The Brady Bunch

The Brady Bunch was a US television situation comedy, based around a large blended family. A total of 117 episodes were broadcast between September 1969 and August 1974 on the ABC network. The idea to make the series was based on creator Sherwood Schwartz's reading an article that a growing share of the marriages in the United States involved children from a previous marriage. Despite the similarities between the series and the 1968 theatrical release Yours, Mine and Ours, starring Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, the original script for The Brady Bunch (which was titled Yours and Mine at that early stage) antedated that for the film. However, the success of the film was likely a factor in the network ordering the series.

The Brady house

House setting

The house used in exterior shots of the series (which bore no relation to the design of the Brady house in the series) is located at 11222 Dilling St. in North Hollywood in the San Fernando Valley, within the city limits of Los Angeles, California. The address of the house in the series was given as 4222 Clinton Way, and although no city was ever specified, it was clear that the Bradys lived somewhere in Southern California. The real house was only one-story, but a false window was attached to make it look like it had two. In the years since the show first aired, those who have owned the house have had problems with visitors who trespass on the property to peep into the windows (perhaps expecting to see an interior that looked like the set of The Brady Bunch), or who even come to the front door asking to see the Bradys. As a result, the house's exterior has been extensively re-landscaped, so that to someone casually driving by it most likely would not be recognizable as the house used in the exterior shots from the TV show. For one who already knows the house's history, though, it is indeed still recognizable as the Brady house.

Related Topics:
North Hollywood - San Fernando Valley - Los Angeles, California

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House exterior

The Brady house has a rather skimpy rear yard, crowded with assorted play equipment and the doghouse that only had a canine occupant in the first season and occasionally thereafter. There is also a brick barbecue, seen in actual use only once on the 4th season's "How To Succeed In Business", but which Mike was cleaning up in anticipation of use in one episode. The "garage", actually a carport, had storage areas and a workbench. Boys' and girls' clubhouses seem only to appear in an early episode. The side of the yard opposite the garage has a gate, where it leads to is not clear. The Ditmeyers are the neighbours living behind the fence next to the driveway.

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Rear access to the house consisted mainly of patio doors (with no apparent lock in "A Camping We Will Go"), although in "Sorry, Right Number", Alice and Sam exit in a manner that implies that there's another rear exit near Alice's room and the laundry room. The patio doors seem to provide access to at least three rooms: the family room, kitchen/breakfast nook, and the dining room.

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House interior

Kitchen

The kitchen has a fixed island with range, sink and other counter space, while two ovens are on the wall behind it. The rear counter has more counter space (including various countertop appliances), plenty of cupboards and lower cabinets, and another sink). A small utility closet sits in one corner, next to the side-by-side refrigerator/freezer; a small chalkboard often hung on the outer door.

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There is also a table with seating room for six; this is where the Bradys often ate their breakfast, lunch and snacks. In the movie "A Very Brady Christmas," the tiled back wall of the kitchen is replaced with glass bricks over at least a portion; a microwave oven can also be seen in place of one of the ovens.

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Alice's room/Utility room

Behind the kitchen is Alice's room (presumably with her own bathroom), and a utility room, presumably connected with the garage (which seems to be used for bicycles and storage, not for cars). There was no other downstairs bathroom until A Very Brady Christmas.

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Dining/Living Room/Mike's study

The dining room (which has seating room for all eight Bradys) is an extension of the living room. The living room is furnished with three wing chairs, a couch, and a coffee table, and a phone; a console television set (presumably color, presumably bought with trading stamps in "54-40 or Fight") is also seen on occassion. In back of one of the chairs is a fireplace. A drink bar (where Mike mixed alcoholic beverages) was seen in one first-season episode. Next to the staircase is a raised area, where sat a decorative horse sculpture (the one that figured heavily into the plot of A Very Brady Sequel).

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There are two first-floor raised areas - an entry vestibule to a pair of double front doors (this area also contained a walk-in coat closet); and another raised area for the staircase and the entrance to Mike's study.

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Mike's study has one entrance to it. Fixtures in this room include Mike's drafting table (with ample storage for his supplies), an end table, a phone, and a couch and a wing chair. Although Mike had a rule that the children were not allowed in the study, it was mainly understood to apply when he himself was not present in that room.

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Family room

On the other side of the kitchen is the family room, where the family frequently entered the house (through the sliding patio doors). Many of the family meetings took place in this room. The room was furnished with a snack bar (which protruded into the kitchen and contained a wall phone), a recreation table (with four chairs), a pair of chaise lounges and a portable television set; midway through the second season, a stereo system was added (which Alice had won in a contest). A large bay window allowed a view into the back yard.

Related Topics:
Family room - Stereo

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Upstairs

At the top of the stairs, there is a dog leg to the right and then left again. A door at the top of the stairs was never opened. Mike and Carol's bedroom is off to the left of this hall; they had a large bed with a phone on a nighstand on one side and a dedicated master bathroom. At the right side of the hallway are the boys' bedroom, the children's shared bathroom and the girls' room; each bedroom opened into the bathroom.

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A door at the end of the hallway opens to a stairway up to the spacious attic. This room became Greg's bedroom in the fourth-season finale.

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The upstairs hallway also has a walk-in linen closet, which contains a heating duct that allows anyone to listen in on conversations taking place in the attic/Greg's room.

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Other rooms

Although no basement was ever seen, in the episode "Confessions, Confessions", Peter assigns Greg the "punishment" of hosing down the window screens and storing them in the cellar. The basement also presumably contains the fuse box, which switches the Bradys' electricity on and off.

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The Bradys' cars

During the first two seasons, each of the Brady family's motor vehicles were supplied by Chrysler Corporation ? a blue 1968 Plymouth Fury convertible (which Mike drove, presumably leased to him by his architecture firm) and a light brown 1969 Dodge Monaco station wagon.

Related Topics:
Chrysler Corporation - Plymouth Fury - Dodge Monaco

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For the 1971-1972 season, the Bradys obtained new vehicles, once again supplied by Chrysler Corporation: a blue 1971 Dodge Challenger convertible and a brown 1971 Dodge Monaco station wagon. Greg ? who by this time had his license ? sometimes drove Mike's convertible, although he briefly owned a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible, a car which proved to be a lemon.

Related Topics:
Dodge Challenger - Chevrolet Bel Air - Lemon

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The Bradys kept the Dodge station wagon throughout the rest of the series, although Mike kept switching cars, which by the 1972-1973 season, were supplied by General Motors. These were as follows:

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• 1972-1973 ? A blue 1972 Chevrolet Impala convertible (entire season).
• 1973-1974 ? A maroon 1973 Chevrolet Caprice Classic convertible with white interior during the first half of the season. Starting with 1974 episode, "The Driver's Seat" and continuing through the remainder of the series, the convertible is a red 1974 Chevrolet Caprice Classic convertible with black interior.

During A Very Brady Christmas, Mike's car is a 1988 Chrysler LeBaron convertible; the family station wagon is not seen.

Related Topics:
1988 - Chrysler LeBaron

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In "The Bradys," Mike continues to drive the same car as in A Very Brady Christmas. The family station wagon (which a drunken Marcia attempts to drive) is a 1990 Buick Estate wagon.

Related Topics:
1990 - Buick Estate

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The Bradys' dog, Tiger

The dog that played Tiger was hit by a car and killed early in the first season. When a replacement dog proved problematic, the producers decided the dog would only appear when essential to the plot, and eventually the dog was phased out altogether. According to Barry Williams, the doghouse remained because it was needed to cover holes in the artificial backyard.

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