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The New Zealand Herald
The New Zealand Herald
Entertainment
Mathew Murphy

The Brady Bunch cast reunites and spills secrets from the set

The Brady kids have reunited and revealed which stars they beat out for the roles.

The Brady Bunch stars Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady), 63, Eve Plumb (Jan Brady), 61, Susan Olsen (Cindy Brady), 58, Barry Williams (Greg Brady), 65, Christopher Knight (Peter Brady), 62, and Mike Lookinland (Bobby Brady), 58, all appeared together on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.

The Brady Bunch cast is taking part in A Very Brady Renovation: Holiday Edition, which will feature a full-scale overhaul of the real Brady Bunch house in Los Angeles, reports News.com.au.

Asked if any famous actors auditioned for their roles, the cast revealed some amazing secrets.

"Jodie Foster was up for Cindy," Susan Olsen said.

Susan Olsen as Cindy Brady (left) and Jodie Foster (right). Photos / Supplied, News Corp Australia

"Gene Hackman was going to be Mike Brady," Mike Lookinland said.

Robert Reed as Mike Brady (left) and actor Gene Hackman (right). Photos / News Corp Australia

"A comedic actress Joyce Bulifant was cast I believe and before they did the pilot she was let go," Maureen McCormick said.

Joyce Bulifant was cast as Carol Brady (left). Florence Henderson (right) eventually became Carol Brady. Photos / Supplied, News Corp Australia

Bulifant was best-known as Marie Slaughter, the wife of Murray Slaughter, Mary Tyler Moore's co-worker on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

In a recent interview with Fox News, Bulifant said she was in the middle of trying on costumes for the part when she started getting the sense from series creator Sherwood Schwartz, that something was amiss.

Original Brady Bunch cast (left to right: Susan Olsen, Mike Lookinland, Eve Plumb, Christopher Knight, Maureen McCormick, and Barry Williams) recreate the iconic Brady family portrait. Photo / Foxtel

He told her that Florence Henderson, who had just became the first woman to guest host The Tonight Show after an award-winning period of time on Broadway, had just become available for the part.

"I just looked at them. I had signed a seven-year contract! The little girls were cast to look like me. Sherwood was devastated because the show had a whole new meaning than what he was looking for," she said. "I was very fond of Florence and she was a lovely lady. And the show was very successful … Everything turned out the way it's supposed to."

The Brady Bunch originally aired from September 1969 to March 1974 and spawned many reboots and TV specials.

The Brady Bunch. Photo / Supplied

Robert Reed, who played Mike Brady, died in 1992. His death certificate revealed he was HIV Positive and didn't reveal publicly that he was gay during his life.

Ann B. Davis, who played housekeeper Alice, died in 2014 after a fall in her bathroom.

Florence Henderson, who played Carol Brady, died in 2016, from heart failure.

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