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Michael Paul Brady, better known as Mike, was the father/widower of the Brady Family on The Brady Bunch. He married Carol Martin in 1969, at the age of 36 becoming stepfather to her three girls, Marcia, Jan, and Cindy Martin. He was an architect. In both the original TV series and the subsequent TV films and specials, as well the the TV series spinoffs, he was portrayed by Robert Reed. In the 1995 box-office smash film The Brady Bunch Movie and its 1996 sequel A Very Brady Sequel and the 2002 made-for-TV film The Brady Bunch in the White House, the part was played by actor Gary Cole.
About Mike
Shortly after the fourth season began, Mike grew his hair into a longer, curly style. He was named "Father of the Year" by a local newspaper after his stepdaughter Marcia submitted an essay. His parents have sometimes been mentioned but never seen (unless depicted without identification at the wedding in the pilot), whereas his paternal grandfather, Judge Henry "Hank" Brady (played by Robert Reed in a dual role) appears in one episode. Mike has a firm personal integrity (i.e. he refuses to participate in commercial if it means saying a product is the best that he believes isn't) coupled with a strong sense of ethics.
It is implied that Mike is a very highly qualified and well-respected architect, although he has had his share of failures. Mike was one of the staff architects with the firm he worked at; the name was never mentioned in the series, and Mr. Ed Phillips was his boss. By the time A Very Brady Christmas and The Bradys aired, he was the senior partner at the firm.
Mike was absent from two episodes during the series' run: "Goodbye, Alice, Hello" and "The Hair-Brained Scheme." The reason for Robert Reed's absence in "Goodbye Alice, Hello," which aired midway through the fourth season, has never been explained. However, much has been stated and written about "The Hair-Brained Scheme," the series' finale, and Reed being so intensely disgusted with that episode's script he demanded to be written out. As such, Mike did not attend Greg's high school graduation (at the end of the episode), Carol mentioning in passing to Greg that it was "Too bad your father had to be out of town."
Vital facts about Mike
- Born:
June 28, 1933 - Birthname: Michael Paul Brady
- Birthplace: Monrovia, CA, U.S.
- Children:
Sons Greg, Peter and Bobby and Stepdaughters Marcia, Jan and Cindy - Spouse(s):
Sarah Wilcox-Brady
(1956-1967;widowed)
Carol Brady
(1969-?) - Occupation: Architect, City Councilman, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, CA
