Recently my friend Danielle surprised me with this early birthday present, a pair of 8 x 10 lithographs of… the Brady House! (I’m definitely going to frame one of these beauties, I think the bottom one.) This isn’t something I’m especially proud of, but I suppose I was a big fan of the Brady Bunch in it’s heyday and awhile after, and still keep up with the latest doin’s of the cast.
(Did you know Susan Olsen, who played the youngest girl Cindy, is a godawful Trumper? Oh the humanity!)
Several generations of kids grew up with this show of course, but I’m one of the original fans who watched it Friday nights at 8pm from 1969 to 1974. I’ve probably mentioned it here once or 10 times before, but I can still remember the night of it’s premiere, my mom turning to Dad and saying “Who do they think is going to watch this sh-t?”
(She should’ve known better than to ask; her and Dad had 5 kids, with a sixth on the way. 3 boys and 3 girls, just like the Bradys! I’m the middle boy in my family, but I’m the same age as Mike Lookinland, who played the youngest boy Bobby.)
In fact, this is how Danielle & I became friends. In 2011, when she transferred to my work-group in our company, she was being led around and introduced. When she was brought over to my desk, the person doing the introductions said “You’ll like Doug, he’s a Brady Bunch fan too.” (How did they know that, and how did they know that about her?)
I said “Well, there’s a lot of people out there who claim they’re fans, but know next-to-nothing about the show. You’re probably one of them, and I’ll be proving that in the weeks ahead with a series of quizzes you’ll be given.”
She said “Bring ‘em on!” I did, and she surprised me greatly; she knew as much as me and I’m the BRADY MASTER.
Last year when HGTV reconstructed the interior of the actual home used to film exterior shots for the show, they had a comprehensive online ‘walking tour’.
I studied every room and was surprised to discover only ONE clock in the entire house, on Alice’s nightstand.
When I relayed my findings to Danielle, I got a lecture in return on how Alice was mistreated by the family. See, this is what mental fans do!
Of course, as time went by we learned we had more in common than an old tv show. We had a very similar upbringing (we grew up in parallel small towns in Pennsylvania that turned red for Trump) and we share a death wish for most Republicans on Capitol Hill. Okay, all Republicans. We’re both hams, and we each have a sibling named Shawn!
Anyway, even with our 15 year age difference I knew right away we were going to be good friends.
Oh and for the record, I love her husband Josh too.
Thanks again, Danielle
I've never seen the Brady Bunch, sorry but I did like the Partridge Family. Oops maybe I shouldn't admit that.
ReplyDeleteHey Joe! Well, if you'd grown up in America they played side by side, you wouldn't have seen one without the other. But heck yeah, admit that!
DeleteFor the 300th time, Alice was the hired help! That's why she didn't have dinner with them until 1989's "A Very Brady Christmas"! Haha, thanks again for the cool lithos, Dani :^)
ReplyDeleteThose pictures are beautiful, and they will look very nice in your home. It is always nice to have a long lasting friend. What a treasure she is. But, why did she call you Damien?
ReplyDeleteThank you Gigi! Oh, she calls me Damien because my birthday is on Halloween, and Damien was the name of that creepy little boy in "The Omen"! :^)
DeleteDoug, the march of time is faster than we all realize. The kids re-did the house two years ago. How is that possible!?!?! Hope you're doing well.
ReplyDeleteDave? Dave Stewart?? It's so nice hearing from you! I've wondered about you, how have you been? And was that really 2 years ago? Haha, C'mon! I'm doing okay, I sure hope you are too. :^)
DeleteDoing pretty well. I still follow you, I just don't post too much.
DeleteWell Dave, I am genuinely glad to hear from you. Thanks for checking in. :^)
DeleteI have seen a few episodes of the show here and there over the years. I did however, watch the HGTV makeover of the house when it was done and was amazed at how different the inside of the house actually way compared to the show. I always assumed the inside looked like the film version.
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't wish death to all Republicans. Some of us can be quite reasonable and don't subscribe to Trump. But I do realize that I'm probably in a very small minority these days.
Ed, what they did in that house--they LOWERED the foundation (to have a second story without affecting how it looked from the outside)! Just unreal. And now I'm wondering what they plan to do with it. Ed, when I said death to all Republicans I was talking about the ones on Capitol Hill. I wouldn't wish death on half this country, or you! :^)
DeleteI watched the BB religiously and now wonder how I would do on the quizzes you devised. :)
ReplyDeleteReally! Margaret now I'm intrigued, haha. Well, the questions ran along the lines of "What happened to Tiger and why was his doghouse kept on the show after the first season." Simple stuff like that. :^)
DeleteOhh no, Cindy has gone to the dark side?? Gasp.I wasn't really a fan but I did watch the reruns on occasion. I did like Mike Brady and loved him on the Defenders.
ReplyDeleteYou have such a great friend in Danielle. Treasure it.
Haha, Patti I liked what you said about going to the Dark Side! Sadly it's true. Y'know, I never saw Robert Reed in the Defenders, but always wanted to. And you're right, Danielle is a good friend. Sometimes she feels more like family :^)
DeleteI’d like to comment, but I’ve reached the ripe old age of 76 without ever having seen a single episode of the program.
ReplyDelete(Before you ask, yes it was shown here in Australia).
Well Peter, congrats on reaching the ripe old age of 76! Diffrent strokes for different folks, my friend :^)
DeleteWhat a unique and wonderful birthday gift! Of course I remember the Brady Bunch and that iconic staircase in the house. I saw a few of the HGTV episodes when they reconstructed the interior of the house and I thought it was really cool that they would do that. I read that there was a contest to spend a week in the house and the girl that won will be able to stay there with some friends/family sometime this December.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bonnie! I knew this was silly stuff, but why not.. :^) Y'know, that contest was actually over a year ago, I did see that one woman's "Why I am a Brady" video, which won her the week. They showed her and her family moving in, and being greeted by a couple of the Brady kids the first day. :^) Maybe you've seen a newer contest?
DeleteThanks Doug, I'm sure you are talking about the same contest. Time just goes much too fast for me these days! You should have entered the contest! Or did you? ; )
DeleteHaha--Bonnie if you see this, you aren't alone. When I said this house rebuilt last year, someone corrected me and said it was done 2 years ago! Do you remember that song "Time keeps on slipping into the future"? :^) Anyway, no I didn't enter the contest but when I saw the entries... I admit it, I wish I had've!
DeleteI watched The Brady Bunch and always wondered just what on earth did Mrs Brady do, since Alice did all the housework and quite a bit of the kid raising. I loved their house and was shocked on day recently, (about five or more years ago) to find the original master suite was all pink! The new owners of the house had painted it or something like that, but all the walls, ceiling, soft furnishings and bedding, Candy pink!! I nearly barfed when I saw it on TV.
ReplyDeleteRiver, as kids we used to do the same (wonder what Carol Brady did, having a full-time maid!) As for the parents bedroom being all pink--that was in the REAL house they used to film outside shots for the 70s tv show. The real house looked nothing like the interiors on the show, :^)
DeleteNice that you found a friend. But like Cool Joe, I was a Partridge Family fan. I had a thing for Susan Dey.
ReplyDeleteHaha--oh Tom, trust me; you were not alone in regards to Susan Dey!!
DeleteHi Doug, what an incredibly thoughtful gift! I don’t think I watched the Brady Bunch the first time it was shown as I would have been five years old when it started. I must have caught it in reruns in the late 1970’s.
ReplyDeleteDanielle sounds like a fun, lovely lady. You are blessed to have her as a friend.
Have a good weekend!
Robin
Thank you Robin (and hmm, this answers a couple questions)! :^) Well, I'm glad I have you as a friend too!
DeleteAh, me too Doug!
DeleteI remember the Brady Bunch, but only saw it on a few occasions. I think because if it ran from '69 - '74, that was when I was busy with 3 babies - not a lot of time for TV back then. But it is wonderful that you have a friend that shared your enjoyment of the show... and stays in contact.
ReplyDeleteRian 3 babies--you had your own bunch, that's for sure! As for a friend that stays in contact, you really nailed that. Danielle is the ONE person who's stayed in contact with me since I retired 6 years ago. She's a real friend.
DeleteAND I'm sure they love you too. :-)
ReplyDeleteI do remember watching The Brady Bunch all the time. I liked the one where Marcia gets her drivers license after Greg gives her a hard time. That's the only one that really sticks in my head. Gosh! I watched way too much TV in my youth.
Thanks Kay, but you think you watched too much TV? I can tell you what every episode of this series was about in the first 10 seconds of the show🤦💐❤️
DeleteI feel a little bit ashamed that I never watched this show at all. I did know people who loved it, and here I am still finding new old fans of the show. I didn't watch much TV during that time period. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to imagine someone never seeing this show--but if I was older when it started, I probably wouldn't have watched it either DJan! I have my theories why it's endured this long though :^)
Delete