Here’s the story of a lovely sitcom … that apparently didn’t generate much long-term income, former Brady Bunch star Eve Plumb revealed within her new memoir.
Plumb, 68, who played the lovable Jan Brady on the hit show about a large blended family during its run from 1969 to 1974, exposed the shocking reality behind the show’s alleged residuals. “If I had a dime for every rerun episode, I’d pay off the national deficit,” Plumb claimed in her newly-released memoir, Happiness Included: Jan Brady and Beyond, per Page Six.
She clarified, “I don’t.”
Plumb rose to fame as the memorable middle child on the beloved TV series, and she shares behind-the-scenes stories about her iconic role and Hollywood career in her new book. The actress sheds light on life as a prominent child star after being cast on The Brady Bunch at the young age of 11. As pointed out in her memoir’s synopsis, the show has been in “perpetual reruns for five decades and is well known by three generations of children and adults.”
However, Plumb made it clear she’s not rolling in the dough despite ongoing reruns.
Plumb starred on the show alongside Susan Olsen (as Cindy Brady), Mike Lookinland (as Bobby Brady), Christopher Knight (as Peter Brady), Maureen McCormick (as Marcia Brady), Barry Williams (as Greg Brady), Florence Henderson (as Carol Brady), Robert Reed (as Mike Brady), and Ann B. Davis (as the family’s housekeeper Alice Nelson).
Reed died in May 1992 at age 59 from complications related to colon cancer and HIV. Davis died more than a decade later at 88 due to a subdural hematoma after a fall. Henderson died in November 2016 from heart failure. She was 82.
Plumb set the record straight on the way she feels toward The Brady Bunch in her new memoir, also addressing misconceptions about her famous “Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!” line.
“I have to explain every time that it wasn’t popular before the Saturday Night Live skit did it, that we don’t make residuals, that I didn’t hate The Brady Bunch,” Plumb told PauseRewind’s Elizabeth Stanton while promoting her memoir.
“It’s like it, no matter how many times I say it, people still have assumptions,” she added. “So, I just say it again and again. Try to be my best smiley person, and I think doesn’t do any good because they don’t know that it’s my 5,000th time hearing that.”
Plumb said she and her former costars may not always see eye to eye, but they certainly look back fondly on what they created — even if they can’t all make every reunion event.
“We are autonomous beings,” she explained. “We each have our own lives and schedules, and we do our best to live our lives so, and nine times out of 10, we don’t know why somebody isn’t doing it. Maybe they’re not available, maybe they don’t like the project. You know, there are a million reasons why you wouldn’t do something, but we’re not always privy to that.”
