had reached its organic end when the main series was canceled. That's why the subsequent follow up series failed; there was nothing left for them to portray.

the writing was more at guilt, than the casting.....had Sherwood handed off the scripts to more polished professionals, we might have seen a better overall product.

I didn't mind Jerry Houser as Marcia's husband. He was goofy and nerdy, but on the original series Marcia was shown at times to be into geeky types like Charlie and Harvey the kid who collected bugs.

I didn't mind Jerry Houser as Marcia's husband. He was goofy and nerdy, but on the original series Marcia was shown at times to be into geeky types like Charlie and Harvey the kid who collected bugs.

Very true!! :yeahthat

Proving that Marcia wasn't the shallow type deep down :D

Proving that Marcia wasn't the shallow type deep down :D
Exactly. As far as I can tell, Mo and Jerry are still friends (I happen to know he is still in touch with Susan and Leah Kalish, as I am FB friends with all of them).

I just finished re-reading Brady Brady Brady by Sherwood and Lloyd Schwartz. Lloyd mentioned that when he wrote the script for "The Brady Girls Get Married" the TV movie that led to The Brady Brides he used two actor friends of his as models for the characters of the husbands. Those friends were Jerry Houser and Ron Kuhlman. When they held open auditions for the roles over 100 actors turned up and two of them stood out above the rest and were cast in the roles. And it was none other than Jerry Houser and Ron Kuhlman! Lloyd speculates that because he wrote the characters as a Jerry Houser type and a Ron Kuhlman type those two were able to play the characters better than all the others who auditioned. So you could say the roles were perfectly cast not miscast as others have thought.

Jerry Houser is a nice guy in real life I got to meet him at the last Hollywood Collector's Show. I told him he'd forever be known as Marica Brady's husband and he laughed and said he didn't mind.

^That reminds me of Martha Quinn, who thought it was very cool she got to be Mrs. Bobby Brady :D

I liked The Brady Brides best of all of the work done following the original series. I have to admit having fantasized back then what it would be like to be married to Eve Plumb -- not that I didn't find Maureen attractive, but there was something about Eve (lol)...

I thought that Wally made for a nice counterpoint to Phillip -- it would have been unrealistic for both of them to be married to model type, executive-looking males. I'm glad Jerry got the job.

^That reminds me of Martha Quinn, who thought it was very cool she got to be Mrs. Bobby Brady :D

Yup, I remember her saying in some interview years ago how excited she was to be getting her own Brady "square"!! :cool: :D

Yup, I remember her saying in some interview years ago how excited she was to be getting her own Brady "square"!! :cool: :D
:(Unfortunately, Martha Quinn never got her square. The closing credits for A Very Brady Christmas started with the original 9 squares, then expanded to 16 to include Wally Logan, Phillip Covington, Nora Brady (Greg's Wife), Valerie (Peter's then fiance), Jessica and Mickey Logan and Kevin Brady (Greg's son). Martha didn't come along until The Bradys, which only featured the original 9 squares in their closing.

:(Unfortunately, Martha Quinn never got her square. The closing credits for A Very Brady Christmas started with the original 9 squares, then expanded to 16 to include Wally Logan, Phillip Covington, Nora Brady (Greg's Wife), Valerie (Peter's then fiance), Jessica and Mickey Logan and Kevin Brady (Greg's son). Martha didn't come along until The Bradys, which only featured the original 9 squares in their closing.

Poor Martha - her dream never came to fruition.

I thought that Wally made for a nice counterpoint to Phillip -- it would have been unrealistic for both of them to be married to model type, executive-looking males. I'm glad Jerry got the job.

Jerry Houser also had a positive effect on Maureen McCormick in real life. According to her autobiography, Maureen stated that Jerry invited her to attend his church, and it was there that she met her future husband (now married 25+ years) and father of her daughter, Michael Cummings.

^ It's awesome, isn't it? If it hadn't been for Jerry, Maureen may very well have not recovered from her drug abuse and might not even be here today. We could all use a friend like Jerry in our lives. :cool: :D

I read Maureen's book last month. I think it's great how Jerry was able to affect her life so positively.

Also, with her book I found Maureen's candid approach to be well-done and interesting. She goes to the trouble of trying to reveal how she reacted to things at the time -- while some reviewers have judged her harshly and called her "immature." Really stupid reviews: Of course she wasn't a mature woman while at young stages of her life, so how could she have reacted that way? I'd much rather read about what she really thought back then as opposed to false, sugar-coated rehashes some other bios have given us.

When I think about it, it does seem like during the series that Marcia was the more conservative one; cheerleader, homecoming queen, most popular girl in school, etc, while Jan was more unorthodox and non-traditional.

So in that respect it almost seems like the girls had the exact opposite type of husband that I would have expected. That said, I liked the chemistry of the girls with their hubbies. It just seems like Jerry should have been with Jan and Ron with Marcia. :)

I read Maureen's book last month. I think it's great how Jerry was able to affect her life so positively.

Also, with her book I found Maureen's candid approach to be well-done and interesting. She goes to the trouble of trying to reveal how she reacted to things at the time -- while some reviewers have judged her harshly and called her "immature." Really stupid reviews: Of course she wasn't a mature woman while at young stages of her life, so how could she have reacted that way? I'd much rather read about what she really thought back then as opposed to false, sugar-coated rehashes some other bios have given us.

Ditto!! :yeahthat

When I think about it, it does seem like during the series that Marcia was the more conservative one; cheerleader, homecoming queen, most popular girl in school, etc, while Jan was more unorthodox and non-traditional.

So in that respect it almost seems like the girls had the exact opposite type of husband that I would have expected. That said, I liked the chemistry of the girls with their hubbies. It just seems like Jerry should have been with Jan and Ron with Marcia. :)

It is often said though, "Opposites Attract". :)

It is often said though, "Opposites Attract". :)

Very true!

I was just reading comments (https://www.reddit.com/r/bradybunch/comments/k172z8/the_brady_bridesthe_brady_girls_get_married/) about The Brady Brides on Reddit and others have said that it was like they wrote Marcia and Jan's husbands to be two extreme characters to force the laughs. Wally (https://www.reddit.com/r/bradybunch/comments/uw9916/did_anybody_think_marcia_would_really_marry_a_guy/), Marcia's husband, was so silly and stupid while Phillip, Jan's husband, was so uptight.