'The Brady Bunch' Cast Remembers Sherwood Schwartz

For five seasons, Sherwood Schwartz brought such now-classic expressions as, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia” into the lexicon via his classic sitcom The Brady Bunch, and as much as the ABC series was about family, the writer-producer remained part of the cast’s extended family after the series ended its run in 1974.

“As much as Robert Reed [who played patriarch Mike Brady] was like a dad to me, Sherwood was like a grandpa,” Barry Williams (Greg Brady) said of Schwartz, who died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 94.

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“The whole Brady family is close and I’m in touch with his family and knew his passing was imminent,” Williams told The Hollywood Reporter. “I was happy to know he was with his family and as comfortable as possible.”

A somber Williams noted he last saw Schwartz when the prolific writer was receiving one of his many awards and that he always had good advice.

“The best advice anyone has ever given me was Sherwood, when as a 17-year-old kid I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders,” Williams said. “He said, ‘Take your time, relax, take a deep breath and enjoy yourself.’ And that’s what I’ve done.”

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Florence Henderson, who played matriarch Carol Brady, noted it was Schwartz who changed her life when he selected her for the role.

“He was a wonderful teacher in life and again, in death, he taught us how to leave with dignity and courage,” Henderson said in a statement. “Sherwood has a wonderful family who so loved and respected him. I know his Brady Bunch family feels the same way.”

Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady) recalled using Schwartz as a sounding board through the years.

“My mom, father and I would all go to Sherwood for advice because he always had a great answer,” she told THR. “He’d tell you that you’d have the answer within; he’d always tell you how to turn something around to make it a positive.”

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McCormick noted that she’d use Schwartz as a sounding board in her post-Brady Bunch career and most recently spoke with him a month ago.

“He read my book and he’d see my movies and would always call me and congratulate me,” she said. “I owe so much to him and I’ll forever be thankful and grateful to him for all the opportunities that have come my way because of the show. I’ll always have a piece of him with me."

“He was like a father; he was my friend and he was so many things to me,” McCormick continued. “He was somebody that I really looked up to. Being around him for five years and having him on the set every day, he was such a great role model for so many things even though I didn’t know it at the time. So much of what he taught me is ingrained in me now.”

Added Christopher Knight (Peter Brady): "Sherwood gave me a gift of more than just a role; he provided me a healthy and happy environment and an example of a functional family with which I might have been absolutely lost without. I'm a better person as a result of the privilege of knowing and being influenced by him."

Ann B. Davis, Eve Plumb, Susan Olsen, Christopher Knight and Mike Lookinland were not available for comment Tuesday. 

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit

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