Being a kid of the late ’60s and ’70s, I remember all the classic television shows of the time very well. Fun, family-oriented shows were the order of the day; shows like “Leave it to Beaver” (which may or may not have influenced my parents’ choice of names for the newborn me) and “The Partridge Family,” along with rural-themed shows like “Petticoat Junction” and “Green Acres.” Not to mention the wonderful “Andy Griffith Show.”
And, of course, there was “The Brady Bunch.” Recently, star Barry Williams, who played the oldest son, Greg Brady, spoke out on the many rumors of hook-ups among the cast – and downplayed the stories:
Barry Williams is getting real about the past relationships and hook-ups shared between his “Brady Bunch” costars.
“We all hooked up with each other at some point,” the 69-year-old actor told Us Weekly. “Not necessarily while we were filming.”
“I dated Maureen [McCormick], and Chris [Knight] dated Eve [Plum] and Michael [Lookinland] and Susan [Olsen] had a little mock wedding at one point. So, yes, we all hooked up,” he added.
In today’s culture, at least as I understand it (having been out of the singles scene for over three decades), “hook-up” has a rather specific meaning, that implies that there is a meeting with a predetermined, well, consummation. “Dating,” in the ’70s as today, is quite a different rhetorical kettle of fish, and it’s interesting to note that Barry Williams used both terms. He even described his “teenage crush” on his on-show mom Florence Henderson:
While Williams said the “hook-ups” were solely among the younger stars, he did have a “teenage crush” on his TV mom, the late Florence Henderson.
“I had a teenage crush on her, for sure,” said Williams. “And she’s got a very lively personality and great sense of humor, but I knew that I wanted to have music in my career [in] acting, and so I talked to her a lot about that.”
“I had found this singer coming into the Copacabana near Beverly Hills,” he continued. “I can’t think of exactly where it was, but I invited her to go together as a date, and she said, ‘OK,’ so I was thrilled. And now for me, it was a date.”
Seems pretty innocent to me.
Even back in the day, of course, rumors flew. That is, one must assume, one of the prices of fame.
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As I remember the show’s characters over the years they were on television, I was more or less the age of the younger Brady son Bobby. It was a simpler time. You could let your young kids watch television even after the 10 o’clock cutoff for “family programming,” and we did; one fun part of Friday nights was being allowed to stay up to watch Johnny Carson. And, yes, a lot of us watched “The Brady Bunch.” As an aging child of those times, it’s interesting to see that the six remaining cast members have not only stayed in touch but remain good friends.
In all the drama and scandal surrounding so much of the entertainment world these days, it’s nice to see not only a reminder of a more innocent time (rumors notwithstanding), but also that the people involved are still maintaining something of the positive relationships they developed during the show. Good for them.
