Robert Reed, who played Mike Brady on The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974, described his six young co-stars as a well-mannered group and said he considered them family. His comments appeared in the introduction he wrote for Barry Williams’ 1992 book, Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg.
Reed praised Williams, Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland, Maureen McCormick, Eve Plumb and Susan Olsen, saying there was not “one bad apple” among them. He credited their parents, the show’s on-set teacher and crew, as well as creator Sherwood Schwartz, who he felt had chosen the cast carefully.
“They came into the show with a certain innocence and naiveté, and five years later they left the show with an appropriate amount of both qualities,” Reed wrote. He added that the actors had grown into people he regarded as “men and women of substance, ease, and grace.”
Williams later recalled Reed’s influence during an appearance at RetroCon in 2026. He said Reed mentored the young cast, teaching them to be responsible, treat acting as a craft and avoid letting the show’s attention go to their heads.
Reed was known for being demanding about details, and his disagreements with Schwartz included objections to story ideas he considered implausible. But Williams’ recollection and Reed’s written praise reflect a supportive side to his relationship with the actors who played his on-screen children.
Sources: TVLine.