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14 teeny details you never noticed in 'The Brady Bunch'
It truly was a family affair for some actors on the show.
We know the Brady house like our own childhood home. That mod staircase. The orange kitchen. The astroturf backyard. The Jack-and-Jill bathroom. Mike's office. The brick entryway. The clown paintings in the boys' room.
That being said, we bet there are some details in the home — and throughout the entire show — that escaped your eye. It's no wonder, these are small props and inside references we're talking about.
Take a look at 14 fascinating things your eyes perhaps missed.
1. There's a tiny Star Trek cameo, of sort.
In the episode "Kitty-Karry-All Is Missing," Cindy's beloved baby doll disappears. She blames Bobby, who never liked the thing. To show he cares for his stepsister, Bobby heads to the toy store to buy a replacement. At the start of the scene, the shopkeeper helps a mother and her child. Behind him, you can spot a strange Star Trek toy from the era, the Flying Rocket Plane. It was made by Remco, who produced an entire line of not-related-to-the-show-at-all toys for Star Trek.
2. The Bradys go camping at a familiar Mayberry pond.
In "A-Camping We Will Go," the entire gang pitches tents in the wilderness alongside a tranquil lake. It should look familiar to TV fanatics, as its the very same body of water seen in the opening credits of The Andy Griffith Show. The Franklin Canyon Reservoir turned up in several episodes of that show, not to mention an episode of Star Trek.
3. Mike has a drawing of the Bradys' backyard in his office.
Mike was pretty proud of his own backyard. In his office, behind his desk, he has a drawing of the Bradys' backyard hanging on the wall, as you can see in "Is There a Doctor in the House?" Perhaps this was a concept sketch used in the production of the show?
4. There's a reason for the random close-ups of seat belts.
Title 49 of the United States Code, Chapter 301, Motor Vehicle Safety Standard went into effect at the start of 1968. The federal law required — for the first time — that cars had to be equipped with seat belts. To help encourage the use of seat belts, The Brady Bunch threw in a couple unnecessary close-ups of buckling belts in "Tiger, Tiger." After all, if this family did it, shouldn't yours?
5. The show paid tribute to a special Dodger.
Hall of Famer and 1962 Cy Young Award winner Don Drysdale guest stars in "The Dropout." There's a minor tribute to the Dodger legend on Greg's uniform. He's wearing number 53, the same worn by the baseball star.
6. The Bradys keep changing their phone number.
No wonder nobody called Jan for a date — her home phone number kept changing. In "The Babysitters," we see Carol call home from a restaurant. She dials 222-1116 on a rotary payphone. In "The Not-So-Ugly Duckling," Jan tells the operator the home number is 762-0799. Then, in "Mail Order Hero," the one with Joe Namath, we learn that 555-6161 is the Brady number. At least they didn't have to deal with cellphone plans.
7. The real daughters of Robert Reed and Florence Henderson make cameos.
A gaggle of teenage girls turn up for a sleepover in "The Slumber Caper." A few of them had special ties to the show. Redheaded Ruthie was played by Barbara Henderson, daughter of Florence, while Karen in the red pajamas and pigtails is Carolyn Reed (now Karen Rietz), daughter of Robert. Oh, and of course there is Hope Juber portraying Jenny. She was the daughter of series creator Sherwood Schwartz, and popped up in a few episodes herself.
8. A Peanuts character pops up.
An infamous black wig steals the show in "Will the Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up?" However, pay close attention to the party scene, being held at the house of a schoolgirl called "Lucy." Why was the character given that name? Well, she was played by Pamelyn Ferdin, who voiced the beloved Peanuts character Lucy in many Charlie Brown animated television specials. It was a little in-joke.
9. Hey, that's Uncle Fester!
Speaking of famous faces answering the door, let's jump ahead to "Double Parked." Alice and the kids go door to door in the neighborhood to help save a local park. Cindy and Bobby ring the bell of an older fellow. He's played by Jackie Coogan, best known for playing Fester on The Addams Family, though it's hard to recognize him with a mustache and more hair.
10. Eve Plumb played her own aunt.
In "Jan's Aunt Jenny," Jan gets a vision of her older self when she learns her elder Aunt Jenny once looked just like her. To prove the point, they show us a photo of young Aunt Jenny. Eve Plumb posed for the retro photograph.
11. Cindy sticks her tongue out.
Susan Olsen later confessed she was having trouble memorizing lines for "Cindy Brady, Lady." At the end of one scene in the kitchen, after she and Tommy Jamison give Alice flowers, Cindy leaves the frame… and breaks character. Olsen sticks out her tongue and makes an icky face. The frustrated actress thought they were still rehearsing. The shot stayed in.
12. Meet the original Jan Brady.
When the series was in development, Sherwood Schwartz cast brunette Debi Storm in the role of Jan Brady. He later decided he wanted all the girls to be blonde and the role was recast with Eve Plumb. At least Storm got to appear on the show. She plays classmate Molly Webber, who memorably appears in the Pygmalion spoof My Fair Opponent.
13. Marcia must have donated her clothes.
Marcia Brady was quite the fashion plate. The oldest Brady girl was always sporting the hippest fashions. It seems as if her classmates got her hand-me-downs. In "Greg's Triangle," we see Westdale High beauty Jennifer Nichols in an orange top over a black-and-white skirt. Well, that look was so last year. Marcia wore the exact outfit in "Getting Davy Jones." Jennifer later wears another Marcia outfit — a baby blue turtleneck — from the same episode during the cheerleader tryouts.
14. Christopher Knight's dad plays a game show host.
The host of Question the Kids looks like a dead ringer for modern-day Christopher Knight. With good reason. That is Edward Knight in the role of Monty Marshall.
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