Robert Reed played Mike Brady, one of TV’s most wholesome dads, on “The Brady Bunch” from 1969 to 1974. But when the cameras weren’t rolling, Reed was notoriously difficult to work with, especially for show creator Sherwood Schwartz. For example, Schwartz remembered Reed refusing to shoot a scene involving strawberries because according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, strawberries didn’t have a smell when they’re cooking (actually, they do, per America’s Test Kitchen, they just don’t taste very good after being cooked). But while Reed was a stickler for accuracy, that strict nature didn’t transfer over to his relationships with the actors who played the six Brady children.
Reed wrote the introduction to Barry Williams’ 1992 book, “Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg,” praising Williams, who played eldest son Greg Brady, and his on-screen siblings. Reed said there wasn’t “one bad apple” among the kids — Williams, Christopher Knight as Peter, Mike Lookinland as Bobby, Maureen McCormick as Marcia, Eve Plumb as Jan, and Susan Olsen as Cindy Brady.
Reed attributed their good nature to their parents, an on-set teacher, the crew’s mindfulness, and Schwartz, who cast them carefully. “The best accolade I can give them is to say that they came into the show with a certain innocence and naiveté, and five years later they left the show with an appropriate amount of both qualities,” Reed wrote. “They are now men and women of substance, ease, and grace, whom I very much consider family.”
Reed mentored the children on set, which had a lasting impact on Barry Williams
In his introduction, Reed failed to mention the role he played in his on-screen kids’ lives when the cameras stopped rolling, something Williams remembered well during an appearance at RetroCon in 2026. “Robert Reed was a strong influence in my life. I really appreciated his work and his dedication and his commitment to the part,” Williams said, via Parade. Reed, he said, “kind of mentored us as actors, all of us kids and kind of taught us how to be responsible and be in that environment and not let it really go to our heads and treat it as a craft and an art.”
Ironically, Reed’s dedication to accuracy over craft is the reason Schwartz wrote him out of a “Brady Bunch” episode that ended up being the show’s final chapter. Reed thought it was ridiculous to build the plot around homemade dye turning Greg’s hair bright orange, and Schwartz decided to sideline him.
Schwartz created “The Brady Bunch” after reading a newspaper article about how unconventional family structures were affecting kids’ lives. He accomplished his goal of exploring his young audience’s problems and emotions . And he had help from Reed in offering that same kindness to the children who helped bring “The Brady Bunch” to life.
