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Florence Henderson
Florence Henderson 2012.jpg
Henderson in 2012
Born
Florence Agnes Henderson

(1934-02-14)February 14, 1934
Died November 24, 2016(2016-11-24) (aged 82)
Resting place Westwood Village Memorial Park
Alma mater American Academy of Dramatic Arts
Occupation
  • Actress
  • singer
Years active 1952–2016
Known for Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch
Fanny
A Very Brady Christmas
The Bradys
Spouse(s)
Ira Bernstein
(m. 1956; div. 1985)
John Kappas
(m. 1987; his death 2002)
Children 4
Awards TV Land Pop Culture Award

Florence Agnes Henderson (born February 14, 1934 – died November 24, 2016) was a famous American actress and singer. She had a long career that lasted for over 60 years. Most people know her best for playing Carol Brady. This was the main character on the TV show The Brady Bunch.

Florence Henderson also acted in movies and on stage. She hosted many cooking shows and variety shows. She was a guest on lots of TV programs, including talk shows and game shows. In 2010, she even competed on Dancing with the Stars. Later in her life, she hosted her own talk show, The Florence Henderson Show. She also had a cooking show called Who's Cooking with Florence Henderson. Florence Henderson passed away at age 82 on Thanksgiving Day in 2016. She died from heart failure.

Florence Henderson's Early Life

Florence Henderson was born on February 14, 1934. She was the youngest of 10 children. Her hometown was Dale, Indiana, a small place in the southwestern part of the state. Her mother, Elizabeth, was a homemaker. Her father, Joseph, was a tobacco farmer.

During the Great Depression, Florence learned to sing. Her mother taught her when she was only two years old. Her mother knew about 50 songs! By the time Florence was eight, her family called her "Florency." When she was 12, she was already singing in local grocery stores.

Florence finished high school at St. Francis Academy in Owensboro, Kentucky, in 1951. Soon after, she moved to New York City. There, she studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Florence Henderson's Acting Career

Florence Henderson began her career on stage. She performed in many musicals. These included touring shows like Oklahoma! and South Pacific.

Florence Henderson William Tabbert Fanny
Florence Henderson and William Tabbert in the Broadway show Fanny (1955)

Starting on Broadway

Her first Broadway show was Wish You Were Here in 1952. Later, she starred in the popular 1954 musical Fanny. She played the main character, Fanny, in this show, which ran for 888 performances. Florence also appeared on TV in 1954. She was in a special called General Foods 25th Anniversary Show: A Salute to Rodgers and Hammerstein. She sang in the Oklahoma! part of the show.

She also appeared in a 1950s TV series called I Spy. She played Meg March in a TV musical version of Little Women in 1958.

Early TV Appearances

Florence was a guest on The United States Steel Hour twice. She played Mary Jane in a TV version of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1957. She also appeared in another episode in 1958.

From 1958 to 1961, Florence Henderson and Bill Hayes were in commercials for Oldsmobile cars. They appeared on The Patti Page Show. In 1959, she sang a song for an Oldsmobile musical. She also performed on Tonight Starring Jack Paar in 1960. In 1963, she was on Broadway again in The Girl Who Came to Supper.

In 1962, Florence won the Sarah Siddons Award for her theater work in Chicago. That same year, she made history. She became the first woman to guest host The Tonight Show. This was before Johnny Carson became the long-time host. She also worked on NBC's morning show, The Today Show. She was a "Today Girl," reporting on weather and light news.

Becoming Carol Brady

Carol Brady
Henderson's most famous role was as Carol Brady – the mother on the classic 1970s sitcom The Brady Bunch.

Her most famous role was Carol Brady on The Brady Bunch. This TV show aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. Her good friend, Shirley Jones, had turned down the role of Carol. However, Shirley later took a similar role. She played Shirley Partridge, a mother with five children, in The Partridge Family. That show aired from 1970 to 1974.

Because of her role as Carol Brady, Florence Henderson was very popular. TV Land and Entertainment Weekly ranked her as number 54 on their list of the 100 Greatest TV Icons.

Game Show Fun

Florence loved game shows. She was often a guest on Hollywood Squares. She also appeared on The $25,000 Pyramid. Other game shows she was on include Password, Match Game, and What's My Line. She even played with her Brady Bunch co-stars on Family Feud's All-Star weeks.

Later Career and Special Appearances

From 1974 to 1996, Florence was the spokesperson for Wesson cooking oil. During this time, she hosted a cooking show called Country Kitchen on TNN. She also appeared in commercials for Prange's department store.

Florence was a guest on The Love Boat several times. She also co-hosted the morning talk show Later Today from 1999 to 2000. In the 2000s, she was the spokesperson for Polident. In 2003, she even made a funny commercial for Pepsi Twist with Ozzy Osbourne.

Florence
Henderson's handprints at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park

Florence also appeared with her TV children on reality shows. She was on My Fair Brady with Christopher Knight. She also joined the cast of VH1's The Surreal Life.

Starting in the mid-1990s, Florence would sing "God Bless America" at the Indianapolis 500 car race. She was often joined by the Purdue All-American Marching Band.

She was in the music video for "Amish Paradise" by "Weird Al" Yankovic. In 2002, she was a guest on the comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?. She even shared on-screen kisses with the comedians Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie.

From 2007 to 2009, Florence co-hosted a talk show called Living Live. The show was later renamed The Florence Henderson Show. It was even nominated for an Emmy award in 2010. On July 12, 2010, she was a guest host on WWE Raw.

Florence was one of the celebrities on the 11th season of Dancing with the Stars. The show started on September 20, 2010. Her dance partner was Corky Ballas. She was the fifth person to be eliminated from the competition on October 19, 2010.

In 2012, Florence voiced a character named Barbara on The Cleveland Show. She also made a special appearance on The Price Is Right for Mother's Day in 2012. In February 2013, she started hosting her cooking show, Who's Cooking with Florence Henderson. Florence also hosted the Mrs. America and Mrs. World beauty pageants many times.

Helping Others: Charity Work

In the 2000s, Florence Henderson became a supporter of the Sisters of St. Benedict in Ferdinand, Indiana. Some of these nuns had been her teachers when she was young. She appeared in their videos and helped them raise money. She won money for the sisters on the game show Weakest Link. She also won $32,000 for them on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2001.

Florence Henderson's Personal Life

Florence Henderson married her first husband, Ira Bernstein, in 1956. They had four children together. They divorced in 1985. In 1987, she married her second husband, Dr. John George Kappas. He was a hypnotherapist who had helped her with depression and stage fright. They were married until he passed away in 2002. Florence Henderson had five grandchildren.

Florence Henderson's Death

Florence Henderson died on November 24, 2016. She passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. She was 82 years old. She had been in the hospital since the day before. Her manager, Kayla Pressman, said that Florence died from heart failure.

Just three days before she died, Florence had gone to watch Dancing with the Stars. She was there to support her friend and former TV daughter, Maureen McCormick. Her manager said that Florence was not sick before she went to the hospital. Her death was a "shock." Florence was cremated, and her ashes were placed at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Awards and Honors

Florence Henderson received several awards for her work.

  • In 2008, she won an Individual Achievement Award at the 33rd Annual Gracie Awards Gala. She also won for Outstanding Host for The Florence Henderson Show.
  • In 2012, she won another Outstanding Host award at the 37th Annual Gracie Awards Gala. This was for co-hosting Good Food, Good Deeds.

There is even a horse race named after her! It's called the Florence Henderson Stakes. This race is for female horses aged three and older. It takes place at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino every September.

Selected Filmography

Movies

Year Title Role Notes
1970 Song of Norway Nina Grieg
1992 Shakes the Clown The Unknown Woman
1994 Naked Gun 33+13: The Final Insult Herself Small appearance
1995 The Brady Bunch Movie Grandma (Carol's mother) Small appearance
1996 For Goodness Sake II Video Store Customer
1998 Holy Man Herself Small appearance
1999 Get Bruce Herself Documentary film
2003 Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star Herself Small appearance
2008 For Heaven's Sake Sarah Miller
2010 The Christmas Bunny Betsy Ross
2016 Fifty Shades of Black Mrs. Robinson
2017 Bad Grandmas Mimi Released after her death

Television Shows

Year Title Role Notes Refs
1954 General Foods 25th Anniversary Show: A Salute to Rodgers and Hammerstein Laurey TV special
1956 I Spy Nymph Episode: "The Abbe and the Nymph"
1957 The United States Steel Hour Mary Jane Wilk Episode: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"
1958 The United States Steel Hour Gladys Pratt Episode: "A Family Alliance"
1958 Sing Along Herself Regular Cast
1958 Little Women Meg March TV musical special
1958–62 Tonight Starring Jack Paar Herself Regular guest
1959–60 The Today Show Herself Today Girl
1962–67 Password Herself Contestant
1966 The Bell Telephone Hour Self - singer "The Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner" w/Barbara Harris, Edward Villella, Patricia McBride, John Cullum and Stanley Holloway
1968 The Dean Martin Show Herself Guest appearance
1969–74 The Brady Bunch Carol Ann Brady 117 episodes
1976 The Love Boat Monica Richardson TV movie pilot
1976 The Muppet Show Herself Series 1 Episode 7: "Florence Henderson"
1976 The Paul Lynde Halloween Special Herself TV special
1976–77 The Brady Bunch Hour Carol Ann Brady 9 episodes
1981 The Brady Girls Get Married Carol Ann Brady TV reunion movie
1981 The Love Boat Annabelle Folker Episode: "Country Cousin Blues"
1981 The Brady Brides Carol Ann Brady 5 episodes
1982 Police Squad! Shot woman Episode: "Rendezvous at Big Gulch (Terror in the Neighborhood)"
1982–86 Pyramid (all versions) Herself Celebrity Panelist
1983 Alice Sarah James Episode: "It Had to Be Mel"
1986 Murder, She Wrote Maria Morgana Episode: "Death Stalks the Big Top" (Parts 1 & 2)
1987 It's Garry Shandling's Show Herself Guest appearance
1988 A Very Brady Christmas Carol Ann Brady TV reunion movie
1990 The Bradys Carol Ann Brady 6 episodes; also sang third version of theme song
1990 Murder, She Wrote Patti Sue Diamond Episode: "Ballad for a Blue Lady"
1993 Bradymania: A Very Brady Special Herself (host) TV special
1993–95 Dave's World Maggie Occasional; Beth's mother
1994 Roseanne Flo Anderson 1 episode
1995 Fudge Muriel Episode: "Fudge-a-mania"
1995 Caroline in the City Herself Episode: "Caroline and the Balloon"
1995–96 Our Generation Herself Co-host
1996 Ellen Madeline Episode: "Joe's Kept Secret"
1997 Nightmare Ned Herself Episode: "Monster Ned"
1999–2000 Later Today Herself Presenter
2000 Saturday Night Live Herself (parody) Guest appearance (uncredited)
Episode: "Jackie Chan/Kid Rock" (May 20, 2000)
2000 The King of Queens Lily Carrie Heffernan's stepmother
Episode: "Dark Meet"
2001 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Herself Contestant
2001 Legend of the Candy Cane Thelma (voice) TV movie
2002 Mom's on Strike Betty TV movie
2002 Whose Line Is It Anyway? Herself Guest appearance
2003 Mrs. America Pageant Herself Host
2003 The 26th Annual Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts Herself Special appearance
2004 The Brady Bunch 35th Anniversary Reunion Special Herself TV reunion special
2006 The Surreal Life Herself Cast member
2006 Loonatics Unleashed Mallory "Mastermind" Casey 3 episodes
2007 The Ellen DeGeneres Show Herself Guest appearance
2007–09 The Florence Henderson Show Host 52 episodes
2008 Ladies of the House Rose Olmstead TV movie
2009 Samantha Who? Loretta Guest appearance
2010 WWE Raw Herself Guest host
2010 Dancing with the Stars Herself Contestant, Season 11
2012 The Cleveland Show Nanny Barbara (voice) Episode: "The Men in Me"
2012 Handy Manny Aunt Ginny Episode: "Handy Manny and the Seven Tools"
2012 Happily Divorced Elizabeth Episode: "Meet the Parents"
2012 30 Rock Herself Episode: "My Whole Life Is Thunder"
2012 Matchmaker Santa Peggy Hallmark Channel TV movie
2013 Who's Cooking with Florence Henderson Host 12 episodes
2014 Trophy Wife Frances Harrison Episode: "The Wedding - Part Two"
2014 Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off Herself Episode: "Boardwalk Bites"
2016 K.C. Undercover Irma Episode: "Dance Like No One's Watching"
2016 The Eleventh Regina 2 episodes (web series short)
2016 Chelsea Herself Episode: "Ellen Page & Inspiring Role Models"
2016-2018 Sofia the First Grand Mum (voice) 2 episodes

Stage Shows

Year Title Role Notes
1949 Carousel Carrie Pepperidge
1952 Wish You Were Here The New Girl
1952 Oklahoma! Laurey
1953 The Great Waltz Resi
1954 Fanny Fanny
1961–62, 1968, 1978 The Sound of Music Maria Rainer
1963–64 The Girl Who Came to Supper Mary Morgan
1965 The King and I Anna
1967 South Pacific Nellie Forbush
1974, 1981 Annie Get Your Gun Annie Oakley

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Florence Henderson para niños

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