Review of Brady, Brady, Brady
By Wendy Winans (Brady World)
Brady, Brady, Brady: The Complete Story of The Brady Bunch as Told by the Father/Son Team who Really Know, by Sherwood Schwartz and Lloyd J. Schwartz, Running Press (2010).
The average reader will enjoy Brady, Brady, Brady for the tabloid-like stories regarding off-screen romances, drug problems among the cast, on-set fighting, and other scandals that have taken place over the last 40+ years. The loyal, dedicated Brady Bunch fan will enjoy the book for all that as well as getting answers to some of those long-time unanswered questions—such as in what city did the Bradys reside?
The book is divided into three sections. The first section is written by Sherwood Schwartz, the creator of the show. Sherwood explains where the concept of the show came from, all he went through to get it on the air, and finally the production of the first episode. He touches briefly on his issues with Robert Reed and explains how it was decided in what city the Bradys lived, though the city is never specifically mentioned on the show or subsequent reunions.
Following this, the second section of Brady, Brady, Brady has Lloyd Schwartz (son of Sherwood Schwartz and production assistant since the beginning) talking about the day-to-day tribulations of making the show for five years. He covers the off-screen romances among the cast and the epic battles between Robert Reed and the Schwartzes. He also supplies behind-the-scene tidbits from some of the classic episodes. He describes, for example, how the production staff dealt with a dead body in the middle of an out-of-studio film shoot.
The third section then covers all of the reunions. Lloyd shares his feelings on The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (1976-77) that the Schwartzes were not a part of, and how the Brady Bunch franchise got back on track with The Brady Girls Get Married in 1981 and the successful return in 1988 with A Very Brady Christmas.
The one section, in my opinion, that gives the most new information comes in Lloyd’s recall of the theatrical movies. He talks about how those came about. I was surprised to learn how different the final production of The Brady Bunch Movie was from the original draft. He describes the battles they had when the studio wanted other writers, and how proud he is of The Brady Bunch in the White House.
The book wraps up with a description of the new stage production, A Very Brady Musical, which has debuted in Los Angeles and, we hope, will begin a national tour in the coming years.
Brady, Brady, Brady should be on every fan’s bookshelf. Overall, Sherwood and Lloyd Schwartz provide their readers with a very good summary of the highs and lows in the history of The Brady Bunch. New things are brought to light, and the book provides additional detail about many of the things fans already know. The occasional instances where characters and episodes have gotten mixed up or confused will likely go unnoticed by the average fan and will provide amusement to those of you who spot the inaccuracies. I am hopeful that the editors will fix those before the second printing.