Robert Reed facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Robert Reed
Reed in 1971
Born	John Robert Rietz Jr. (1932-10-19)October 19, 1932 Highland Park, Illinois, U.S.
Died	May 12, 1992(1992-05-12) (aged 59) Pasadena, California, U.S.
Resting place	Memorial Park Cemetery, Skokie, Illinois, U.S.
Alma mater	Northwestern University Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1957–1992
Known for	The Defenders The Brady Bunch Rich Man, Poor Man Roots A Very Brady Christmas The Bradys
Spouse(s)	Marilyn Rosenberger ​ ​ (m. 1954; div. 1959)​
Children	1

Robert Reed (born John Robert Rietz Jr.; October 19, 1932 – May 12, 1992) was an American actor. He was famous for playing Kenneth Preston in the TV show The Defenders from 1961 to 1965. He is best known for his role as Mike Brady on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch. This show aired from 1969 to 1974. He later played Mike Brady again in several reunion shows.

In 1976, he was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards. These were for his role in Medical Center and for the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man. The next year, Reed got a third Emmy nomination for his part in the miniseries Roots.

Robert Reed's Early Life and Education

Reed was born John Robert Rietz Jr. in Highland Park, Illinois. He was the only child of Helen and John Robert Rietz. His parents were high-school sweethearts. Reed went to West Division School until 1939. His father worked for the government, and his mother stayed home.

Moving Around as a Child

Reed spent his early years in Navasota, Texas and Shawnee, Oklahoma. He went to Woodrow Wilson Grade School there. Later, his family moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma. In Oklahoma, his father worked as a turkey and cattle farmer.

Discovering Acting and Music

When he was young, Reed joined the 4-H club. He showed calves, but he was more interested in acting and music. While at Central High School in Muskogee, he did both. Reed also performed and sang on stage. He worked as a radio announcer and created radio dramas.

Reed finished high school in 1950. He then went to Northwestern University to study drama. At Northwestern, Reed acted in many plays. He often had the main roles.

Studying in London and Starting His Career

He later studied for a short time at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. When he came back to the United States, Reed acted in summer stock plays. He joined an off-Broadway group called "The Shakespearewrights." He played Romeo in Romeo and Juliet and had a main role in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

After this, Reed joined the Studebaker Theatre company in Chicago. He started using the stage name Robert Reed. In the late 1950s, he moved to Los Angeles to continue his acting career.

Robert Reed's Acting Career

Reed and E. G. Marshall in The Defenders, 1961

Reed first appeared on TV in Father Knows Best in 1959. This led to other guest roles on shows like Men into Space and Lawman. He also had his first movie role in Bloodlust!.

Starring in The Defenders

In 1961, Reed got his first main TV role in The Defenders. He played a defense attorney named Kenneth Preston. He worked with E. G. Marshall, who played his father. The Defenders was very popular. It earned 22 Primetime Emmy Award nominations. The show was very popular for its first three seasons. However, its ratings dropped when CBS changed its air time. CBS canceled The Defenders in 1965.

Broadway and Other TV Roles

While on The Defenders in 1964, Reed made his Broadway debut. He played Paul Bratter in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park. He took over the role from Robert Redford. For the rest of the 1960s, Reed mostly appeared as a guest star on TV shows. These included Family Affair, Ironside, and The Mod Squad. He also appeared in the 1968 movie Star!.

The Brady Bunch TV Show

Being in the play Barefoot in the Park led to new contracts for Reed in 1968. These were with Paramount Pictures and ABC. Paramount decided to make a new TV show for Reed. This show was called The Brady Bunch. It was about a widowed man with three boys who marries a divorced woman with three girls.

How The Brady Bunch Was Created

The show's creator, Sherwood Schwartz, got the idea from a newspaper article. It said that many marriages included children from a previous marriage. Schwartz thought this was a great idea for a TV series. He called it "The first blended family! His kids and her kids! Together!"

Reed was the second choice for the role of Mike Brady. Gene Hackman was considered first, but he was not well-known enough. Florence Henderson played Mike's wife, Carol Brady. Ann B. Davis played the family's maid, Alice Nelson.

Popularity and Challenges of The Brady Bunch

The Brady Bunch did not get great reviews from critics. It also never made it into the top 30 TV shows during its five years. However, it became a favorite show of the 1970s. After it was canceled in 1974, the show became very popular in reruns. It also led to several spin-off shows and TV movies.

From the start, Reed was not happy with his role as Mike Brady. He felt that acting in the show was not serious enough for his training as a Shakespearean actor. Producers and directors found Reed difficult to work with. However, he got along well with the other actors.

Reed's Ideas for the Show

Reed often argued with the show's creator, Sherwood Schwartz. He wanted to make the show more realistic. Reed would send Schwartz notes explaining why parts of the script did not make sense. Schwartz usually ignored Reed's ideas. But sometimes, he let Reed direct some episodes to help ease the tension.

In an interview, Reed said he often disagreed with Schwartz. He explained, "We fought over the scripts. Always over the scripts." He felt that Schwartz wanted too many "gag lines." Reed believed that The Brady Bunch would have been just silly if he had not spoken up.

Reed's Final Episode and Legacy

Reed was especially upset by the show's last episode, "The Hair-Brained Scheme." He sent a memo to Schwartz about his problems with it. But Schwartz did not get the memo in time to change the script. Because of this, Reed refused to appear in the episode. Schwartz was tired of Reed's behavior and planned to replace him. However, ABC canceled the series soon after.

Reed later said he took the role for money. He tried to stay positive by remembering the show was mainly about the children. Even though he was unhappy with the show, Reed always acted professionally. He truly liked his co-stars and was like a father figure to the younger actors. His co-star Susan Olsen became friends with Reed's daughter, Karen.

During The Brady Bunch, Reed also had a role as Lieutenant Adam Tobias on Mannix. He appeared in many episodes from 1969 to 1975. He also directed some episodes of The Brady Bunch.

Robert Reed's Later Career

After The Brady Bunch ended in 1974, Reed acted on stage. He also appeared as a guest star on other TV shows and movies. These included Pray for the Wildcats and SST: Death Flight.

Acclaimed Roles and Emmy Nominations

He received praise for his role as Pat Caddison in Medical Center in 1975. This role earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. That same year, he was in the TV movie The Secret Night Caller. Reed also appeared in The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976). He was in the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man (1976) and Roots (1977). Reed was nominated for Emmy Awards again for his work in Rich Man, Poor Man and Roots.

He also guest-starred on shows like Wonder Woman, Hawaii Five-O, and Charlie's Angels.

Continuing TV Work

In 1981, Reed got the main role of Dr. Adam Rose on the medical drama Nurse. The show was canceled the next year. In 1986, he played Lloyd Kendall on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow. He also appeared many times on Fantasy Island, Hunter, The Love Boat, and Murder, She Wrote.

Returning to The Brady Bunch

Even though he disliked The Brady Bunch, Reed kept appearing in its spin-offs. In 1976, he played Mike Brady again in The Brady Bunch Hour. He enjoyed this role because he could sing and dance. He later appeared in the TV movie The Brady Girls Get Married (1981) and A Very Brady Christmas (1988).

In 1989, he guest-starred as Mike Brady in an episode of Day by Day. Also in 1989, Reed worked with Florence Henderson again on the show Free Spirit. In 1990, he played Mike Brady for the last time in the drama series The Bradys. The series was canceled after six episodes. Reed's last TV appearance was in an April 1992 episode of Jake and the Fatman.

Before he passed away, Reed was in a play called Love Letters. He also taught classes on Shakespeare at UCLA.

Robert Reed's Personal Life

Reed married Marilyn Rosenberger in July 1954. They had a daughter named Karen Rietz. They divorced in 1959.

Reed was a very private person. He kept many details of his personal life to himself.

Robert Reed's Death

In November 1991, Reed was diagnosed with colon cancer. When he became ill, only his daughter Karen and a close friend, actress Anne Haney, were allowed to visit him. Haney said that Reed was a very proper person. He wanted to keep his illness private. Weeks before he died, Reed called Florence Henderson. He asked her to tell the rest of The Brady Bunch cast that he was very ill.

Robert Reed died on May 12, 1992, in Pasadena, California. He was 59 years old. His death was caused by colon cancer. He is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Skokie, Illinois.

Robert Reed's Filmography

Movies

Television Shows

Robert Reed's Award Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Robert Reed para niños