“The Brady Bunch” was the classic family sitcom of the 1970s. Featuring a blended family and a lot of love, the sitcom centered around the six children, Mike, Carol and the housekeeper Alice. The show went on to have sequels in the form of other TV series and movies. Four spin-off series were “The Brady Kids,” “The Brady Bunch Variety Hour,” The Brady Brides” and “The Bradys.” There were also made-for-TV movie follow-ups, including the highly rated “A Very Brady Christmas,” which also had a successful VHS release. In the 1990s, it even had a feature film incarnation with two “Brady Bunch” feature films, starring an all-new cast.
In the wake of all this success, much has been written about the lovable Brady family. There are some books that stand about the crowd. The first of these was the first written by a cast member. Barry Williams, who played the oldest son, Greg Brady, wrote “Growing Up Brady: I was a teenage Greg” with the help of co-writer Chris Kreski. (It was actually even made into a tv movie of the same name itself, as a behind-the-scenes look at the show. There’s lots of Brady movies to go around.) This book offers a first-hand perspective of what it was like to work on the series and experience the highs and lows of life of the set. There are secrets every Brady fan will want to know in the book. If you want to listen to it in the car instead, Barry Williams recorded a audio book version.
Maureen Mccormick played Marcia, the teen queen and oldest Brady. She came out with a book on the series as well, but her book wasn’t published until almost two decades after the book of Barry Williams. Although Barry’s book is autobiographical, his focused more on the series than Maureen’s book. Her book has its share of secrets as well, and both books are must-reads for their varying perspectives. Maureen suffered from depression and addiction, and her side of being the girl all teenage girls wanted to be and all teenage boys wanted to date is quite different than what you would imagine. It’s a great read for Brady fans or celeb memoir fans.
Susan Olsen, who played the youngest daughter, Cindy Brady, wrote a book on the ill-fated Brady variety show that reunited all the original cast members except Eve Plumb (Jan). Her co-writers were Ted Nichelson and Lisa Sutton. The book is called “Love to Love You Bradys: The Bizarre Story of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.” It answer the much asked question about the series, “Why?” I am one of its fans. The quirky, over-the-top corny comedy is entertaining for the Brady fan, but hearing what really went down is all the more fun.
Florence Henderson provided the forward to “The Brady Bunch Book” by Andrew J. Edelstein and Frank Lovece. Rather than focusing on personal perspectives and insider information, it’s more textbook or encyclopedia, aside from Florence’s wonderful forward. This book features short biographies of all the cast main cast members, summaries of each episode and even trivia on the show.
Another Brady must-read is a gift book. It’s one of the small ones that you’ll find near the register at Borders or Barnes Noble…or in novelty shops. It’s not one to miss, and it’s a quick read and fun reference. “The Brady Bunch Guide to Life” is a miniature book edition. It takes the wisdom of the words said by the Bradys and offers them as life wisdom. It’s fun, and it makes the perfect present for your fellow Brady fan. This book is by Paul Ruditis.
