Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg, Special Collector's Edition (53 page)

A side effect of all of this is that it can also alienate you from
your peers and even shake up the family. It is difficult for even
the most well-adjusted family to be comfortable when one of the
siblings is getting a disproportionate amount of attention from
people, studios, magazines, not to mention full-time baby-sitter,
Mom. While the other teenagers in the house are worried about
whether or not they can afford movie tickets and popcorn, the
kid TV star is financing his new BMW, vacationing in Oahu, and
scamming front row Madonna tickets. On top of that they have
absolutely no adult responsibilities to get in the way of their fun!

For classmates at school it is nearly impossible to be comfortable with this extra attention. So you learn to be comfortable in
the adult world of the workplace. But it is not a natural environment for a kid to be in all the time. They can learn the grown-up
banter, the humor, the pressures, and the expectations, but with
so many authoritative figures around, it can be overwhelming.

Nobody ever said growing up was easy. But not having the
opportunity to play with, compete with, study with, and relate to
others your own age creates a serious handicap. So serious,
many never recover from it. It's easy to point to the more publicized examples of child stars gone awry like Danny Bonaduce,
Adam Rich, Dana Plato, or Todd Bridges. But how many lesser
known actors have struggled unsuccessfully with reintegrating
into life after a fling with fame, even though it may not have
made the headlines?

I am not for an instant suggesting that show business is to be
blamed when people behave irresponsibly. After all the business
doesn't owe you anything. It is a major influence, but my belief is
that people who have problems in life are going to have them
whether or not they were ever in a hit TV series. Let's face it,
merely being famous is not going to fundamentally change who
you are. To suggest otherwise is simplistic and a cop out. I am
saying that together with other factors, especially the quality of
the family environment, being a young professional inhibits
rounded growth and interrupts natural development.

If you're sequestered on a soundstage as a child, the outside
world is relatively foreign and difficult to relate to. And that is
intensified if the previous several years have been in the coddled,
spoiled world of temporary fame or earning power. For many,
like myself, the teenage rebellion is delayed and comes later, at a
less desirable and less appropriate time.

This phenomenon also applies on a larger scale. For example, professional athletes or Olympic hopefuls who train exclusively
from their pre-teen years on. When there is always another practice to attend, or a new move to learn, or an interview to go on,
how much time is spent on emotional development?

"The Brady Bunch" experience could have had a very different
or even negative impact. It did create obstacles that had to be
overcome. However, we survived, and lived to tell about it.

BRADY BUNCH ALBUMS

"Merry Christmas From The Brady Bunch"
(Paramount Records/Famous Music 1970)
(released on CD and cassette as "Christmas With The Brady
Bunch," 1995, MCA Special Markets)

"Meet The Brady Bunch"
(Paramount Records/Famous Music 1972)
(released on CD, 1996, MCA)

"The Kids from The Brady Bunch"
(Paramount Record/Famous Music 1972)
(released on CD, 1996, MCA)

"The Brady Bunch Phonographic Album"
(Paramount Records/Famous Music 1973)
(released on CD, 1996, MCA)

It's A Sunshine Day - The Best of the Brady Bunch
(CD and cassette, MCA, 1993)

BRADY BUNCH SINGLES

"Frosty the Snowman"/"Silver Bells"
(Paramount Records, 1970, picture sleeve)

"We Can Make The World a Whole Lot Brighter"/"Time to Change"
(Paramount Records, 1972)

"Time to Change"/We'll Always Be Friends"
(Paramount Records, 1972)

"Candy (Sugar Shoppe)"/"Drummer Man"
(Paramount Records, 1972)

"Zuckerman's Famous Pig"/"Charlotte's Web"
(Paramount Records, 1973, picture sleeve)

"I'd Love You to Want Me"/"Everything I Do"
(Paramount Records, 1973)

SOLO ALBUMS

"The Return of Johnny Bravo"
(Good Guy Entertainment, 1999)

SOLO SINGLES

"Sweet Sweetheart"/"Sunny"
(Paramount Records, 1971)

UNRELEASED RECORDINGS

Uncompleted album, Paramount Records

Sweet Sweetheart

Early Days

It Ought To Be Raining

All She Wants To Be

Cheyenne

Sunny

`We've Got To Get It On Again"

(Unreleased single, 1978)

Although reported in other sources as a Private Stock release, this
track never saw the light of day. Three songs were recorded with
producer Mike Post who had a deal with Private Stock records at
the time.

FILMS, TELEFILMS and SERIES

The Brady Bunch - series (1969-74)

The Brady Kids - animated series (1972-74)

Brady Variety Hour (1977)

The Brady Girls Get Married - telefilm (1981)

The Brady Brides-Series (1981)

A Very Brady Christmas - telefilm (1988)

The Bradys - series (1990)

The Brady Bunch Movie (1995)

A Very Brady Sequel (1996)

SPECIALS

Bradymania-special (1993)

Brady Bunch Home Movies-special (1995)

The Brady Bunch: An American Chronicle (1995)

E! True Hollywood Story: The Brady Bunch (1999)

TV Guide: Truth Behind the Sitcom Scandals (1999)

NOTEABLE GUEST SPOTS

American Bandstand (1971 & 1973)

Merv Griffin Show (1971)

Mike Douglas Show (1973 &1977)

Battle of the Network Stars (1980)

Family Feud (1983)

Day By Day (1989)

FILMS

Wild in the Streets

The Wilderness Family, Part Two (musical credit)

The Brady Bunch Movie

THEATER

Pippin

Oklahoma!

I Love My Wife

Born Yesterday

They're Playing Our Song

Wait Until Dark

I Do! I Do!

Promises, Promises

Grease

Movie Star

Romance, Romance

Slay It with Music

City of Angels

The Paisley Convertible

Man of La Mancha

VictorNictoria

West Side Story

The Music Man

Pizazz

Guys & Dolls

TELEFILMS, SPECIALS and SERIES

General Hospital - soap

The Beat is Back- special

MTV Movie Awards

Summertime Switch - telefilm

VH1 Teen Idol Video Collection

Nick at Nite Brady Bunch 30th Anniversary Marathon

Jacob's Challenge

GUEST STARRING ROLES

Run for Your Life

The Invaders

Dragnet

The FBI

That Girl

Adam 12

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

The Mod Squad

Here Come the Brides

Lancer

It Takes a Thief

Mission: Impossible

Marcus Welby, M.D.

Three's Company

American Bandstand

Police Woman

Highway to Heaven

Murder She Wrote

Full House

Mad TV

Saturday Night Live

Perversions of Science

VH1 Karaoke Cabaret

VH1 The List

Note: Page numbers in italics refer to photographs. Fictional
characters can be found under their first names,
if available. For specific episodes of "Brady Bunch, "
look under the heading `Episodes, Brady Bunch'. "