LOS ANGELES: Florence Henderson, who went from Broadway star to become one of America’s most beloved television moms in The Brady Bunch, has died at 82.
Henderson died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Thursday night, a day after she was hospitalized, said her publicist, David Brokaw. Henderson had suffered heart failure, her manager Kayla Pressman said in a statement.
Family and friends had surrounded Henderson’s hospital bedside, Pressman said.
On the surface, The Brady Bunch with Henderson as its ever-cheerful matriarch Carol Brady resembled just another sitcom about a family living in suburban America and getting into a wacky situation each week.
But well after it ended its initial run in 1974, the show resonated with audiences, and it returned to television in various forms again and again, including The Brady Bunch Hour in 1977, The Brady Brides in 1981 and The Bradys in 1990. It was also seen endlessly in reruns.
Premiering in 1969, it also was among the first shows to introduce to television the blended family. As its theme song reminded viewers each week, Henderson’s Carol was a single mother raising three daughters when she met her TV husband, Robert Reed’s Mike Brady, a single father who was raising three boys.
The eight of them became The Brady Bunch, with a quirky housekeeper, played by Ann B. Davis, thrown into the mix.
Mourners flooded social media with memories of Henderson.
Maureen McCormick, who played the eldest Brady daughter, Marcia, tweeted, “You are in my heart forever Florence.” Dancing With the Stars host Tom Bergeron tweeted, “Heartbroken. I’ll miss you, my friend.” Henderson’s last public appearance was Monday at the Dancing With The Stars taping where she was in the audience to support McCormick, who competed this season.
The ever-smiling Henderson was already a Broadway star when the show began, having originated the title role in the musical Fanny. But after The Brady Bunch, she would always be known to fans as Carol Brady.
She was also back again in 1995 when a new cast was assembled for The Brady Bunch Movie, a playful spoof of the original show. This time she was Grandma Brady opposite Shelley Long’s Carol.
After The Brady Bunch ended its first run, Henderson alternated her appearances in revivals of the show with guest appearances on other programs, including Hart to Hart, Fantasy Island and The Love Boat.
In later years she also made guest appearances on such shows as Roseanne, Ally McBeal and The King of Queens.
Henderson married theater executive Ira Bernstein and the couple had four children before the union ended in divorce after 29 years.
Her second husband, John Kappas, died in 2002.