Robert Reed

Appearing in the Neil Simon play Barefoot in the Park led to two new contracts at Paramount Pictures and ABC, both in 1968. When Paramount had decided to turn the television version of Barefoot in the Park into a predominantly African-American show, they planned for Reed to star in something else. The new series was entitled The Brady Bunch and featured a widowed man with three children from a previous marriage, marrying a single mother, also with three children from a previous marriage. The series' creator, Sherwood Schwartz, said he was inspired to create the series after reading a news item in the Los Angeles Times stating that "more than 29 percent of all marriages included a child or children from a previous marriage". Schwartz thought the idea was "... the key to a new and unusual TV series. It was a revelation! The first blended family! His kids and her kids! Together!"[14] (However, this situation had in fact been seen for years on The Danny Thomas Show, on which Reed had appeared as a guest star in 1959.)

Reed was the producers' second choice for the role of Mike Brady after Gene Hackman was rejected because he was largely unknown at the time.[15] Also starring on The Brady Bunch was actress Florence Henderson, who played the role of Mike's wife Carol Brady after her best friend Shirley Jones turned down the role in favor of The Partridge Family.[16] Also cast on the series was Ann B. Davis as the Bradys' maid Alice Nelson.[17] Despite earning poor reviews from critics and never cracking the Top 30 during its five-season run, The Brady Bunch remained an audience favorite of the 1970s.[17][18] Since its cancellation in 1974, the series has led a healthy afterlife in syndication and spawned several spin-off series and two television reunion films, along with two parody films.[19]

From the very beginning of the sitcom's debut in September 1969, Reed was unhappy with his role as Mike Brady. He felt that acting in the often silly program was beneath his training as a serious Shakespearean actor. Producers and directors found Reed difficult to work with both on and off the set. However, all of the cast got along well with him. In his efforts to bring more realism to the sitcom, Reed often locked horns with the program's creator and executive producer Schwartz.[20][21] Reed regularly presented Schwartz with hand-written memoranda detailing why a certain motivation did not make sense or why it was wrong to combine elements of farce and satire. Schwartz generally ignored Reed's suggestions, although in an attempt to alleviate tension, Schwartz occasionally allowed Reed to direct some episodes.[22] In a 1983 interview, Reed admitted that he often butted heads with Schwartz, stating, "We fought over the scripts. Always over the scripts. The producer, Sherwood Schwartz, had done Gilligan's Island...Just gag lines. That would have been what The Brady Bunch would have been if I hadn't protested."[23]

Reed and Florence Henderson in a publicity shot for The Brady Bunch, 1973

Reed was particularly appalled by what would turn out to be the show's final episode, "The Hair-Brained Scheme". He sent Schwartz a memo, picking apart his problems with the episode,[24] but Schwartz did not receive the memo promptly enough to alter the script as Reed wanted. As a result, Reed refused to appear in the episode altogether.[21] By this time, Schwartz was tired of Reed's antagonistic behavior and decided to replace him for the show's sixth season; however, the series was cancelled by ABC shortly thereafter.[25] Reed would later claim that he originally accepted the role for financial reasons,[26] but tried to remain positive despite his creative differences with Schwartz by reminding himself the series was primarily about the children. Reed masked his dissatisfaction in front of the camera, always performing professionally without any indication of his unhappiness. Despite his discontentment with the show, Reed genuinely liked all of his co-stars and was a father figure to the younger cast members.[27] Co-star Susan Olsen became friends with Reed's daughter Karen, who made a guest appearance in the episode "The Slumber Caper".[28] Reed's final appearance in the series was in the penultimate episode, "The Hustler". His final line in that episode was "Now I can get my car in the garage."

During the run of The Brady Bunch, Reed also had a recurring role as Lieutenant Adam Tobias on Mannix, from 1969 to 1975,[2] and typically appeared in three to five Mannix episodes each season. He also directed several episodes of The Brady Bunch during its run.[26][29] After Reed's agents overbooked him for a film in England with Anglia Television, his cancellation led to the 1972 court case of Anglia Television Ltd v Reed.

After The Brady Bunch series ended in 1974, Reed acted on the stage and made guest star appearances on other television series and television movies, including Pray for the Wildcats and SST: Death Flight. He won critical acclaim for his portrayal of Pat Caddison, a doctor who comes out as transgender, in a two-part episode of Medical Center in 1975.[30] The episode also earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.[31] Also that year he appeared in the TV-movie The Secret Night Caller, as a respectably married man with a compulsion to make obscene phone calls to women he barely knows. Reed appeared in the television film The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976), the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man (1976), and the miniseries Roots (1977).[20] Reed was again nominated for an Emmy Award for his work in Rich Man, Poor Man and Roots.[31] He also guest-starred on Wonder Woman, Hawaii Five-O, Charlie's Angels, Galactica 1980 and Vega$.

In 1981, Reed won the lead role of Dr. Adam Rose on the medical drama Nurse.[32] Despite critical acclaim, the series was canceled the following year. In 1986, he played the role of Lloyd Kendall on the daytime soap opera Search for Tomorrow. He also made multiple appearances on Fantasy Island, Hunter, The Love Boat and Murder, She Wrote.

Despite his dislike of The Brady Bunch and the character of Mike Brady, Reed continued to appear in Brady Bunch spinoffs and sequels for the remainder of his career. In 1976, Reed reprised the role of Mike Brady in the variety show The Brady Bunch Hour, a role he openly embraced because it afforded him the opportunity to sing and dance. He would later appear in the television film The Brady Girls Get Married (1981) and the television film A Very Brady Christmas (1988).[22] In 1989, he guest-starred as Mike Brady in "A Very Brady Episode" of the NBC sitcom Day by Day. Also in 1989, Reed reteamed with his Brady Bunch co-star Henderson in a guest-starring role on the sitcom Free Spirit.[33] In 1990, he reprised the role of Mike Brady for the final time in the drama series, The Bradys.[22] The series was canceled after six episodes. Reed made his last onscreen appearance in an April 1992 episode of Jake and the Fatman, "Ain't Misbehavin'".[2]

Shortly before his death, Reed appeared in the touring production of Love Letters, opposite Betsy Palmer, and taught classes on Shakespeare at UCLA.[11][27]