I'm currently reading the book "Brady Brady Brady" by Sherwood Schwartz and Lloyd Schwartz. I've come across a couple of quotes that I think shed some light on how Sherwood felt about Bob Reed. The first one speaks volumes by what it doesn't say and the second by what it does say. The first quote regarding casting of the series is:

"All in all, we were lucky with the cast. Florence Henderson was wonderful and a dream to work with. Ann B. Davis was wonderful and a joy on the set. The six kids were wonderful and always willing to go the extra mile. And Bob - well, eight out of nine isn't bad."

The second quote is specifically about Bob Reed.

"In spite of all the problems that Bob caused, he provided a strong father figure for the Brady Bunch. The image of the father on television comedy shows has taken a beating, but Mike Brady was there for his kids offering wisdom and guidance. Robert Reed brought qualities of integrity and honesty to the role. That cannot be denied, so as much pain as he caused us, I'm glad Robert Reed was Mike Brady."

It's interesting that although Sherwood admitted that Bob Reed was a trouble maker and a pain he believed that the positive attributes Bob brought to the role outweighed the negatives. I give Sherwood and Lloyd a lot of credit for putting up with all of Bob Reed's nonsense because they believed it was in the best interests of the show for Bob Reed to play Mike Brady.

ive always thought the sherwood came across in interviews like that he thought robert was a very nice person but that the clashes in theory about comedy is what led to most of the trouble between them loyd on the other hand seemes to have a very very strong dislike of robert period

I'm glad he said that because it's true. Mike Brady was one of the greatest fathers in sitcom history and Robert Reed has to be given credit for that. The fact that he played the role so well despite the fact that he had problems with the storylines and such proves what a great actor he was. Sherwood could have had it worse. Ask the producers of Roseanne and Grace Under Fire. :lol:

Sherwood Schwarts and Robert Reed were not buddies for sure. This shows that Schwartz has class to give Reed his props.

Sherwood Schwarts and Robert Reed were not buddies for sure. This shows that Schwartz has class to give Reed his props.
Exactly what I was thinking. Very classy on Sherwood's part!

I'm glad he said that because it's true. Mike Brady was one of the greatest fathers in sitcom history and Robert Reed has to be given credit for that. The fact that he played the role so well despite the fact that he had problems with the storylines and such proves what a great actor he was. Sherwood could have had it worse. Ask the producers of Roseanne and Grace Under Fire. :lol:
also my cousin, who produced "THAT 70'S SHOW", "THIRD ROCK FROM THE SUN" and currently does "COMMUNITY". He says that the "COMMUNITY" cast is a big pain in the *** ecspecially Chevy Chase who he says is "a real *******". And most of the "70'S" cast was the same way, but the "THIRD ROCK" cast was the complete opposite.

Maybe this will shed some light on Schwartz and Reed's relationship, too:

I know someone who knew Robert Reed pretty well. Here was the skinny. Essentially, Robert Reed received a percentage of the gross profits from "The Brady Bunch". Somehow or another, his agent and his good relationship with Paramount landed him this deal. Occasionally, the stars of a series can get these deals and Reed was considered the star, even above Florence Henderson. Sherwood Schwartz was not pleased, feeling he owned the show 100% outright, excluding justified profits to Paramount Pictures. Because Reed owned a percentage of the show, albeit very small, he wanted to participate in the development of show ideas and scripts and tried to get his ideas on how the show should be done taken into consideration. Schwartz was not receptive of Reed's ideas and at one point, Schwartz made it clear that as far as he was concerned, Reed was just an "actor". This enraged Reed who had ill-feelings toward Schwartz the rest of his life.

On the flipside, Robert Reed became a millionaire off "The Brady Bunch" so there wasn't much need for him to have cared one way or another.

I'm glad he said that because it's true. Mike Brady was one of the greatest fathers in sitcom history and Robert Reed has to be given credit for that. The fact that he played the role so well despite the fact that he had problems with the storylines and such proves what a great actor he was. Sherwood could have had it worse. Ask the producers of Roseanne and Grace Under Fire. :lol:

The fact that you have to look hard for on screen evidence of Robert Reed's disdain for the role does indeed speak well of his acting ability.

It has been speculated that the bad feelings between Schwartz and Reed account for the hiccup in the season 4 squares being left in.

^Left in on what??

In the opening credits, watch Reed during his sequence with the boys and I think as he goes to look at Greg he hiccups. I watched those credits for years and never noticed until someone pointed it out. Lots of shows have these type of bloopers though. Susan is seen scratching herself in one set of credits just as her square fades in. I forget which season. Perhaps 2.

I believe that, a few years ago, someone here posted the text of an actual letter that Reed wrote to Schwartz (who's now 93 years of age, btw) which actually explained the different types of "comedy" in great detail and how certain types just don't go together. That was one of Reed's problems with the show. "Slapstick" didn't "go together" with some of the other things the show was doing, but Schwartz tried to put the different types together in ways that Reed didn't like.

There is also Reed's disagreement with a number of things he thought were unrealistic.

I think some of these letters are in Barrys book Growing Up Brady.

In the opening credits, watch Reed during his sequence with the boys and I think as he goes to look at Greg he hiccups. I watched those credits for years and never noticed until someone pointed it out. Lots of shows have these type of bloopers though. Susan is seen scratching herself in one set of credits just as her square fades in. I forget which season. Perhaps 2.

oh that? I never thought of it as a big deal....

Me neither. I don't know that the reason sixfingers gave is proof though, just his opinion?

Me neither. I don't know that the reason sixfingers gave is proof though, just his opinion?

There is no proof, but I'm not the first person on here who has speculated in that direction.

It is hard for me to believe that an intelligent person like Robert Reed didn't know what he was getting into starring in a series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz who created and produced "Gilligan's Island". He had to know he wasn't going to do Masterpiece Theater for goodness sake!

I got that book for Christmas, and I must say it is very interesting! It's hard to put down!

ive always thought the sherwood came across in interviews like that he thought robert was a very nice person but that the clashes in theory about comedy is what led to most of the trouble between them loyd on the other hand seemes to have a very very strong dislike of robert period

Well, you know something, if I was Lloyd Schwartz, I would have just followed what my dad said and not said a word.

I'm currently reading the book "Brady Brady Brady" by Sherwood Schwartz and Lloyd Schwartz. I've come across a couple of quotes that I think shed some light on how Sherwood felt about Bob Reed. The first one speaks volumes by what it doesn't say and the second by what it does say. The first quote regarding casting of the series is:

"All in all, we were lucky with the cast. Florence Henderson was wonderful and a dream to work with. Ann B. Davis was wonderful and a joy on the set. The six kids were wonderful and always willing to go the extra mile. And Bob - well, eight out of nine isn't bad."

The second quote is specifically about Bob Reed.

"In spite of all the problems that Bob caused, he provided a strong father figure for the Brady Bunch. The image of the father on television comedy shows has taken a beating, but Mike Brady was there for his kids offering wisdom and guidance. Robert Reed brought qualities of integrity and honesty to the role. That cannot be denied, so as much pain as he caused us, I'm glad Robert Reed was Mike Brady."

It's interesting that although Sherwood admitted that Bob Reed was a trouble maker and a pain he believed that the positive attributes Bob brought to the role outweighed the negatives. I give Sherwood and Lloyd a lot of credit for putting up with all of Bob Reed's nonsense because they believed it was in the best interests of the show for Bob Reed to play Mike Brady.
You know,it's really amazing that the late Sherwood Schwartz would say that about the late Robert Reed.

A question I always had:

In Jan The Only Child. (The Potato Sack Race Episode) Carol and Alice are making Strawberry Preserves in the kitchen. Reed's line when he came into the kitchen was supposed to say, "Hi, honey, I'm home! It sure smells like strawberry heaven." Robert refused to say the line and wouldn't show up on the set, pissed in his dressing room. When Sherwood went to find out what was wrong, Reed was INSISTENT that strawberries have no oder when they are cooking, so he "could not say a line that wasn't true." Sherwood was like, "Bob, I can smell strawberries cooking all over the set! Go out and see!"

Reed wouldn't do that until they changed the line. The line that he does say is, "Hi honey, I'm home, I do believe I've died and gone to strawberry heaven!"

I think Sherwood is right about Strawberries having a smell when they are cooking, but not sure. Whom do you believe here? Robert or Sherwood?

Jack

A question I always had:

In Jan The Only Child. (The Potato Sack Race Episode) Carol and Alice are making Strawberry Preserves in the kitchen. Reed's line when he came into the kitchen was supposed to say, "Hi, honey, I'm home! It sure smells like strawberry heaven." Robert refused to say the line and wouldn't show up on the set, pissed in his dressing room. When Sherwood went to find out what was wrong, Reed was INSISTENT that strawberries have no oder when they are cooking, so he "could not say a line that wasn't true." Sherwood was like, "Bob, I can smell strawberries cooking all over the set! Go out and see!"

Reed wouldn't do that until they changed the line. The line that he does say is, "Hi honey, I'm home, I do believe I've died and gone to strawberry heaven!"

I think Sherwood is right about Strawberries having a smell when they are cooking, but not sure. Whom do you believe here? Robert or Sherwood?

Jack
Apparently Bob Reed read in an encyclopedia that strawberries have no odor when they're cooking. Sherwood on the other hand was using his nose. I think Sherwood's actual experience smelling strawberries on the set trumps a notation from a book! After all you can't believe everything you read!

I just tried googling "do strawberries have an odor when cooked" , just so see what would come up. I figured there'd be stuff all over the place about it precisely because of Reed's statement.

I can't find anything that states whether strawberries do or do not have an odor when they're cooked.

I did see one article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4382308.stm) in which a business wanted to get a trademark on a strawberry fragrance to be used in soaps, stationery, etc... the court denied the request because they found that "...strawberries do not have just one smell... different varieties of strawberries produce significantly different smells... and that strawberries can in fact have up to five different, distinct scents... "

Maybe it's only a certain variety of strawberry that doesn't have an odor when cooked.

It really is hard to imagine strawberries not having a scent when cooked. But maybe Reed knew about a variety that didn't,and that was HIS experience. Sherwood, obviously, had a different experience right there on the set.

But considering how often they just had an empty pot on that show for Alice to "stir" with steam coming out of it, or phony smoke coming off of a grill that wasn't turned on, I don't know why they'd actually be cooking real strawberries there anyway.