The Brady Bunch Kids Share Their Secret Soap Opera Pasts

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.