Characters of The Brady Bunch
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The following is a list of characters from the American television series The Brady Bunch.
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[edit] The Brady Family
[edit] Mike Brady
Mike Brady portrayed by Robert Reed is the head of the Brady household. He has three sons of his own. Mike, a widowed architect, became the stepfather of Carol Brady's three daughters when he married Carol Martin. Mike enjoyed fishing and camping. Mike was once approached by cosmetics maven Bebe Gallini (Abbe Lane) to design her new powder-puff shaped factory. He was named "Father of the Year" by a local newspaper after his daughter Marcia submitted an essay. Mike's look-alike Grandfather Brady is a retired judge.
[edit] Carol Brady
Carol Brady portrayed by Florence Henderson is the wife of Mike Brady. At the beginning of the series, she is Carol Martin (née Carol Tyler). She had three daughters from a previous marriage before marrying Mike. She gets three stepsons from Mike. The television show does not mention how Carol's previous marriage ended. Carol enjoys singing in the church choir, and with her daughter Marcia in the highschool Family Frolic Talent Show. Carol's look-alike grandmother is named Connie Hutchins, who is possibly her Mother's Mother.
[edit] Greg Brady
Greg Brady is the eldest Brady son and was played by Barry Williams. Greg is a Westdale High School student who plays football, plays guitar, surfs, and aspires to be a singer. Greg is portrayed as self-confident and brassy at times, and generally acts as leader and spokesman for the kids. Being the oldest of the Brady children, Greg is usually the one who devises their plans. As the series went on, Greg became somewhat of a "ladies man" at school. Also as the character got older, Greg often attempted to disassociate himself from the "kids", eventually getting his own apartment in the attic. Despite this Greg always sticks up for his younger siblings and helps them out whenever he can. His dream of becoming a singer almost comes true when he is handpicked by record producers to be a pop singer under the stage name "Johnny Bravo"; however, he walked away from a potentially lucrative deal when he found out his recordings were being electronically "sweetened" and that the producers were more interested in the visual product than substance.
[edit] Marcia Brady
Marcia Brady is the eldest Brady daughter and was portrayed by Maureen McCormick. Marcia is portrayed as a mature, attractive, and popular girl at Westdale High School. Her popularity is an ongoing source of contempt for her younger sister Jan. She is a great fan of TV-star idols Desi Arnaz Jr. and Davey Jones. Despite Marcia's reputation, she has her share of problems, such as unrequited crushes, having braces, and getting a swollen nose from being hit in the face with a football by Peter.
[edit] Peter Brady
Peter Brady is the middle Brady son and was played by Christopher Knight. Often portrayed as the mischievous one of the family, Peter is known for frequently getting himself into trouble by breaking rules or hatching schemes. He is also often the joker of the family, playing pranks on his siblings. Peter once saved a little girl from a falling toystore shelf and was named "Hero" by the local newspaper. As the series went on, he was shown going through puberty. His voice begins to break, which initially causes a problem for the family's singing group, until they use the situation to their advantage, writing the song "Time To Change" centered around his cracked vocals. He later proved to be a lazy, sloppy worker at his part-time job at Haskill's Ice Cream Parlor, under his sister Marcia's supervision. He would eventually quit this job and find a job delivering pizzas at the Leaning Tower of Pizza Parlor. Peter later joined the military for career guidance as seen in The Brady Girls Get Married.
[edit] Jan Brady
Jan Brady is the middle Brady daughter and was portrayed by Eve Plumb. Story lines which involve Jan often feature her jealousy of her seemingly more popular older sister Marcia, or her awkward position as the middle child. In addition, Jan is insecure about having freckles and wearing glasses, embarrassed about the fact she does not have a boyfriend (even inventing a fictional one named "George Glass"), and concerned about her future appearance. A typical plot line surrounding Jan would feature her attempting to carve out her niche in the family, or make a name for herself at school. Once, in exasperation at her supposed inferiority to Marcia, she uttered the now famous catch phrase, "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia" which was later parodied in the Brady Bunch movie. As a young teen, Jan had a striking resemblance to her Great-Aunt Jenny (played by Imogene Coca) in her younger days. Jan is also occasionally absent-minded, once losing the tube containing her father's architectural plans while visiting King's Island amusement park in Cincinnati. In her later high school years, Jan found she had a talent for painting.
[edit] Bobby Brady
Bobby Brady is the youngest Brady son and was played by Mike Lookinland. Bobby is the "safety monitor" at his school and occasionally gets the other siblings into trouble. The precocious and often overlooked youngest boy, Bobby was often portrayed as a whimsical dreamer, fantasizing about having various adventurous lifestyles, such as being a race car driver, a cowboy, and an astronaut. On one occasion, one of his fantasies came true when he got to play football with Joe Namath.
[edit] Cindy Brady
Cindy Brady is the youngest Brady daughter and was played by Susan Olsen. She is portrayed as a naive, but occasionally precocious little girl, who is most often seen wearing her hair in pigtails and has a pronounced lisp. She frequently likes to snoop and share secrets she has found out. In one episode, the family has to help her correct her habit of tattletaling. She also has various failed attempts at fame - such as attempting to break a world record for teeter-tottering, appearing on a game show (on which she suffered from stage fright), and trying to become "the next Shirley Temple".
[edit] Other main characters
[edit] Alice Nelson
Alice Nelson is the Brady family housekeeper. She was portrayed by Ann B. Davis. Alice was best known for telling funny jokes (usually interspersed with drier humor than the rest of the Brady clan), which was almost invariably meets with smiles and multiple "Oh, Alice!" responses. Alice felt a kinship with middle daughter Jan, as Alice was also a middle-daughter in her family. Alice is also known for her sky blue housekeeping uniform, which she almost always wears. She also joins in the children's games (including playing basketball), and goes along with the family on vacations. Alice also apparently has a bad back, as the slightest activity often causes her to throw her back out, making her temporarily immobile. Alice briefly quit her Brady residence job and was replaced by a no-nonsense, humorless woman named Kay. Alice has a look-alike cousin named Emma, an Army drill sergeant.
[edit] Sam Franklin
Sam Franklin is Alice's boyfriend. Sam owns a local butcher shop. While he is frequently mentioned in dialogue, Sam actually appears in only eight episodes, although his appearances span all the seasons. In the made-for-television film The Brady Girls Get Married, Sam marries Alice. Sam was portrayed by Allan Melvin.
[edit] Cousin Oliver
Cousin Oliver stays with the Brady Family during the final six episodes of The Brady Bunch. As explained in the episode "Welcome Aboard", Oliver's parents travelled to an archaeological dig in South America, and Oliver is unable to accompany them. Therefore he is sent to live with the Bradys. Oliver was portrayed by Robbie Rist.
Oliver was created because the producers wanted a younger character to balance out that the "kids" were now all 12 and over in a hope that ratings would improve. The addition did not work, and Cousin Oliver was condemned by the viewing audience as a cheap ploy; years later, fans would call the addition of Oliver the moment when the series "jumped the shark." The "Cousin Oliver syndrome" is named after Oliver.
[edit] The Bradys' pets
[edit] Tiger
Tiger is the name of the Brady Family's dog. The dog appeared in many of the early episodes. The dog that portrayed Tiger was named "Tiger" in real life. The dog actor Tiger was run over by an automobile and he died of his injuries. The producers of The Brady Bunch tried and failed to place a replacement dog, causing "Tiger" to be written out of the show midway through the second season.
[edit] Fluffy
Fluffy is the name of the cat owned by Carol Brady and her girls. The cat only appeared in the pilot episode.
[edit] One- and two-time characters
- Felix Brown — The school creep who is untruely said to be Marcia's boyfriend in first-season episodes "Vote For Brady" and "Father of the Year."
- George Glass — Imaginary boyfriend Jan creates after her crush on a classmate is unrequited in "The Not-So-Ugly Duckling."
- Buddy Hinton — A bully who taunts Cindy for her lisp in "A Fistful of Reasons." When Peter — who is Buddy's age — tries to stick up for Cindy but doesn't want to get into a fight, Buddy calls Peter a chicken. Eventually, Peter gets the upper hand.
- Jennifer Nichols — Greg's conniving co-ed classmate, whom she dated solely to win his vote for head cheerleader in "Greg's Triangle." Greg ultimately votes for another girl — Pat Conway (played by Rita Wilson) — and Jennifer immediately dumps him.
- Mr. Phillips — Mike's boss at the architectural firm. Seen in Season 2 episodes "Call Me Irresponsible," "Coming-Out Party" and "Double Parked."
- Rachel — Greg's girlfriend. Appeared in 1972's "The Big Bet" and 1973's "Greg Gets Grounded."
- Doug Simpson — Class hunk that Marcia wanted to get a date with in "The Subject Was Noses." Doug breaks the date when he sees Marcia's swollen nose (thanks to Peter accidentally hitting her in the nose with a football).
- Clark Tyson — Jan's classmate and object of an unrequited crush in "The Not So Ugly Duckling." Clark confides to Carol later that Jan turned him off because she doesn't dress nice enough.
