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Here's how Susan Olsen felt about her Brady brothers
We can't all get along.
People love the onset drama behind TV shows almost as much as they love the shows themselves. There's something intriguing about it all, even beyond celebrity fascination. Here are these people that we've gotten to know under false pretenses. We watch these folks on TV every week and we develop genuine emotional bonds. Then, sometimes, that "reality" is torn away, and we're forced to confront that people aren't the characters they play on television. It's jarring when we find out that friends we know onscreen are enemies behind the camera.
On the other hand, it's really pleasing to learn about onset friendships! Such was the case between Susan Olsen and her onscreen brother Mike Lookinland, who played Bobby Brady. The two actors, who played the youngest Bradys, were frequently paired up in Brady episodes, and the time they spent together developed a strong relationship.
"The Brady Bunch was like a second family," Olsen told Peter Wilmoth of Melbourne, Australia publication The Age. "There was a lot of love from all around. My favorite was Mike Lookinland. I had 2000 various crushes on him. We never even French-kissed. We were only seven and we would hug in the dark and go, 'I love you.'"
However, that affection didn't extend to everybody in the cast. It seems as though the oldest Brady brother may have been most charming while in character, at least according to Olsen. She was not a fan of actor Barry Williams.
"I had my difficulties with him, more as an adult," said Olsen. "He has a completely different mindset from me. He calls restaurants and says, "I'm Barry Williams, I used to be Greg Brady, can I have your best table?' I would never do that."
She also took time to throw Williams under the bus further when discussing a much-publicized date the actor went on with his onscreen mother, Florence Henderson. In the quote, not even Henderson escapes Olsen's scorched earth remarks.
"Florence went out with Barry out of charity, because he was a nerd. She went out with him to make him feel special. I used to think it was kind of desperate of her to be so attentive to his attentions."
33 Comments
Gonna guess you've never seen a Shirley Temple movie, because as far as I can tell your head hasn't exploded yet.
I call em like I see em.
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He also saved many others that were riding ahead of the Brady Cast.
PS Christopher Knight appeared in a final-season episode of The Bionic Woman involving the bionic dog Max(?). His character's name was Bobby, they gave him the name of the wrong Brady brother.