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The Brady Bunch
*464 girls and boys were interviewed by producer Sherwood Schwartz to find the Brady kids.
*In addition to the albums recorded by the Brady kids, there was an album featuring only Maureen McCormick and Christopher Knight. It was a commercial failure.
*Robert Reed was written out of the episode "The Hair-Brained Scheme" because he felt that the plot involving hair tonic was implausible. When he began arguing with the producers over the script, studio security wanted to remove him from the set. However, Sherwood Schwartz would not allow it because he felt that it would be too distressing for the kids. Reed remained on the set to watch the filming of the episode, which would ultimately become the final episode of the series.
*The word "sex" was not mentioned until the final episode of the series. It was spoken by, of all people, Cousin Oliver.
*The theme song during the first season, unlike subsequent seasons, was not sung by the Brady kids, but by a group known as The Peppermint Trolley Company.
*We saw the Brady's bathroom many times, but not once did we see a toilet. The popular joke was that the Bradys are so good, clean and wholesome that didn't even go to the bathroom. The truth is, they had intended putting a toilet in the bathroom, but the network censors wouldn't let them.
*Sherwood Schwartz originally wanted Gene Hackman for the role of Mike Brady, but Hackman wasn't considered well-known enough at the time.
*Tiger, the Bradys' dog, disappeared after the second season of the show. In reality, Tiger ran away and supposedly got hit by a car. The reason the dog house remained was because one of the studio lights fell and burned a hole in their beloved Astro-turf, so they moved the dog house to cover up the burn hole.
*Joyce Bulifant was the original choice for the role of Carol Brady.
*Even though this show stayed on for five seasons, it never was a ratings hit. The highest it ever got was number 34 in the Nielsens, but stayed on the air due to its popularity among children.
*The Brady's next door neighbors, the Ditmeyers, were talked about, but only Mr. Ditmeyer was seen on one occasion.
*The girls originally had a cat named Fluffy, but it was only seen in the pilot. The cat was gone by the time the second episode aired.
*Even though Greg dated a lot, you never actually saw him kiss any of the girls he went out with. The only Brady kid to have a kissing scene was Bobby.
*The Bradys all drove Chrylser Corporation vehicles (until the final season). Mike Brady drove a 1968 Dodge Polara convertible in the pilot; a 1969 Plymouth Fury III in years one and two; a 1971 Plymouth Barracuda convertible in year three; a 1972 Plymouth Barracuda convertible in year four (actually, a modified 1971 model), and a 1973 Chevrolet Caprice convertible in year five. Carol, on the other hand, drove only two vehicles: a 1970 Plymouth Satellite wagon, and a 1971 Plymouth Satellite wagon (which took the "bunch" on their infamous Grand Canyon trip). The vehicles were loaned to Paramount by the Chrysler Corporation for filming. Incidentally, the 1969 Plymouth Fury III convertible that "Mike Brady" drove was recently restored to showroom condition.
*The house used for exterior shots, which was normally seen at the beginning of every episode as well as various points throughout the show's run, is at 11222 Dilling St., Studio City, California. Since the series ended, the owners of the home have erected an iron fence, let heavy shrubbery grow to cover much of the front, and have suffered numerous trespassers. They also refused to let producers use the home for exterior shots in the subsequent films in the 1990s.
*Because of difficulties with Robert Reed, Sherwood Schwartz considered the possibility of either hiring a new actor to play Mike Brady or killing off the character altogether, if the series were to be renewed for a sixth season. However, neither idea ever materialized since the show was canceled at the end of its fifth season.
*Due to its (suprisingly) marginal ratings, the show was never renewed for a whole season until its last season on the air (1973-74). During its first four seasons, it was only renewed for thirteen weeks at a time. Several members of the cast have admitted that, when they finished taping thirteen weeks worth of shows, there was always an air of apprehension while they waited to see if ABC would renew the program or not.
*Robert Reed, who famously disliked his role as Mike Brady, claimed he only took the part because producer Sherwood Schwartz told him the show would be a serious, boundary-pushing look at modern family life.
*The names of Mike's and Carol's previous spouses were never mentioned on the show. In fact, the only time a picture was shown of Mike's first wife was in the very first episode.
*Sherwood Schwartz's technique for auditioning child actors was to set out a bunch of toys on his desk, then during the interview see if the child paid attention to him or was distracted by the toys. If the toys went unheeded, Schwartz knew the child had the concentration needed to work on a television series.
*Was the first television series to be created and produced by Paramount Studios, which up until that time had been a movie studio exclusively. Earlier TV shows, such as Star Trek and Bonanza were acquired by Paramount when the studio purchased Desilu.
*'Barry Williams' and 'Susan Olsen' (Greg and Cindy Brady) are the only two Brady kids to appear in every single Brady Bunch episode.
*The Lucille Ball film Yours, Mine and Ours, with its similar theme, inspired ABC to finally green-light this series.
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