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‘The Brady Bunch’: Iconic Bully of Cindy, Peter Brady Played Similar Role in ‘The Andy Griffith Show’

You know what they say: Once a famous television bully, always a famous television bully. At least, that was the case for The Brady Bunch bully.

Russell Schulman spent from 1968-1970 playing a television bully for shows including The Brady Bunch, The Andy Griffith Show, and Family Affair. But what made him such an iconic bully? Was it his shaggy blonde hair, his freckles, or his perfectly high-pitched and mocking voice? Regardless of the reasons why he made such a great bully, television show producers unanimously agreed that he was the kid for the job. Schulman first appeared as a bully in the town of Mayberry in 1968 during one of the last episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. During the episode, Opie sees a new student named Mike being bullied by Schulman. But Opie already has plenty of experience dealing with bullies from the season two episode, “Opie and the Bully.” So, Opie comes to Mike’s rescue and quickly diffuses Schulman’s bullying.

A few months later, Schulman made another appearance as a bully on Family Affair. During the episode, Schulman plays the henchman and instigator of a tough boys club called the Daredevils. However, Schulman’s crowning moment as a television show bully came with his appearance as Buddy Hinton in The Brady Bunch.

Peter and Cindy confront a bully during The Brady Bunch.

The Brady Bunch Bully Brings Peter And Cindy Together

In The Brady Bunch episode, “A Fistful of Reasons” step-siblings Peter and Cindy have a bit of a bonding moment. School bully Buddy Hinton (Schulman) makes fun of Cindy for her lisp. Peter defends Cindy and buddy punches him right in the face, giving Peter a shiner. After the incident, Buddy continues to poke fun at the siblings calling them “Baby Talk” and “Peter Chicken.” Mike and Carol try to talk with Buddy’s father but discover that he’s an even bigger bully than Buddy. So, left with no other choice, Peter ends up punching Buddy in the face, knocking a tooth loose. The loose tooth gives Buddy a temporary lisp which gives him a taste of his own medicine.