Mykel's Review of Maureen McCormick's...er...Mrs. Cummings' Book

[mykel]

I received Maureen McCormick's book as a gift from my knowing partner a couple of weeks ago and I just can't believe what a profoundly good read it is. I'm going to give everyone I know a copy.

I don't just mean that as gushing fan, but as a human being, a child of the 1970's, and a child who also comes from a dysfunctional family.

I have just a few more chapters to go until the end and I'm at the point where she finally sees a medical doctor for her depression. I wanted to start a new thread, as the other one just doesn't do the book justice.

Where do I begin?

My first impression was how pleased I was with how many "Brady Bunch" details she gives. That was such a nice touch. But I was immediately drawn in by her compelling tales about her private family life and how devastatingly dysfunctional it was. Poor baby. All of them, really. My heart ached to find out how her grandparents died and how irreversibly damaged her mother was because of it.

Knowing that, it seems like the role of Marcia should have been a blessing, but I suspect it may have made things worse for her, not as an actress later trying to get quality roles, but as a person desperately in need of peace and stability. She found these things as part of the fictional "Brady's," all right, but unfortunately for her, the show ended when she may have needed it the most---which made me feel a little guilty about being a fan of hers, and the show, in the first place.

I don't know about the other kids, but this particular kid, Maureen, as vulnerable and emotionally arrested as she was, became so entangled with the role and the vastly more functional adult cast and crew members surrounding her and guiding her, that she, in fact, fell to pieces when the show ended, in spite of her early laments about her role in it.

This was made obvious by her account of how she finally admitted to Lloyd Schwartz that she had a problem with substance abuse during the "Brady Brides." It was if just having him there again moved her forward a notch. Unfortunately, his daily presence, and that of her second "Brady" family didn't last, and she slid backwards, again.

I trust that she has made peace with the fact that she and the role of Marcia are inextricably linked, but sadly, I suspect that a part of her still believes it was the role that held her back all those years, rather than simply being blacklisted in Hollywood because of her insatiable addiction to cocaine and other substances and the wreck they made of her already unstable life.

I don't know if she has considered this but it seems clear to me that she was stuck in a Catch-22 of wanting to distance herself from the role, but doing so by becoming a real-life Bad Girl, rather than finding a similar part to play on TV or in film, as Eve did. Alas, at the time, it wasn't meant to be, although, to be fair, she later rocked that Barbara Mandrell biopic. She lost herself in that role!

As I am wrapping up the read, I also have to admit that, fan or not, her story has moved me in a positive way. I'm even thinking it's time to see the doctor for anti-depressants, because the symptoms Maureen described in such vivid detail sound so familiar to me. Our families to a degree, too. Abusive father and stepfather, terrified mother, secrets, betrayals, economic hardships, alcoholism, medical traumas, etc.

As a fan, however, I want to say that Maureen's acceptance of her iconic status has allowed her to literally become the Big Sister of Us All, by giving us this great gift, the story of her life, before, during and after a point in time for her, and for us, that none of us who were there in the 1970's will ever forget.

As my gift to her, I wish to say, "Thank you, Maureen, for helping me to see that you are far more interesting for yourself, than for one role you played out of many, and to appreciate the memories and pitfalls of youth, while moving ever forward, toward true maturity."

I will share more of my impressions about her book in just a few days.

Mykel

[mykel]

OK, so I finished the book, and it's still resonating with me, as it did from the moment I got to the part about Maureen's family life.

Additional impressions include the sweet way, in the middle of the book, that she describes Robert Reed during their infamous 1976 "Brady Bunch Variety Hour" and how Reed didn't bring all his anger and hostility from the old show to the new one because, with all the music and dancing, "he found his inner Dorothy." I laughed out loud at that one as a fellow gay man who knows damned well what she's talking about.

I swear to God, if it weren't for us gay guys and our special way with The Arts, and The Most Famous Gay of All, Leonardo Da Vinci, straight people might never have evolved beyond the Dark Ages!

Another touching story she shares is how she talked to Reed in his final days. Needless to say, as a fan, and as a gay man, I was deeply moved.

Read it for yourselves, people. If you're a fan, or not, Maureen's book is something I think everyone should read.

In closing, I don't want to give away too much more of her precious story, but I do want to say this:

Maureen gives thanks to dozens of people at the end of her book. There are two people missing from her amazing list, however. Go out, buy the book and read it to find out who.

I suppose, at the end, it made perfect sense.

It does, however, beg another story altogether...

[catlover79]

I read the book, too, and was really touched. I'm not even talking about the Brady stuff - just her own family story by itself would be incredible stuff.

I also read the thank-yous and did notice one notable name was missing - the intials are E.P. Was the other omission her brother, Kevin? I forgot.

[mykel]

So, catlover79, now that you've read Mo's bio, don't you want to see one from each of the rest of the cast, too?

I, for one, know at least one I'd like to see.

[catlover79]

It really was a terrific read. I must admit that I found her family story and her life with Michael WAY more interesting than the Brady stuff. I took the book out of the library when it first came out and may request it again one of these days.

Here's a great interview with Maureen and Michael that I found on the CBS website. Enjoy!!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/...n4624122.shtml

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by mykel

So, catlover79, now that you've read Mo's bio, are you hungering for one from each of the rest of the cast, too?

It sure would be interesting!!

[Jude The Obscure]

So Mykel--was the short lived TV show you were referring to--Teen Angel?

[catlover79]

^ Yes, Maureen mentions getting let go from Teen Angel in the book.

[Jude The Obscure]

IMO, that's what killed that show! As soon as she was no longer on it, I had no more interest in it.

[catlover79]

I never watched it - I didn't know she was on it until the show went off the air!!

[mykel]

Originally Posted by Jude The Obscure

So Mykel--was the short lived TV show you were referring to--Teen Angel?

No, but thanks for asking.

I meant "The Brady Bunch."

I strongly suspect that Maureen's life, though initially enriched by the show, ended up getting her deeper into trouble than she already was.

Obviously the past cannot be changed literally, but it can be changed metaphorically.

Which is why Maureen's book is so powerful.

She writes as both herself AND as the Marcia of our collective past, offering the millions of fans who caused her book to become a national best seller a glimpse at the cathartic process of a girl who grew into a woman under some of the most difficult circumstances, a process that also lets us feel, ourselves, almost like a younger sibling of the good ol' Bradys, learning from our Big Sister in a win-win situation for both her and us.

It's "meta."

Get it?

[mykel]

I wanted to add another little tidbit about Maureen's book.

She writes of her experiences in Hollywood "cocaine dens" and how there were non-stop parties going on, but I can't help but wonder if it ever occurred to her that the parties were happening, in large part, because the people there really just wanted to witness "Marcia Brady" snorting lines and fooling around. I can just picture the hosts getting on their big, ol' dial phones and calling everyone in town to come watch.

From the book, however, one gets the impression that Maureen believes, to this day, that she was just another party-goer, blending in with people who were already going to attend.

It's attention for all the wrong reasons.

Oh, well. From what that girl had already been through, I guess, at the time, she needed the attention.

[catlover79]

^ That's a good point. It's also amazing that after she'd endured years of hard drug use, it hardly aged her. Recently, watching A Very Brady Christmas, she still looked like a kid!!

[Jude The Obscure]

For the longest time, Mo kept her youthful looks.......only recently through the Fit Club show and Gone Country, has age started to creep on her. I'm not saying that is a bad thing.....she is a natural looking woman and hopefully will continue down the path of good health.

[Jude The Obscure]

For the longest time, Mo kept her youthful looks.......only recently through the Fit Club show and Gone Country, has age started to creep on her. I'm not saying that is a bad thing.....she is a natural looking woman and hopefully will continue down the path of good health.