‘Brady Bunch’ star Maureen McCormick says she and co-star Ann B. Davis were ‘so close’ after sitcom ended
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Maureen McCormick says she developed a strong bond with Ann B. Davis while on the set of “The Brady Bunch.”
Davis, the comic actress best known for playing devoted housekeeper Alice Nelson on the hit ‘70s series, died in 2014 at age 88 after suffering a fall in her San Antonio home.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Gosh, we were so close,” McCormick, who famously played Marcia Brady in the series, recently told Closer Weekly.
“We used to fly to Texas and we would hang out and go out to dinner and we really spent a lot of time together — you know years after the show, and just admire her,” McCormick continued.
McCormick told the outlet she also shared a loving relationship with her TV mom Florence Henderson.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Florence of course, we got very, very close, and spent really amazing moments together at the end,” said McCormick. “I’m really grateful because they all taught me a lot and they’ll always be with me.”
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Left to right: Ann B. Davis, Florence Henderson and Maureen McCormick (Photo by Lester Cohen/WireImage)
At the time of Davis’ death, McCormick said in a statement that the comic “made me a better person. How blessed I am to have had her in my life. She will be forever missed.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Davis originally made her mark as the razor-tongued secretary on “The Bob Cummings Show,” which earned her two Emmys. She appeared on that sitcom from 1955 until 1959. She went on to appear on “The Brady Bunch” from 1969 until 1974.
“I know at least a couple hundred glamour gals who are starving in this time,” Davis told the Los Angeles Times in 1955. “I’d rather be myself and eating.”
Davis said she told NBC photographers not to retouch their pictures of her, but they ignored her request and “gave me eyebrows.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ann B. Davis portrayed slightly odd but kindly housekeeper, Alice. She often solved family conflicts on the series and served as the children's confidant. In the last season, Alice's character became engaged to longtime boyfriend and neighborhood butcher, Sam. (Getty)
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In her maid’s uniform, Davis’ character in “The Brady Bunch” was constantly cleaning up messes big and small, and she was a mainstay of stability for her family.
“I think I’m lovable,” Davis told The Associated Press in 1993. “I don’t do anything to be lovable. I have no control.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to The Associated Press, Davis lived a quiet religious life long after “The Brady Bunch" came to an end.
The Alice character never truly left the heart of Ann B. Davis. The actress reprised the role in several Brady reunions and even appeared in several disposable mop commercials. She lived in Texas and kept busy with her involvement in her local church up until her death in 2014 at the age of 88. (Getty)
“I was born again,” she told the outlet in 1993. “It happens to Episcopalians. Sometimes it doesn’t hit you till you’re 47 years old. It changed my whole life for the better... I spent a lot of time giving Christian witness all over the country to church groups and stuff.”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Davis never married, saying she never found a man who was more interesting than her career.
“By the time I started to get interested (in finding someone), all the good ones were taken,” she told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Like Davis, Henderson left an undeniable impression on McCormick.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Back in 2017, McCormick was one of 19 celebrities who participated in The American Heart Association’s (AHA) Go Red For Women Red Dress Collection fashion show, which was presented by Macy’s at New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom.
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The annual show was created to raise awareness of heart disease among women. According to AHA, cardiovascular diseases cause one in three deaths among women each year — more than all cancers combined.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Good heart health was also an important cause to Henderson, who participated in the event in 2016. As Carol Brady, the Hollywood veteran could solve any problem that arose in the Brady household, but in real life, she battled heart problems from a very young age — and they weren’t as simple to resolve.
Maureen McCormick attends the "Go Red for Women" fashion show during Fall 2017 New York Fashion Week at Hammerstein Ballroom on February 9, 2017, in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
Henderson passed away in 2016 at age 82 from congestive heart failure.
“Florence had a heart disease issue from the time that she was a child,” McCormick told Fox News in 2017. “She had a heart murmur and about a decade ago, she had something really frightening happened to her. She went into Cedars-Sinai in LA and they discovered a mitral valve leakage. And fortunately, they were able to revive her and repair her valve, instead of replacing it.”
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Just three days before her death, Henderson attended a taping of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” to cheer on McCormick, who was participating in the dance competition series.
Florence Henderson (L) and Maureen McCormick arrive at the Television Academy's 70th Anniversary Gala on June 2, 2016, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic)
“[Florence was] a person who wanted to spread love and laughter,” said McCormick about her friend. “She loved people, she loved life. She’s born on Valentine’s Day, how perfect, right? [She was] just a great woman. Someone I really admired.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}McCormick was also grateful to have Henderson by her side during the grueling dance competition.
“I’ve always admired people that can dance and move their bodies,” said McCormick on her involvement with “Dancing with the Stars.” “It’s something I’ve always thought, ‘Oh, if only I can do that, wouldn’t that be great?’ But it’s something I always thought I could not do. I was afraid to do it in public because I was afraid to look bad doing it. I was just afraid to be that vulnerable.”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Maureen McCormick, who played Marcia Brady, said she developed a lasting bond with her on-screen family. (Getty)
McCormick had a message for women everywhere — one that the ever-doting Henderson would have approved.
“Just be careful, women,” said McCormick. “This is the number one killer of women. Heart disease. Ask questions, go talk to your doctor, get all the tests and check-ups that we’re supposed to do for cholesterol, and blood pressure, and blood sugar. Exercise a good amount. And eat right. And take care of yourself. Life is short, you know.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.