Known the world over as Carol Brady, Florence Henderson passed away last night at the age of 82, from sudden heart failure. Originally a stage actress in the 1950's, she then appeared in various variety specials on television throughout the 1960's and became the first woman to guest host The Tonight Show in 1962, before Johnny Carson began his 30 year reign. But of course her defining role, the part that turned her into a TV icon, was as the "lovely lady bringing up three very lovely girls" on ABC's The Brady Bunch (1969-1974), the sitcom whose cultural impact grew on a mythical scale in syndication for generations of kids. As we all know, the show's legacy lived on through reruns and reunion shows and movie reboots long past its original run, and Henderson becomes the third member of the original cast to pass away, after Robert Reed's death from AIDS complications in 1992, and Ann B. Davis's passing just two years ago. Only the six Brady kids now remain.
Opening credits to The Brady Bunch Season 4:
