Florence Henderson, who went from a Broadway star to become one of America's most beloved television moms in "The Brady Bunch, " has died. She was 82.
On the surface, "The Brady Bunch," with Ms. Henderson as its ever-cheerful matriarch Carol Brady, resembled just another TV sitcom about a family living in suburban America and getting into a different 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.
Early in her career, Henderson appeared in the title role of the musical Fanny, and Rodgers and Hammerstein made her the female lead in a 1952 tour of Oklahoma!, a role she reprised for a Broadway revival in 1954, earning critical plaudits along the way. In a career spanning six decades, Henderson's many credits include playing Maria in a road production of The Sound of Music, Nellie Forbush in a revival of South Pacific, and Mary Morgan in The Girl Who Came to Supper.
A winner of two Gracie Awards, the stage and screen performer's one and only hit on the Billboard charts came in 1970 with the Decca Records release "Conversations," which reached No. 25 on the Adult Contemporary chart.