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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.
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"Brady, Brady, Brady: The Complete Story of The Brady Bunch as Told by the Father/Son Team who Really Know" Overview
Now, for the first time, the show’s famous creator, writer, and producer Sherwood Schwartz and his son, writer and producer Lloyd Schwartz, share with their loyal audience the complete first-hand behind-the-scenes story of The Brady Bunch. From how the show was developed, pitched, greenlighted, cast, produced, and embraced, to ultimately how it changed the TV and cultural landscape of America—this book really has it all.
Sherwood and Lloyd Schwartz carefully and nostalgically recall all the details—great, small, funny, frustrating, and everything in between—that came with the show. Taking an exclusive tour of everything Brady, you’ll marvel at the stories, take pleasure in more than 50 rare photographs, and transport yourself into the show you love with the insider details you never knew.
Customer Reviews
Like Father, Not Like Son - Abigail S. Reiter - Los Angeles, CA
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.
BUY! BUY! BUY!!! - Jan Comsky -
This book is FUN! All Brady Bunch fans must get a copy of this book by Sherwood & Lloyd Schwartz. To my surprise in the hiring of Florence Henderson, (to play the part of Mrs. Brady) Sherwood Schwartz was considering Joyce Bulifant for the role. I remember this fine actress from other TV shows.
As far as to the hiring of Robert Reed in the role of Mr. Brady he was difficult for Mr. Sherwood to work with. He had to consult the Encyclopedia Britannica on a couple of occasions when studying his scrpt for a scene. This caused problems between him and Sherwood Schwartz.
I could go on about these anecdotes and tidbits, but I don't want to spoil too much for the reader. When I brought the book to the gym today, I sat down on the bike machine with the book, and lost complete track of time!!
BUY BUY BUY!!!
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