We all love to watch Florence Henderson as Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch, but very few of us know just what a long trek it was for Henderson to win that role.

According to Barry Williams's book, Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg, Florence Henderson had originally declined to audition for the role of Carol because the timing of the screen test conflicted with her current nightclub act as a singer. Luckily, Florence was able to squeeze the audition in thanks to some very acrobatic time management on her part that would allow her to zip from Texas, where she was performing, over to Los Angeles. There she could audition for the role, and then, the same day, fly home to Texas where she would perform that night.

This already sounds incredibly difficult as is, but adding to the pressure was the fact that when Henderson arrived in Los Angeles, there was no one available to do her makeup for the screen test. She thought fast and quickly requested the help of a makeup artist on the set of Star Trek. 

Henderson said, "I was sitting in a makeup chair between William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and like six or eight space monsters. None of them had any idea who I was or made any attempt to be friendly, which really bugged me. Anyway, this makeup guy proceeded to put makeup on me which was absolutely unbelievable. Put it this way: Mr. Spock ended up looking more attractive than I did. It was awful!"

In Henderson's opinion, the makeup was too overdone for someone like Carol Brady to wear, and she was worried her look would cost her the role. Ever a trooper, Henderson decided that the best way was through, and during her audition with Sherwood Schwartz, she immediately made lighthearted fun of the situation.

She said, "I went to the Brady soundstage and I said to Sherwood, 'Look, I just want you to know that I think this makeup is all wrong for Carol Brady, or any other living human creature. So remember, when you see these eyelashes flapping around in the breeze, I think they look stupid too."

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Luckily, Henderson's quips proved to Sherwood Schwartz that she was well apt to do comedy. In retrospect, Henderson said, "Maybe I should thank that terrible makeup man because, in a way, his botch job helped me get the part."

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