Brady, Brady, Brady: The Complete Story of The Brady Bunch as Told by the Father/Son Team who Really Know
Kirkus Reviews, July 2010Here’s the story...of a unique father-and-son creative team who masterminded the conception, construction and casting of everything Brady.Inspired by the statistics in a 1966Los Angeles Timesarticle about the prevalence of marriages that incorporate children from previous relationships, Sherwood Schwartz, a humor writer in the Army during World War II, hatched the idea for a half-hour situation comedy about the “gentle blend of two families into one.” Based on his success withGilligan’s Island, he confidently pitched the pilot titled “Yours & Mine” to three adamant networks, then waited several years untilThe Brady Bunchfinally aired in September 1969. The grueling casting process took months to gel, but eventually the Brady family took shape, headlined by handsome, Shakespearean-trained Robert Reed, affable, multitalented Florence Henderson (who narrowly beat out Joyce Bulifant), and Emmy Award–winning actress Ann B. Davis. Schwartz notes that the cast worked well together except for nitpicky, unmanageable curmudgeon Reed, who “thought television was beneath him” and antagonistically second-guessed lines and scenes throughout the life of the series. Schwartz’s homespun narration, filled with personal quips, clever “tangents” on Hollywood politics and an homage to the post-production’s unsung heroes soon yields to his son Lloyd, who takes the helm for the remaining two-thirds of the book. In examining the series’ episodes, its five-year run, little-known insider information on cast and crew and life after Brady, Schwartz creates a breezy, nostalgic behind-the-scenes report from a producer’s perspective. Revelations are mild by modern standards, but both narrations compliment and respect each other. Both authors brand the book as an authentic interpretation of the machinations behind the success, and the complications, ofThe Brady Bunchand how the franchise amazingly continues to be reinvented.Diehard fans and classic-TV buffs will rally around this collaborative, pleasingly retro tell-all.