Plumb starred as Jan Brady opposite Reed as family patriarch Mike Brady in the popular television show
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NEED TO KNOW
- Eve Plumb, who played Jan Brady in The Brady Bunch, said she never knew her on-screen dad, Robert Reed, was gay
- Reed starred as family patriarch Mike Brady in the popular television show
- He died in 1992 at the age of 59, at which point his sexuality became known publicly
Eve Plumb, who played middle child Jan Brady in The Brady Bunch, admitted she never knew her on-screen dad, Robert Reed, was gay — even years later when she was an adult.
Plumb, 67, spoke about her time on the show, which ran for five seasons on ABC from 1969 to 1974, while promoting her upcoming memoir, Happiness Included: Jan Brady and Beyond, with Page Six.
The former child actress said she did not know Reed, who starred as family patriarch Mike Brady in the popular television show, was a closeted gay man until after his death.
“It never was apparent, even as an adult,” Plumb said.
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Reed died of colon lymphoma in 1992 at the age of 59. His public death certificate listed HIV as a contributing factor.
Plumb told Page Six that she is still bothered by the way Reed’s death was handled publicly at the time.
“What was sad was the way it was splashed all over the papers and made to be so lurid,” she said, adding that Reed "was part of a group of people who had to hide [their sexuality] and continued to hide who they were and be vilified for having a disease that was none of their doing.”
“To be blamed for that was ridiculous,” Plumb continued.
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Plumb further explained that she had nothing but respect for her adult costars — which also included Florence Henderson as family matriarch Carol Brady and Ann B. Davis as housekeeper Alice — while filming The Brady Bunch.
“They were very professional,” Plumb said. “Florence had a great sense of humor and would keep things light, and Bob was always going to make sure that we took that extra minute to make it a little bit more realistic."
She added, "Ann was there to really help us learn how filming works and how the cameras work.”
Henderson, who died in 2016 at the age of 82, opened up about Reed’s personal struggles surrounding his sexuality while speaking with ABC News in 2000.
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“Here he was, the perfect father of this wonderful little family, a perfect husband. Off camera, he was an unhappy person,” Henderson recalled. “I think had Bob not been forced to live this double life, I think it would have dissipated a lot of that anger and frustration.”
Henderson added that she knew Reed “was suffering from keeping this secret,” and she said she believed it “would have probably destroyed his career back then.”
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