Robert Reed, Papa Brady

I read that he had a thing for surfer boys.

Aw, he was so cute when he was young.

So cute in that pic. He looks a bit like Griffin Barrows there.

His bestie, Anne Haney.

He sucked Alice's cock during commercial breaks.

He came across as straight and he wasn’t that big a star to have the press after him.

I don't like his facial hair. It's too full on the bottom and extended too far up his cheek (sort of like a "wing"). He would look better with a more traditional shape. He appears young but his beard looks dyed. Very distracting.

He had been married and had a kid, so maybe the tabloids and fans thought he was a divorced playboy dad.

It was pretty well known he was a homosexual. I mean you only have to look at "Mike" once he transitioned from "Mr Brady" to "the FABULOUS Mr Brady," and started wearing curly hair and groovy clothes to see what a queen he was.

Didn't everyone have perms and groovy clothes back then, though? It's not like he has any control over his wardrobe on the show.

Everybody.

Am I the only one seeing a little Bradley Cooper in that photo?

I wonder if Robert was interested in a little glass closeting as the years went on. He played gay on Broadway (Deathtrap) and TV (Hotel).

I can see it now that you mentioned it, r12! A little, anyway.

He would have those yellow teefs bleached if he was in Hollywood today.

His eyes are incredible.

[quote]Didn't everyone have perms and groovy clothes back then, though?

Yes and now, people did, but Reed was sporting typical 70s "fabulous" fashion, the others didn't. Furthermore his character changed dramatically as well as his acting style. Mike Brady became less "firm-father-authority" and more "laid back-mellow-and with it."

Reed did a great job playing straight the first few years, then after Hawaii, he clearly said, "aw fuck it," and was himself.

It’s true all men looked gay in the 70s.

Even Warren Beatty.

Picture looks very contemporary.

I'd gobble his daddy cock!

David Muir keeps his gayness from the public very simply. He doesn't talk about it. And he doesn't have to, bitches!

I don't tabloids had much interest in outing actors during the seventies or before the seventies. Rock Hudson had all male pool parties and that never made the press until after his death. It was AIDS that brought a lot of it out. The press did show an interest in uncovering celebrity AIDS deaths. More about their personal lives came out as a result.

Why are all the troll 5203 comments lined out. That cunt is often funny.

r12, omg you hit on the head. I was always trying to figure out who BC reminded me of. He looks a lot like the brady dad just younger and blonder.

The press didn't out people because back then because being gay was much more than being "sinful", it was like a perversion, mental illness--thats how it was perceived by the general public. Today the press doesn't out people because its widely seen as homophobic to do so.

OP it was a different time. It's not like today with everyone having cameras that are on their mobile phones, the media going crazy over nonsense, etc.

If I remember correctly, after his death, his daughter denied that he was gay.

Mostly around the cheekbones, R12 -- but young BC. Not so much now.

[quote] I wonder if Robert was interested in a little glass closeting as the years went on. He played gay on Broadway (Deathtrap) and TV (Hotel).

He also played trans on some 70s medical drama.

Here she is world!

Robert Reed Medical Center....

He allegedly had a very difficult personality.

He thought he should be doing Shakespeare. Hated The Brady Bunch. I lived in Hollywood at the time and one of my friends told me he was dating him. I remember being surprised because I hadn't heard any gay rumors about him.

But didn't he enjoy doing the musical Brady hour, r32?

R7, that pic at OP is a still from Reed’s guest appearance on Family Affair, pre-Brady. He was playing a fussy teacher of Cissy’s on whom she had a crush. The beard isn’t real. It’s very obviously makeup, painted on. Either the producers of Family Affair or he decided that his character was the sort to have a fussy little beard and had the makeup department draw it on. I’m sure at the end of the day, he washed it off and went trolling for dick.

R33, yes he LOVED it and even said so on many occasions. Even though he was a royal pain in the ass to the producers on BB, he was beloved by the cast.

There was no social media back then. People could hid a lot of things.

You'd think so r36, but.....

r32, was he a good fuck?

I think there is a quick story in Kathy Garver's (Cissy on Family Affair) autobio about how Brian Keith chafed at Robert Reed's appearance on Family Affair. He didn't like him. Reed was very "actory" and "method," asking about his "motivation" in sharpening a pencil (or some such silliness) and Keith was way more laid back in his acting style. Which is obvious since Keith often appeared on the verge of falling asleep in the middle of a scene (lol). Anyway, Garver lays it out that there was no love lost between the two.

OP's pic is the best pic I've seen of him.

Roberts hair was naturally curly. He never got a “perm.” Ever! Cant speak for the other Brady sons.

Robert was hottest the 4th episode of the 4th season when the Bradys returned from Hawaii. When school started and Marcia entered high school as a freshman. Its the only episode of that season and the rest of the shows run when he had his hair straightened. He was HOT. Because once again...

Robert NEVER HAD A PERM!!

Bradley Cooper's bio dad.

or at least in sexual spirit

R34 It's "trawling"!

Rock Hudson had a hit show ("MacMillan and Wife") in the 70s and was never bothered by the tabloids.

Yes, r45, he was ever so fortunate.

Bronze age here. Not quite sure how to say this simply. The conflicts the 60's and 70's.. over civil rights, Vietnam war, etc. were framed as social and political and much less about personality. There was, I think, an unwritten code which protected and pressured 'personalities' to appear at least bland and middle america. We were falling apart socially with the media trying to keep this from happening. what Nixon used effectively by pushing the term 'silent majority'. As long as you stayed in that box you could do just about anything and as long as it didn't become public you were OK. and the media supported this. Jane Fonda is a great example; she was 'good' until she was pictured sitting on a Viet Kong anti-aircraft battery. This crossed the line and then she was out. I can remember my father talking about the 'good' black people, in his case Sammy Davis Jr and the 'bad' black people like Malcom X who actually spoke the truth without a we are all in this together gloss. Liberace, Hudson, etc. were 'good' gays and yes almost everyone knew their sexuality. The idea that a media person could transition to a political person was unheard of until Reagan

Remember Hudson also had that blind article about him marrying Jim Nabors.

I believe you, r47. Even Paul Lynde and Charles Nelson Reilly weren't outed, and they were as apparently gay as the day was long.

r47 I had an older, probably conservative history teacher in elementary school that RAILED against Jane Fonda, still (this was 24 years ago). She hated her with a fiery passion for being a "traitor" during the Vietnam war.

[quote]was he a good fuck?

Oh, yes!

R32 what else did your friend say about him?

R52 It was a long time ago. I think he said Reed was a bottom. Can't really remember anything else.

Interesting info

Vincent(e) Minnelli. Papa.

He lived in Pasadena so was off the West Side paps' radar.

His house was on the location of the GWTW Twelve Oaks BBQ.

This photo has come up a few times recently on various social media threads - all saying he looks like Bradley Cooper (or vice versa) here.

(See bitches! I did a search and found this old thread! I did a SEARCH! I want a gold star, or a cookie! LOL)

Because Robert Reed was a B-O-R-I-N-G actor, no one was much interested in his off-screen life. In addition, as has been said, gossips left gay actors alone in the 1970s, even in the 80s. "Outing" anyone would have also resulted in massive lawsuits, who was/wasn't gay was strictly off limits.

Robert Reed deserved an Emmy for his work on “Medical Center”. His acting was phenomenal; he likely used his experiences as a renowned closeted gay man to bring a depth to this role. He performed with such quiet intensity that one could feel his angst and torment. It was one of the finest dramatic performances on television.

R47 I think we had the same father. Did he also not care for Muhammad Ali? Or, Cassius Clay at that time?

They caught me a bathroom red handed but no one cared

and yet he chose to play the gay lead character in Deathtrap in 1980

Robert Reed daughter (his only biological child) has adamantly refused to allow her father image in any Brady Bunch memorabilia. She holds the rights to Robert Reed image, and she WILL NOT allow it on any Brady Bunch stuff.

Not long before he died, however, Robert Reed took the advice of his then-lawyer Dan Kossow (a well-known entertainment attorney who also represented Adam "Batman" West) and refused to sign a deal with Viacom/Paramount that would let the corporation use his '70s-era visage on Brady products. The rest of the cast had agreed, so Viacom decided it could carry on without Mr. Brady.

Robert Reed had no direct involvement in the raising of his own daughter. She actually severed ties and allowed her step-father to legally adopt her, terminating Robert Reed parental rights.

Despite that Robert Reed made his daughter his sole heir to his estate - for now she has no interest in allowing the image Robert Reed to be used in any and all Brady Bunch merchandise.

So his daughter lost out on all of that money for the hell of it? What a stupid choice.

[quote] So his daughter lost out on all of that money for the hell of it?

Maybe she doesn't want his image exploited

R65, the only way he will be remembered is because of the Brady Bunch. It was idiotic to refuse to allow his face on merchandise

[quote] the only way he will be remembered is because of the Brady Bunch.

Then let the DVDs of the series tell the tale.

Gay Brady on Braodway

I remember the bar where he used to pick up the surfer boys -- it wasn't the least bit gay, so I suspect he threw them out after because those who went home with him were more hustlers than twinks.

Robert Reed hated the Brady Bunch as a show (though he loved the actors).

Was he a bad father and why did he keep doing BB tv movies f he hated it so much?

As a preteen proto-gayling in the early 1960s, I remember Reed from a short-lived TV series THE DEFENDERS, in which, If I recall correctly, he and EG Marshall played a father and son team of lawyers. I don't recall much about the show, but I was riveted by the young Robert Reed. He played an earnest and rather dull lawyer but I loved looking at him. My fascination with him was one of the early inklings that I was not going to be interested in girls as I grew older. Maybe it was early gaydar, and I didn't even know it!

R63, I wonder why he was so against allowing his image to be used. With his image, more complete promotions would likely have resulted in more money in the pockets of his costars, whom he loved, and his heir (daughter).

Speaking of his daughter...following his death, didn't she deny to the press that he was gay? But then, if she had severed ties with him as a post above suggestions, how would she even know if he were gay or not.

[quote] didn't she deny to the press that he was gay?

No, to her credit she was by his bedside when he died. She had just given birth and brought her baby (Reed's grandson) to visit. The only two people allowed to see Reed in his final days was his biological daughter and his long-time friend actress Anne Haney

"Robert Reed hated the Brady Bunch as a show"

He was a pain in the ass on the show, acting like the material should be like a Arthur Miller play. Then he later appears on all of those stupid TV specials. Sounds like a real jerk.

I think daughter is embarrassed that he was gay, and how it was revealed. That's why she wants his image suppressed.

Reed was nominated for an Emmy for that Medical Center guest appearance, but lost out to Ed Asner, as he did again two years later after being nominated for Roots.

Reed put his hands down my pants and I had him banned finally in the last episode

[quote] I think daughter is embarrassed that he was gay, and how it was revealed. That's why she wants his image suppressed.

Chicago based lawyer (Cary S. Fleischer ) who handles the estate of Robert Reed had responded

"There's no question that his daughter and his grandson care deeply about his image," Cary S. Fleischer says. "They're happy the Brady show is played and replayed, and sometimes, when someone wants to use his image for a charitable purpose, we say fine. But we take this very seriously."

Fleischer said he reviewed the Viacom/Paramount offer years ago and still advised Karen Baldwin (Robert Reed's daughter) not to take it. "I told her it would be to her benefit to keep these rights, that any money that could come from it was going to be insignificant."

"The family has turned down offer after offer," Fleischer says, from producers and writers who want to tell the "whole" Robert Reed story: "A lot of the publicity about him has gone toward one part of his life, rather than the way the family wants him remembered."

And in this way, Mr. Brady abdicated part of his throne.

"Does it matter that he's not on T-shirts?" Fleischer says. "I don't think so. His presence still exists. He's the all-American father. He always will be."

He was famous during a period when gay actors could maintain their privacy. After the 50s tabloid gay witch hunt, and before the rise of the moral majority.

R76, because Reed was just a mediocre actor. Asner was better and justly won those awards instead.

Robert, Robert, ROBERT!

my gosh, he is absolutely adorable in OP's pic.

He wasnt a major star, stayed out of the limelight and lived in Pasadena. If actors want to have a low profile they can, but it can hurt them at the box office

That looks like Steve Bassett (Seth Snyder, As the World Turns) with RR in that pic @ r68.

His mother lived with him in his house in a part he had built for his parents. They seemed always to have been close. But they had a fight so terrible he threw her out and they never spoke again. I believe she was still alive when he died. Henderson was like but she's an old woman. He didn't care and refused to discuss it.

I wonder if it had to his being gay. She might have been in denial until she couldn’t deny it any longer. He was quite the handsome guy in his youth. And, I think past threads have said he was a major bottom. He does look like Bradley Cooper in that picture.

R84 it is

His mother lived with him = gay gay gay

[quote] I mean you only have to look at "Mike" once he transitioned from "Mr Brady" to "the FABULOUS Mr Brady," and started wearing curly hair and groovy clothes to see what a queen he was.

I disagree. As long as he was MIke he played it very straight. Shows you what a good actor he was. He'd probably been gender expectation performing his whole life.

You could only tell what a queen he was until AFTER he left the Brady Bunch ,grew the mustache and became the fabulous, journeyman actor Mr. REED, appearing on 70s and 80s episodic TV like Wonder Woman. Fantasy Island, Charlie's Angels etc, but this time always played with a somewhat superior, elegant sophistication which I suspect was how he really was.

Hell, by the time the first BB reunion shows came around he had a totally different look and personality that was NEVER going back into the closet.

Even though he HATED the Brady Bunch scripts because they weren't equivalent to Shakespeare, he was excited to do the Brady Bunch Variety Hour. Somehow he thought that was higher quality and less tacky than the Brady Bunch. When Florence Henderson was asked why Reed was so enthusiastic about the Variety Hour show, she said that he had always "wanted to be a song and dance man". Though his performances were cringeworthy on that show.

[quote]As a preteen proto-gayling in the early 1960s, I remember Reed from a short-lived TV series THE DEFENDERS, in which, If I recall correctly, he and EG Marshall played a father and son team of lawyers.

Not "short-lived." It actually ran longer than "The Brady Bunch." (132 episodes vs.117.) And it was an hour-long series.

In OP's photo, he looks like a more handsome, less weasley version of Bradley Cooper.

Reed did not appear in what turned out to be the final episode of Brady Bunch. Sherwood Forrest had enough of his complaining and wrote him out. Allegedly, if the series had been picked up for another season, Mike Brady would have been killed off.

Was he such a huge pain in the ass on his other TV projects?

Barry Williams's book about the show is really good and goes into Robert Reed's problems, which are mostly variations on the show being work (which you don't turn down) but that it was fluff. There were lots of anecdotes about how much he hated the plots and especially the tags at the end of episodes.

One great anecdote in the book was about Robert Reed complaining about a scene and Alice (Ann B. Davis) had had enough. He said "If we don't get this right, we'll all be in deep shit." to which Ann snidely said, "Gee, Mr. Brady, how deep is your shit?"

Still, he did the original show and other shows because it paid well and he genuinely liked the cast; I think the Williams book mentions a vacation that Robert Reed took all the kids on.

r95 I highly doubt Ann B Davis would use a swear.

If the show was picked up, they would have fired Reed and recast the part with none other than Benjamin Stone himself, John McMartin.