Actress Ann B. Davis, Devoted 'Brady Bunch' Housekeeper, Dies

MSN News ^

[Phillyred]

Comic actress Ann B. Davis, who played the devoted housekeeper Alice on the television sitcom "The Brady Bunch" and won two Emmy awards as the forever-single secretary Schultzy on "The Bob Cummings Show," died on Sunday at age 88. Davis fell and hit her head on Saturday morning, CNN reported, citing a close friend of Davis, Bishop William Frey. Ann B. Davis on ‘The Brady Bunch’ in this 1969 photo.Alamy: AF Archive Ann B. Davis on ‘The Brady Bunch’ in this 1969 photo. She suffered a subdural hematoma and never regained consciousness, Frey told CNN. Davis' agent Robert Malcolm told The New York Times that Davis, who lived in San Antonio, Texas, had been in excellent health and had used a walker. Davis' character helped keep a large, blended family functioning on "The Brady Bunch" by offering advice and wisecracks to busy parents and frantic kids, or simply by making meatloaf for eight. She was known for her light blue housekeeper's uniform with a white apron. Behind the scenes, Davis provided a model of acting professionalism to the show's six child actors, who on occasion were driven more by hormones and mischief than reason. The "Brady Bunch" was among the first U.S. television shows to focus on a non-traditional family. Robert Reed's character, architect Mike Brady, was a widowed father of three boys. Florence Henderson's character Carol Brady was a single mother - the show was vague as to why - who had three daughters. They get married in the first episode in September 1969. The series made its debut amid cultural tumult in the United States but remained invariably cheery and avoided controversy during its five seasons on the ABC network. It ran during a TV era populated with caustic sitcoms such as "All in the Family," "Maude"...

[Paulie]

RIP Ann.

[MrB]

Goodbye, Alice, all Americans loved you.

[GSWarrior]

Man B. Davis.

[GreenHornet]

She was a devout Christian, which can get you blacklisted in Hollywood these days.

[apillar]

A shame. I was born in 1974 and the Brady Bunch is one of the first shows I have memories of as a pre-school aged child. Even now if I happen to see it while flipping through the channels I’ll often stop and watch (and I seen them so many over the years I always know the plot of the entire episode within the first minute or two. But it is good wholesome entertainment compared to most of the sitcom trash on today, where at least one character has to be a homosexual and every joke seems to revolve around sex.

[Freeping Since 2001]

I married a lady who was raised in another nation, and she had never seen the show, a childhood favorite of mine. I showed it to her recently, and she truly enjoys the gentle charm and humor, including good child rearing behavior for families to model.

They don’t make ‘em like they used to.

[minnesota_bound]

Carol Brady was a single mother - the show was vague as to why

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If the writer had watched the show it was because her husband passed away. Not because as they probably assumed that Carol had 3 kids from 3 different guys as would be the case if the show was created today.....

[sickoflibs]

MeTV is replaying those shows on Sundays, man those scripts are stupid. I cant watch five minutes of it.

I remember when that show came on in early 1970s we had no cable TV and only four TV channels, mostly network TV (3 networks), to choose from.

It was desperation that made shows like that successful.

[Hyman Roth]

Mom always said..............don’t play ball in the house.

[Yaelle]

RIP. She did very well as Alice.

The only not believable part was that she pined for the butcher. I think she probably would have been more interested in Mrs. Brady. It was plenty obvious Mr. Brady had no interest in her.

[Freeping Since 2001]

If the writer had watched the show it was because her husband passed away.

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Wikipedia said the show’s creators wanted her to be divorced, but the network objected, so they left it unsaid, but did not say she was widowed.

[mountn man]

Not because as they probably assumed that Carol had 3 kids from 3 different guys, non of whose identities are known, as Carol was a bar slut, who eschewed relationships, for quick hook ups, on a nightly basis, often preferring bi sexual orgies, as would be the case if the show was created today.....

[Freeping Since 2001]

It was plenty obvious Mr. Brady had no interest in her.

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Admirably, even though he was gay, Robert Reed kept it private. After his death, some of the other Brady cast acknowledged that they knew he was, but that it was never discussed.

[CARTOUCHE]

I searched for a picture of her from the Bob Cummings Show but couldn’t find one. 2 Emmys for her effort on Cummings.

[Buckeye McFrog]

I had the pleasure of meeting her once while she was living near Pittsburgh in the 1990’s. A very nice lady. RIP, Ann.

[from occupied ga]

It was desperation that made shows like that successful.

Fer sher!

[Yaelle]

True. But I’ve seen the show recently and their scenes in bed look uncomfortable for him. Maybe it was just all the makeup he had on.

[Las Vegas Dave]

Davis already was a well-known TV actress when she landed the "Brady Bunch" role of Alice Nelson. She thrived as Charmaine "Schultzy" Schultz on "The Bob Cummings Show," which ran from 1955 to 1959.

I remember her from the mid-50's.

[Dilbert San Diego]

IF the show were created today, who knows what they would be pushing. Probably one of the kids would be homosexual. Perhaps some tangential characters such as Sam the butcher would have been homosexual, as we know they are pushing that a lot in Hollywood nowadays.

It’s hard to imagine what they would do today with old TV shows. Consider Gilligan’s Island. Would they really have the girls in one hut, while Gilligan and the Skipper had their own hut? Would the professor have been the obligatory gay character? Would Mr. Howell have been going after Ginger and Mary Ann, to the chagrin of Mrs. Howell? Would the jokes revolve around all of that stuff? I bet they would.