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Brady, Brady, Brady: The Complete Story of The Brady Bunch as Told by the Father/Son Team who Really Know

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

Overall, the book was a fun, quick read - it only took me about one night to complete. I've read almost every book on the Brady Bunch and was less than impressed with this one. The book is set up like this: The first half, which really ends up being the first third, is written by Sherwood Schwartz and then the other half, which ends up being the last two thirds is written by his son Lloyd Schwartz. Sherwood Schwartz is professional, talented, and humble and his third of the book comes off that way. His ancedotes about writing the pilot, getting rejected by major networks, casting, production, Robert Reed, etc. are all interesting and fun to read. While most of his stories won't be new to Brady fans (i.e. Robert Reed being difficult, dyeing Mike Lookinland's hair brown) they are at least easy to read, fun, and a reminder of why we love the show so much.

However, while Sherwood's third is professional and humble, Lloyd's Schwartz's portion of the book is everything but. Lloyd comes off as egotistical, arrogant, unprofessional, and untalented. Basically, he seems to spend more time proving to the reader that every memorable line, moment, backstage anecdote, and plot development associated with the series was his idea and less time telling us interesting new stories about the production of the show. He takes credit for everything - including helping Maureen (Marcia) off cocaine. The book advertises as the real in depth look at the show, but apprently that means listening to Lloyd pontificate about he was the youngest asoociate producer to work in television etc. etc. It all ends up being more of a testimonial to himself than the beloved show he worked on. Also, his thoughts on Robert Reed are awful. While I'm sure he was a difficult person to deal with Sherwood at least comments on Reed in a professional manor by exposing his flaws but also pointing out his talents. Lloyd speaks of Reed as if he's a piece of dirt under his finger nail and it comes off as disgusting and unprofessional.

The last part of Lloyd's section covers all the reunion and spinoffs including the motion pictures and the stage musical. These are so brief they're hardly worth a read - with a page or less on each production he barely skims the surface telling us brady fanatics no new information.

I recommend the book with an asterisk. Only because I enjoyed Sherwood's section and also found some of the anecdotes in Lloyd's amusing. But if you're a real Brady fanactic it won't offer up much new information. Except maybe that Lloyd Schwartz has an enormous head. Having said that, most Brady fanactis (like myself) are completeist when it comes to the show and will go ahead and buy the book anyway. But if you're a semi-brady fan do yourself a favor and pick up "Growing Up Brady" by Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick's newer biography, or one of the many fan-written books on the show. They are much more interesting reads all around.

This is going to be fun. Just finished the Schwartz's book. As a Brady fan, a fast read, some new insights gained, but I would like to challenge Lloyd Schwartz's memory a bit, maybe a lot. Lloyd writes, "Other books have been written about the Brady Bunch, ironically some by 'experts' who weren't there and had no real inside knowledge (though they claim to know the truth). Even Barry Williams (Greg Brady)..." And thus Lloyd seems to set himself up as the authority. He even told Barry Williams, "Just because you wrote it down and its on paper doesn't mean it's the truth," (p.113). How true. Here's where the fun begins. Lloyd may be the authority on the production side of things, but his memory is a little faulty when it comes to episodes. He tells a story of the show where Mike and Carol switch places for the day, Mike taking the girls and helping Marcia in the kitchen and Carol playing ball with the boys in the backyard. He says they put Florence henderson in one of her typical blouses for the scene in the backyard and she told Lloyd that it wasn't right, she should be wearing one of her husbands old shirts. So Lloyd took his short sleeve button up shirt off and stood there bare-chested as Florence donned his shirt and did the scene. Every die hard Brady fan knows that Florence was not wearing a button up short sleeve shirt in that scene, but comes running out in a long sleeve dark green sweatshirt. (I believe Lloyd's shirt was in the episode where the girls are building their own clubhouse).

Another discrepancy is when Lloyd recalls the episode where Jan is allergic to Tiger and they have to give him away. He claimed because the original Tiger was hit by a car, they had to use the "last minute" Tiger for the goodbye scene in the boys' bedroom, but the dog wouldn't stay put, so they nailed his collar to the ground so he wouldn't move. Again, true fans know that in that scene, the boys actually give Tiger a bone to chew on while they say their goodbye's and there is no evidence of the dog's collar being nailed to the floor. He's chomping away in the whole scene and the dialogue even lends to that.

In mentioning real people's names that were incorporated into scripts, he says the name "Hank Coleman" was mentioned in an episode and was a guy who had a crush on Marcia or Jan. Actually, it goes down like this: The girls are playing Truth or Dare at the slumber party and Paula asks Ruthie if she's ever been kissed by Hank Coleman, "Truth or dare?"

In the infamous "Oh, my nose!" episode, Lloyd says Greg and Peter were throwing the football around when Marcia got hit in the nose with the ball. It was actually Peter and Bobby, not Greg.

And then he mentions the episode where Greg and Peter divide up their room by running a piece of tape across the middle of the room. Again, that was Peter and Bobby.

So, you're right, Mr Schwartz, just because it's written down and in a book doesn't mean it's true (wink wink). This is all so trivial, I know, but when it comes to Brady trivia, you gotta leave it to the fans!

While there are some very interesting little tidbits here and there, overall, this book is VERY light on information and reads VERY quickly. I was reading along, and before I knew it, I was almost done with the book. There really isn't much to this book, there are wide spaces between the lines, and lots of the chapters are very short (making for many, MANY half-full pages, when the chapter ends before the bottom of the page.) The anecdotes sound like they're going to be interesting (how did Peter learn to do the Bogart impersonation) but when its explained, its quick and not all that interesting. Not very in-depth, nor do they spend much time explaining things, the things all of us Brady-philes are waiting to hear!

As other reviewers have stated, there are also LOTS of "clapping himself on the back" from Lloyd Schwartz. The first part of the book is very nice (albeit simple, see above) from Sherwood Schwartz. Once it shifts to the Lloyd Schwartz part, there really is a lot of self-congratulations about what an incredible talent LLOYD SCHWARTZ is, and what a jerk Robert Reed was. Something tells me there are two sides to the Lloyd Schwartz/Bob Reed debate. I think this was a case of two egos colliding, to be honest. :)

Regardless its a nice read, very quick, and has some nice insight...but really, when its billed as the "Complete Story" as told by those who 'REALLY know'...I expected a LOT more.

I am a Brady Bunch fan and have read many books on the series. I did not learn anything new in this book. I did enjoy the first section written by Sherwood Schwartz. He is an excellent writer and he came up with the idea for The Brady Bunch, as well as Gilligan's Island. The rest of the book falls apart when his son Lloyd takes over. Lloyd cares more for patting himself on the back than to impart anything else. He tries to convince us that his various jobs with the series has nothing to do with nepotism. As the saying goes "He protests too much!". The book promises us we will learn more about the spinoffs, specials, movies, and more. It does not deliver on that promise.

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.

Visit: [...]for a complte guide to everything Brady Bunch related.

I liked this look at "The Brady Bunch" from the perspective of both the show's creator and his son, who also worked on the show in various capacities for its entire five-year run. There was a lot of "inside" information about what it was like behind the scenes. It was interesting to learn how both really felt about the show (fond of it overall) and those working on it (protective of the kids, fond of the cast overall, except for Robert Reed), and the enduring popularity of the show (proud but also surprised).

It was a fun read about a show I watched repeatedly as a child, and I raced through the book, enjoying the nostalgia and "gossip."

My only negative criticism would be that both Sherwood and Lloyd (creator of the show and his son, who became a director and producer) repeatedly pan Robert Reed in this book. Okay, I had heard before that Reed was hard to work with and could be very picky about the scripts, refusing to perform a line he felt was over the top or factually inaccurate, so it didn't surprise me to read about Reed's complaints and diatribes. But, nobody ever says, "I love the Brady Bunch, except for the father. I hate the father." They just say, "I love The Brady Bunch." So, even if Reed was difficult to work with, I think maybe the father and son authors of this book could have also acknowledged that Reed did make a contribution to the show in his own way and that, maybe in some cases, Reed's criticisms (though irritating) prevented the show from being too silly (a fate of many TV shows written for kids) for adults to appreciate too.

This book from the creator/producer of the Brady Bunch should have been filled with inside details and fascinating stories--instead it's mostly a rehash of everything we've read about in all the other books out there on the Brady Bunch. There is much wrong with this book--the main thing is that the co-authors needed a third person to pull details out of them and an editor to help them turn it into something that makes sense.

The book is divided into two sections and Sherwood's section is rather brief about the creation of the show. This book is NOT like his fantastically detailed book about Gilligan's Island (which is a must read for anyone going into television). Instead he barely recalls details and merely tells stories that we have heard many times before about how the actors were chosen, etc. This section is very poorly written and sounds like he just dictated it into a tape recorder.

Sherwood also has a warped view of his world. He claims to have added Alice the housekeeper to the show because he had a housekeeper at home, as did most of his friends, and that they were all "middle class." How many "middle class" people do you know who have housekeepers? Most shocking is some of the innuendo he uses when he claims women came on to him while auditioning them for the role of Carol Brady.

His son Lloyd takes over for the second half (which actually takes up about 2/3's of the pages) and immediately changes the attitude of the book. Lloyd's ego gets in the way of making any information objective--he takes credit for virtually every "fan favorite" in the show's history. The volcano? His idea. Hitting Marcia on the nose with the football? He tossed it. He says he got a woman to sleep with teen Barry Williams in a hotel room (he's bragging about that?). He even claims at one point to have come up with a story idea never seen before on TV (Bobby pretends to be sick to get a visit from Joe Namath), ignoring the fact that the same gimmick had been done decades earlier by I Love Lucy and others.

Lloyd's section completely revolves around him. Yet how much of it is true? Even the book's cover is a lie, calling Lloyd "Producer of the Brady Bunch" (he started as dialogue coach, then production assistant, then an associate producer) and the back flap credits call him "director of The Brady Bunch," though he only directed a single episode. Everything he writes needs to be taken with a grain of salt because he makes it sound like he was the driving creative force behind the show--but just check the screen credits and you'll see he had a minor role for most of it.

Lloyd slams all the usual subjects (Robert Reed, Eve Plum) and even finds a way to put down Ronald Reagan (Lloyd brags about his extreme liberalism, but after reading this he wouldn't convert anyone to his viewpoint). He does share some interesting minor tidbits and obviously has a better memory than Sherwood. But he will start a story that goes nowhere--he lacks specifics and details that would make this interesting reading.

Lloyd and Sherwood also get some of their facts wrong and make some historically incorrect statements. Where is the editor to check them on this?

Some of the photos are nice, but what's missing here is an objective writer to pull the great information from these two. The chapters are too short, there are stories that go untold and overall the book is filled with white space to make it seem longer than it really is. I love these two guys and the show they created, but this is a major disappointment.

As many others have stated, the second part of the book is just Lloyd Schwartz talking about how great he is. It annoyed me about how much he talked about himself and not the show. You definitely learn some things in this book, but be prepared to read about how great Lloyd Schwartz is, from his own perspective of course.

I found this book delightful. If you know anything about the Brady Bunch, Lloyd had ALOT to do with the show and he reflects on just what he did. He is very proud of his work and should be because here 40+ years later, we are still talking about the Bradys. An easy read and I couldn't wait to get more of it. Excellent!

Brady, Brady, Brady: The Complete Story of The Brady Bunch as Told by the Father/Son Team who Really Know

This is a welcome addition to Bradymania, more detailed and complete than other books published in the 1990's. Sherwood and Lloyd give details never written about before. Hey, they really had a conflict with Robert Reed, who probably helped make the show less banal. Not banal, I love the Brady Bunch! I give the book 4 stars, not 5, because of a couple of goofs. On page 167 Lloyd writes that Burt Mustin played the grandson of Jesse James. Actually, he played the son of a man killed by Jesse James. Whoops. (That is a surreal episode, with Bobby watching Jesse James kill all the Bradys on a train, albeit without Wild Bunch splatter). Then on page 174, Lloyd recounts Greg and Peter throwing the football that missiles into Marcia's nose. Actually, it is Peter and Bobby throwing the football. This is one of the most famous episodes. Who proofread the text? Someone who grew up without electricity? Book needed a Bradymaniac for editing.

But the most egregious errors regard the disrespect of Saint Jan. On 153, Lloyd lists Barry, Maureen, and Bobby as being very musical. Eve and Susan are 'okay.' Well, this at least is a subjective statement. But listen to the opening lines of 'Sunshine Day.' That's Eve. Or the opening lines of 'Merry Go Round', available on You Tube and maybe the best ever Brady Bunch song. Eve/Jan again. (Try to find her 'Fortune Cookie Song' in the cybersphere). And on page 189, regarding the Snow White and Seven Dwarfs episode, Lloyd says Jan should be Grumpy. Actually, she was Happy. And she should be.

But remember, I give the book 4 stars. Despite a few whoppers and the lack of proper worship for Jan, it is the most complete book about the Brady Bunch yet. Maureen McCormick's Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice is a well-written memoir I would recommend to anyone, not just Bradymaniacs, but only the first sections are about the Brady years.

Avoid the wretched Jan-hating movies. Watch the real 1969-1974 episodes. My middle-school daughters love the outfits. They say, we could never get away with skirts that short at school!