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‘The Brady Bunch’ Star Revealed Moment They Realized the ‘Staying Power’ of Show

“The Brady Bunch” ran for five seasons on ABC. One star, though, had to step away from the popular sitcom to see how people loved it.

Mike Lookinland, who played the youngest son Bobby Brady on the show, talked about this in a 2019 interview with the Deseret News.

“I didn’t know when I was 9 years old, but by the time I was 20, it was pretty evident that it had staying power,” Lookinland said. “It’s like the music you loved when you were 17 or the places you used to go with your family … when you were young. Those things that were dear to you are the things that remain dear, moreso I think than new experiences.”

‘The Brady Bunch’ Star Said Show Started Hitting Stride Thanks To Baby Boomers

Lookinland said that “The Brady Bunch” was a show which “just hit at a time where all the baby boomers were 10 years old.

“And then when the show went into syndication, they were coming home from school and watching it at 3 and 3:30 and 4,” he said. “And that’s when it really became a boom hit is when it was on after school every day.”

Yes, “The Brady Bunch,” which was created by “Gilligan’s Island” creator Sherwood Schwartz, had kids as its biggest fanbase. The show ran on network TV for five seasons. Critics weren’t always kind to the schmaltziness of the scripts or show itself.

Yet the show’s cast and producers would receive fan mail in support of it. ABC network executives took notice, too, and kept the show on its Friday night lineup until ratings became an issue.

Lookinland was one of the show’s child actors, including Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick, Eve Plumb, Christopher Knight, and Susan Olsen. Robert Reed and Florence Henderson played the parents, while Ann B. Davis played Alice the housekeeper.

Barry Williams Talked About Time They ‘Resented’ Playing Role

Williams played the oldest brother Greg Brady on “The Brady Bunch.” He could not find work after the show ended its run on ABC in 1974.

He talked about it when taking questions from fans with WRAL in 2009.

“It was strange for me for the first few years after we stopped filming the show,” Williams said. “I was done with it and wanted to move on. I only resented the character when it interfered with getting new work.

“I’d become very active and successful in musical theatre, and as time went on and I juggled between theatre and TV and singing, I made my peace. Then I wrote a best-selling book called ‘Growing Up Brady’, and I was grateful again for the show.”

But “The Brady Bunch” still remains popular to this day and it will for years to come.