What I mean is that you can argue that he was too tall, too handsome, and too dignified for a show from the creator of Gilligan's Island. I know that Robert Reed often clashed with the production staff because wanted more "meaningful" and grounded, less campy and corny stories (he was infamously written out of the final episode, in which Greg's hair turns orange). I wonder if he was resentful because he believed that he was well on his way to being "leading man status" (a la Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, and Paul Newman) before being cast as the dad on The Brady Bunch. Of course, the fact that Reed had to stay closeted also naturally added to his inner turmoil.

He did match the boys pretty good. I never noticed that he was not happy. I am not sure how serious you could have made the show. They were a comedy and not a drama.

I think all actors want to be taken seriously. I can see how sometimes the show's plots would get to RR. That said, he was definitely not miscast and is beloved by a lot of people that grew up with the show.

I like him in the role and can’t imagine anyone else playing Mike.

I don't know why Robert Reed was so indignant about the scripts; he had to have seen Gilligan's Island. He must have known another Sherwood show would be lightweight.


I don't think RR was mis-cast, as he played the role well, but I think he chafed at the role, as many actors do.

I am not sure how serious you could have made the show. They were a comedy and not a drama.

Well, you could make Bobby a paraplegic and Marcia an alcoholic. Oh, wait, they tried that in The Bradys. It bombed big time. Brilliant idea, Robert Reed. :nonono:

I like him in the role and can’t imagine anyone else playing Mike.

I can't see anyone else in the role either including Sherwood Schwartz's choice, Gene Hackman.

Marcia was an alcoholic? I must have missed that one.

I can't see anyone else in the role either including Sherwood Schwartz's choice, Gene Hackman.

I loathe Gene Hackman so I’m thrilled he didn’t get the job.

I do not think that Robert Reed was miscast. but it may be that Robert Reed himself may have thought that he was "miscast"

I can't see anyone else in the role either including Sherwood Schwartz's choice, Gene Hackman.
Me neither. Can't imagine Lex Luthor playing Mike Brady. LOL! The only actors I like playing Mike are Robert Reed and Gary Cole in those 3 movies.

Me neither. Can't imagine Lex Luthor playing Mike Brady. LOL! The only actors I like playing Mike are Robert Reed and Gary Cole in those 3 movies.

There were three theatrical movies about the "Brady Bunch"? I only remember the "Brady Bunch Movie" and "A Very Brady Sequel". What was the other one?

There were three theatrical movies about the "Brady Bunch"? I only remember the "Brady Bunch Movie" and "A Very Brady Sequel". What was the other one?
The third was the made-for-TV The Brady Bunch in the White House (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brady_Bunch_in_the_White_House). While I greatly enjoyed the first two films, this one was not good. Missed opportunity.

The third was the made-for-TV The Brady Bunch in the White House (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brady_Bunch_in_the_White_House). While I greatly enjoyed the first two films, this one was not good. Missed opportunity.
Yeah, that was what I was counting as the third movie.

I don't think Reed was miscast in the role at all... I thought he was fantastic as Mike Brady... the heart to heart talks with the kids were very realistic scenes (by that I mean, not overacted, but very naturally delivered by both Reed and whichever kid he was talking to).

I would rank Reed as either the best or 2nd best TV Dad in Sitcom history, along with Hugh Beaumont as Ward Cleaver.

i don't doubt that Reed had other thoughts about playing Mike Brady... but he was great in the role, whether he liked it or not :)

I think Reed regarded himself as a serious actor and thought the role was beneath him.

Not liking a role is not the same as being miscast. Miscast means that an actor is not believable in a role. Reed was perfectly cast - he gave the show what little gravitas it had, and he is the best TV father of all time, IMO.

You can see his frustration in the last season, especially starting with the “UFO” episode, he has a pained look in his role from then on. When they brought in the “little kid” a la Donna Reed Show, My Three Sons, The Partridge Family, etc. & they started pie in the face skits, Robert Reed had to know where they were going with the show, cannot really blame him too much for blowing his top.

Maybe he just got into it with Sherwood Schwartz over the direction of the show. If he really was dead set on serious roles, he probably wouldn't have been in post BB shows and movies.

If they'd done a sixth season he would have been gone.

Maybe he just got into it with Sherwood Schwartz over the direction of the show. If he really was dead set on serious roles, he probably wouldn't have been in post BB shows and movies.

If they'd done a sixth season he would have been gone.

My guess is that Robert Reed didn't initially sign on to the show that it would become. Maybe he thought that it was going to be a fairly grounded and realistic (by 1969 standards) depiction of mixed households and raising step children. Instead, we got a cheesy, fluffy kids sitcom from the creator of Gilligan's Island.

He might have signed a long term contract after or during the first season, and his frustration grew to a boiling point near the end.

He should have known what he was getting with a SS sitcom.

You can see he has a very different look in season 5, was definitely happier looking in earlier seasons

Maybe he wasn't feeling good. He sure looks like he's lost weight there.

I started a rewatch on the 50th anniversary and I am half way through season one. Personally I think everyone was very well cast in the show. Sure Reed hated the scripts but he loved the kids and always gave a good grounded performance. In the first season he is quite good looking as well though the 'perm' would distract from that when it came later IMO.

I've read and have watched biography shows about The BB and Reed himself that he wasn't happy doing it. He was working for Paramount TV which produced the show and was forced to do the show.

I started a rewatch on the 50th anniversary and I am half way through season one. Personally I think everyone was very well cast in the show. Sure Reed hated the scripts but he loved the kids and always gave a good grounded performance. In the first season he is quite good looking as well though the 'perm' would distract from that when it came later IMO.

I want to get the BB set but I have one big question...

Does the set have subtitles? I know on Amazon.com it does state to have subtitles but another reviewer there said there was none.

He did great in the role. There aren't enough Shakesperean parts for everyone!

late great Bill bixby could of made a good Mike brady just a thought

I want to get the BB set but I have one big question...

Does the set have subtitles? I know on Amazon.com it does state to have subtitles but another reviewer there said there was none.

The original The Brady Bunch only has Closed Captions but I have no idea how these work on a dvd or blu ray player. Kids, Brides and Bradys and all the movies have subtitles accessed in the normal manner.

Brady Bunch 'dad' Robert Reed was 'often drunk and prone to angry outbursts on set that would cause the show's creator to cancel filming' (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7767185/Brady-Bunch-actor-Robert-Reed-drunk-filmed.html)

Brady Bunch 'dad' Robert Reed was often drunk when the hit television show was filmed and would have angry outbursts on set, a new book reveals
Reed, who played Mike Brady in the show, took the role which made him a household name for money and would demand his lines be rewritten
The revelations come in a new book, 'The Way We All Became The Brady Bunch'
It was only after Reed's death in 1992 that the public learned he was gay

Brady Bunch 'dad' Robert Reed was often drunk when the hit television show was filmed and would have angry outbursts on set, a new book reveals.

Reed, who played Mike Brady in the show, perceived himself as a Shakespearean actor and only took the role which made him a household name for money.

The actor was also difficult onset and would often demand that his lines be rewritten if he didn't like them.

The revelations are contained in a new book called 'The Way We All Became the Brady Bunch: How the Canceled Sitcom Became the Beloved Pop Culture Icon We Are Still Talking About Today,' by author Kimberly Potts.

In one episode, Brady Bunch mom, Carol, and the family’s housekeeper, Alice, have a competition to see who can make the tastiest strawberry jams.

In the script, Mike Brady was supposed to come home and say that the house smelled like 'strawberry heaven.'

Reed had fact-checked every script and discovered that strawberries have no smell as they're being cooked.

What developed was a stand off between him and Brady Bunch creator Sherwood Schwartz. Reed refused to say the line and Schwartz had brought him to the set where the strawberries were being cooked to prove that there was a scent.

Reed still refused and Schwartz told him he could say it 'looks like strawberry heaven in here,' which he had agreed to.

He also objected to the quality of an ink that stained Alice’s uniform and wrote a furious multi-page memo to the show’s executives.

He criticized the prop department for using the product and called the ink scene so 'unfunny that even a laugh machine would balk' at it.

Despite the drama behind the scenes, The Brady Bunch went on to become one of America's most successful and famous TV shows, and celebrated its 50th anniversary in September.

Potts, the author of the new book, told the New York Post (https://nypost.com/2019/12/07/brady-bunch-father-was-a-drunken-diva-behind-the-scenes-of-the-show/): 'I don’t feel like anyone thinks it’s a great show.

'This is not the sitcom version of Breaking Bad. 'It’s more that it’s a sweet show. Now so many generations have watched it, it’s a good memory and makes them feel good.'

She added: 'Schwartz did a lot of smart things when he cast the show. He cast kids and created the characters based on their personalities.

'That’s something that came through and helped people identify with them and made the group of siblings resonate with people.'

Reed died at the age of 59 from health complications that included his status as HIV positive.

It was only after the actor's death that the public learned he was gay, a secret he had kept hidden throughout his long career.

According to the book, the actor would spend lunch breaks drinking and would come back drunk which meant Schwartz would have to cancel filming on the day in question.

The actors who starred as kids in the show would generally be finished and would not see any of his questionable behavior.

Potts revealed that Reed had a very close relationship with the Brady children as he was protective over them.

'He took his responsibility as the TV dad seriously. He famously took the kids on a trip to England because he wanted to expose them to culture and Shakespeare.

'He also famously gave them Super 8 cameras for Christmas. He wanted to help them the same as a father would.'

However he famously fell out with show executives and did not appear in several episodes including the 1974 series finale, because he objected to some of the script.

Schwartz was going to write Mike Brady out of the show and write about how the kids helping Carol find love for the second time.

However the show lasted for just five seasons and Schwartz even received mail from children who said they wanted to leave their own families and live with the Brady Bunch.

The show was so popular that in 1976, repeat shows of the Brady Bunch beat the vice-presidential debate in ratings.

'These airings were chances for viewers of every changing age group to memorize the show, identify with the characters and their problems and allow The Brady Bunch’ to become a permanent part of their culture and childhood memories,' Potts wrote.

Somethings I do agree with him on and I think he helped make the show what it is because he became 'difficult'.

That being said, I have no sense of smell so at the time I heard about this I really wasn't sure. Then on a review site, someone said there is a smell and Reed was wrong. I wonder if he had no sense of smell?

The ink part, I have no idea if an un capped pen can make that big of a mark but I think the placement of it is weird. How can you not feel the pen in the pocket as well.

After reading a blog that reviewed each episode and there is a comment about it and I agree with it. It was the episode that I have dubbed, 'Father's Day'. Quote isn't exact but Marcia wrote about how Mike Brady was a more realer father even if he's been her dad for a short time. Who uses the word, realer? I would think more loving, or compassionate would have worked better. It is still a nice episode though.

If it was another actor playing Mike Brady, I don't think we would be talking about it. Not sure I could look at Lex Luthor as Mike Brady though.

I don't know how often it is that actors take roles which they're not happy with but there were a couple of such cases around the same time the BB ran.


David Cassidy wasn't exactly happy with The Partridge Family and if you remember PBS's The Electric Company one of the regular was Morgan Freeman and it was the same with him.

I did write something about that on one of the other sections.

Fact-checking every script? Can you say 'OCD'?

Also, it was sure more difficult back in that time, with no internet.

Me neither. Can't imagine Lex Luthor playing Mike Brady. LOL! The only actors I like playing Mike are Robert Reed and Gary Cole in those 3 movies.

Gary Cole was so good and funny in those Brady Bunch movies. He even sounded like the real Mike Brady!

I have been looking into the show Family Affair and stumbled across this picture of Robert Reed who made an appearance in the show.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GWshaf8306w/UWozzVi2emI/AAAAAAAAMYw/eozf6YR-P18/s1600/FamilyAfffairReed9.JPG

Seriously, could he look any more handsome than he does above.

A lot of folks point out that they can't picture Lex Luthor playing Mike Brady.

I understand that, but on the other hand, if Hackman had gotten the part of Mike Brady, he might never have been thought of for the Lex Luthor part.

I have been looking into the show Family Affair and stumbled across this picture of Robert Reed who made an appearance in the show.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GWshaf8306w/UWozzVi2emI/AAAAAAAAMYw/eozf6YR-P18/s1600/FamilyAfffairReed9.JPG

Seriously, could he look any more handsome than he does above.

I agree but I confess, I have a hard time believing that is him. :lol:

I’ve seen that episode of Family Affair, and he played an “obnoxious’” character. He was good in the bit part, but NOTHING like how good he was as Mike Brady. The guy had serious acting chops, and even if he hated The BB behind the scenes, when the camera was rolling he really delivered. Reed was not only the best actor in the “bunch” he brought out the best in the rest of the cast which is the sign of the ultimate professional. It is a shame to hear how much he really hated the role which he played so well!

He may have disliked the role, but he developed lifelong relationships with the “kids”, so my guess is that he felt it was worth it just for that.

He may have disliked the role, but he developed lifelong relationships with the “kids”, so my guess is that he felt it was worth it just for that.

I don't think so. I think he did a great job as "the dad."
I was surprised to see him as a police chief on episodes of Mannix, though. Did a good job in that role as well.

Marcia was an alcoholic? I must have missed that one.

That was in the 90's reboot.

You can see his frustration in the last season, especially starting with the “UFO” episode, he has a pained look in his role from then on. When they brought in the “little kid” a la Donna Reed Show, My Three Sons, The Partridge Family, etc. & they started pie in the face skits, Robert Reed had to know where they were going with the show, cannot really blame him too much for blowing his top.

I think they did the same with Janet Jackson (Penny) on Good Times, but I think it boosted ratings. The same with Sam on Different Strokes.

Robert Reed and David Cassidy kinda got on my nerve regarding disliking their charscters. It seems most of the performers from top 70's shows got typecasted.

Schwartz casting was Top Notch !

No One here thinks BB or GI actors stink lol

I will says I'm impressed with his casting - all a likeable group :)

Robert Reed and David Cassidy kinda got on my nerve regarding disliking their charscters. It seems most of the performers from top 70's shows got typecasted.

I didn't know about Cassidy but Susan Dey sure disavows hers on PF.

The irony of the actors situation ...

So Many hoping praying begging for "the part" and then some claim, & some rightfully so, that "the part" ruined their career ...

Dawn Wells said it well, she was very thankful for her part on GI ! No Regrets

On a side note there are So Many that walked away from Hollywood when fame was nearly calling - good for them, they saw a different road and ...

Not many claim The Business is a nice place to work ... and clearly it has destroyed many whether it was personalities or contracts or drugs or just being used by the not so nice

If not Robert Reed, I could picture Peter Graves or Larry Hagman as Mike Brady

The irony of the actors situation ...

So Many hoping praying begging for "the part" and then some claim, & some rightfully so, that "the part" ruined their career ...

Dawn Wells said it well, she was very thankful for her part on GI ! No Regrets

On a side note there are So Many that walked away from Hollywood when fame was nearly calling - good for them, they saw a different road and ...

Not many claim The Business is a nice place to work ... and clearly it has destroyed many whether it was personalities or contracts or drugs or just being used by the not so nice


It is ironic that people who are desperate for work and fame and get it - then resent the reason they have it. I don't know if it's human nature or just that actors are really, really strange people.

Regarding Dawn Wells, one of the retrospectives on Gilligan's Island tracked down the actors that were replaced by Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells 40 or so years after the original pilot and even in their mid-60'a they were still complete unknowns. That's the alternative to being typecast.

I loathe Gene Hackman so I’m thrilled he didn’t get the job.

Wow! Really? Why do you hate him? He's a great actor.

The casting of the Brady Bunch was brilliant. I would not change a thing. Originally they wanted a slap schtick mom but then changed the parents to be stable then bringing a house keeper to have the schtick lines. What made the BB work with the cheezy scripts was that the parents were so serious and grounded. Florence was once voted best TV mom and is there any contest? Seriously, the casting and especially the parents made it work. If the parents were silly, I dont think it would have had the staying power it had.

Despite all the problems between Sherwood and Robert Reed, it wasn't evident in the episodes, other than the final one. Imagine Mike Brady missing Greg's graduation!

Since he was rewriting the script, Sherwood should have written the graduation out of it, too. Or refer to it being in a few days, and Greg has to "fix" his hair before then.

Potential Silly Parents

LOL

Like Don Knots as the dad & Phyllis Diller as the mom ?

Despite all the problems between Sherwood and Robert Reed, it wasn't evident in the episodes, other than the final one. Imagine Mike Brady missing Greg's graduation!

Since he was rewriting the script, Sherwood should have written the graduation out of it, too. Or refer to it being in a few days, and Greg has to "fix" his hair before then.
Or they could not have mentioned him at all which brought attention to his absence. The other show that Reed boycotted was the episode where the kids are mean to Alice and Kay is hired as her replacement. Reed boycotted the episode because he thought it would be impossible the kids would be so mean to their housekeeper. Reed's absence is never mentioned and you dont really even notice is because he is never mentioned.

Bill Bixby would of made a good mike brady

Despite all the problems between Sherwood and Robert Reed, it wasn't evident in the episodes, other than the final one. Imagine Mike Brady missing Greg's graduation!

Since he was rewriting the script, Sherwood should have written the graduation out of it, too. Or refer to it being in a few days, and Greg has to "fix" his hair before then.


I wanna think, from the perspective of the show's universe, that Mike, possibly got stranded or a long layover ~possibly due to weather or maybe he missed a plane/bus/etc... ~ while he was on a business trip and that's why he missed the graduation.... Otherwise, I don't think Mike could go on a trip over Greg's graduation

^That's plausible. It would have made a better line for Carol than, he's out of town.