Although Robert Reed was impudent with Sherwood Schwartz and their relationship was anything but cordial, Reed’s acting abilities shone through in his parental role on-screen. His talent garnered him the ranking as the 14th greatest TV dads of all time by TV Guide in 2004.
Ahead of him on the list? Cliff Huxtable from ‘The Cosby Show’, Howard Cunningham from ‘Happy Days’, and Steve Douglas from ‘My Three Sons’.
Not in Front of the Children
Despite 8 visible smiles in the show’s opening credits, behind the scenes, drama was constantly brewing between cast and crew members. Apparently, Robert Reed was known to cause quite the ruckus on set. This was partially due to the fact that he felt like the show was getting more and more out of line with each new episode. A declining quality sometimes happens with TV shows as they go on. Although Reed played a good dad to the children both on and off the screen, Sherwood would have some less than positive things to say about him.
The two constantly butted heads, so much that Schwartz didn’t even include him in the final episode of the show. But, you could say that Reed asked to get the boot. Reed had become so fed up with the show’s quality and silly plots, and was appalled by the show’s final episode. He demanded that Schwartz rewrite the final scene. Instead of rewriting, Schwartz simply cut him from the scene. Well, Reed being Reed, he showed up for the filming of the scene anyways and Schwartz kicked him off the set so as not to have a showdown in front of the children.
Reed the Instigator
There were several other scenes that Robert felt to be ridiculous and refused to be associated with. During the scene in which characters got into a silent food fight with pie, Reed was very upfront with Schwartz, as he usually was.
He told Reed that the silent pie fight was ludicrous and the Brady Bunch wasn’t meant to be a silent film.
A Royal Actor
There’s a good reason for Reed’s insolent persona (actually, does anything ever truly give validation for arrogance?). Robert Reed wanted the show to go his way. He was a very trained actor who had studied for one term at the reputable Royal Academy of Dramatic Art London.
Before appearing on television, he acted in Shakespeare plays. He then moved to L.A. to pursue his acting career and got started with a guest appearance on 'Father Knows Best'. His first television role was in 'The Defenders'.
Against the Odds
Despite Florence Henderson’s performance as Carol, a multi-faceted and uber-talented woman who seems to keep the family functioning smoothly while keeping up with her own hobbies and work, her background is, you could say, rather different. Henderson comes from a very poor family and was the youngest of 10 children.
Fortunately for her, she had a headstrong mother who despite all odds and the battle with an alcoholic husband, managed to give her children as good a life as possible and encourage them to be successful. Florence often credited her professional success to her mother.