Imagine being anyone's ideal of anything at all. No matter how good you are at your job, there's probably no one closing their eyes and picturing you as the emblem of your profession. It's unbelievable that TV has the power to elevate a person to a point where they're indistinguishable from what they played on TV.

For years, Florence Henderson played Carol Brady on The Brady Bunch. When she moved on, and the series ended, the audience didn't really follow her. The viewers never moved on from The Brady Bunch, and the cast wasn't truly afforded the chance to outgrow their characters. Instead they were trapped on the small screen for good.

"It's unbelievable," Henderson said in a 1986 interview with The Journal News. "It's not only in the United States. It's all over the world. I was in Australia earlier this year and that show's been in the Top 10 there for 10 years. People find the success of the show really hard to explain. In worldwide syndication, it's second only to I Love Lucy. And it gives no indication that it's going to diminish."

Watch The Brady Bunch on MeTV!

Sundays at 10 & 10:30 AM

*available in most MeTV markets

Henderson tried her best to switch up her roles. She had a cooking show for a while, and she even went back to the stage. Still, no matter what she tried, folks couldn't shake the idea of Carol Brady.

"You know, I don't know what they expect to see. I was playing a character. I was playing Carol Brady. And people forget that. They think that was Florence Henderson. When they see me in person, they're surprised that I don't wear a dowdy house dress. When they see me in a performance where I come out in a pretty gown and move in a way they don't expect... They can't believe it.

"I guess Carol is everybody's fantasy. It's fun for me. I get a real kick out of it."