Home > Entertainment

The Brady Bunch Kids Share Their Secret Soap Opera Pasts

Brady Bunch ReunitedBrady Bunch Reunited
 Comments

The actors who played the kids on The Brady Bunch have reunited many times since the show’s end to co-star in other projects. They’re doing so now again for HGTV’s A Very Brady Renovation in which they’ll work alongside celebrity renovators as the home used for exterior shots in the classic sitcom is given a makeover so it resembles the interiors seen on the classic sitcom.

Over the years, five of the six performers who played the Brady kids have appeared on soaps. Here’s a look back at their daytime stints — and find out which Brady kid was never on a soap and may never be!

Maureen McCormick (Marcia; Rebecca, Passions)
I loved working with Liza [Huber, Gwen] as her mother! I was really impressed by her. She’s the daughter of Susan Lucci [Erica, All My Children] who is adored and loved. She’s daytime royalty! Liza has inherited Susan’s grace. The whole cast of Passions was wonderful. Rebecca was one of my favorite characters!

Eve Plumb (Jan; June Landau, AMC)
I was such a big fan of AMC and got to do three episodes of that show. My character was an investigative journalist, and I got to work with Susan Lucci. I kept hoping they’d ask me to be a regular!

Susan Olsen (Cindy; Liza Morton, The Young and the Restless)
I remember being cast on General Hospital in the 1980s. I was 19 years old and had just graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. I would have played Lou, Blackie’s (John Stamos) girlfriend. At the last minute, they wanted to cast a younger girl. I think she lasted about six months!

I will say [Danielle von Zerneck, who got the part] was great in the movie La Bamba. My time at The Young and the Restless [as Delia’s school teacher] was very unmemorable. In one scene, I didn’t have a line! It was like I was playing a lamp. I told my agent that I wasn’t going back. They want me back? Give me a role!

Barry Williams (Greg; Hannibal, GH)
I did a short stint as a dance teacher in 1984. I was going to teach the wives of Port Charles how to become Broadway stars and then drop them off at a bus stop somewhere. I have such respect for the daytime actors — the quality and volume of the work they do. It’s a very disciplined arena. I thrived in it.

Christopher Knight (Peter; Leigh, Another World; Dr. Andrews, The Bold and the Beautiful)
I was 21 when I was on Another World, but most of the other characters were older. Ray Liotta [Joey] played Leigh’s friend. [Getting the part of Leigh] was a case of be careful what you wish for! I had a house [in California] at the time that I had just finished.

Then, I got this role on AW and had to be in New York in 10 days! I’d been born in New York, but I had nothing in common with it. I felt out of place and lost. More recently, I played a doctor on The Bold and the Beautiful. When [that show] has a baby, I become a doctor!

Mike Lookinland (Bobby)
No soap for me! I did the Towering Inferno right after The Brady Bunch. Paul Newman’s character saved mine. He was gregarious and fun. Steve McQueen never said a word to me – except, ‘Kid, you’re in my chair.’

I worked as first assistant cameraman on the series Everwood. TV was stepping up its game with that show, trying to be like a feature film. If a soap opera ever gives me a call to be on it, I’d say, ‘Have you seen my acting?’ A Very Brady Renovation premieres tonight, Monday, September 9 at 9 p.m. ET on HGTV.

Video Credit: WatchMojo.com

Subscribe Now

Get spoilers, news and recaps in your inbox daily.

Subscribe Now

Get spoilers, news and recaps in your inbox daily.