Robert Reed Net Worth

Robert Reed's Quotes

• [on his professional name, which was chosen for him] I can't stand the name "Reed". It always reminds me of vanilla or tapioca pudding.
• The Brady Bunch (1969) will remain popular until it's an anachronism. Then it'll fall into Our Gang status.
• I was young, brash, so-called classically trained and well educated.
• Every television actor says the same thing when you ask him why he's doing theater: to work up the juices. But the basic reason is the script. In television, the scripts aren't very good.
• [In 1986] You have to have a fairly healthy sense of humor. You can't just go out on stage and be funny. You have to work at it.

Interesting Facts about Robert Reed

1. Attended Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois).
2. Transferred to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, England, UK.
3. In one of his last interviews, he revealed that he actually detested The Brady Bunch (1969) and that his role as Mike Brady embarrassed him.
4. He kept his illness from the rest of the The Brady Bunch (1969) cast for years. He finally contacted Florence Henderson days before his death and requested that she inform the rest of the cast of his condition.
5. Only cast member of The Brady Bunch (1969) to miss two episodes. The first was The Brady Bunch: Goodbye, Alice, Hello (1972). He was written out of the second one, The Brady Bunch: The Hair-Brained Scheme (1974), because he strongly disapproved of the script, which had Greg's hair turning orange because of a cheap hair tonic.
6. Became something of a surrogate father to the children of The Brady Bunch (1969), taking them on trips on weekends and during the series' summer hiatus. For their part, the now-adult actors continue to speak of Reed affectionately.
7. Frequently walked off the set of The Brady Bunch (1969), due to arguments with series creator/producer Sherwood Schwartz. In addition, he sent voluminous memos to Schwartz, detailing his unhappiness with the writing and directing on the show. Schwartz put up with this only because Reed's instincts usually turned out to be right. (Reed would eventually direct a handful of episodes himself.)
8. His Shakespearean background included roles in "Romeo and Juliet" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as part of an off-Broadway company called "The Shakespearewrights." Toward the end of his life he taught a course in Shakespearean acting at UCLA.
9. Lived outside of the Beverly Hills scene in Pasadena.
10. An only child, he attended high school in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where, at age 17, he wrote and produced for local radio stations and sometimes worked as an announcer.
11. Met wife Marilyn Rosenberg while both were college students and drama majors at Northwestern University.The marriage lasted only 5 years, producing a daughter, Karen Rietz.
12. Replaced Robert Redford on Broadway in Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park."
13. Member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity.
14. Mike Brady, Reed's character on The Brady Bunch (1969), was ranked #14 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue].
15. When he became ill, the fact that he'd had a stage name allowed him some privacy in his treatment. Prescriptions were filled under his real name Rietz, and the media never took notice.
16. Close friend of Anne Haney.
17. In 1985 he sold the house on South Arroyo St. in Pasadena, California, and bought a Spanish-style house on Stoneridge Ave.
18. He grew up with his parents on a farm where they raised cattle and turkeys.
19. Was very happy when The Brady Bunch (1969) was canceled because of low ratings.
20. His father, John Rietz Sr., died on February 9, 1975.