The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco Starred In A Movie Made For Brady Bunch Fans

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There was a minor scandal in the pop culture world when actor Barry Williams (writing with Chris Kreski) published his 1992 autobiography, "Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg." Williams famously played the wholesome teenager Greg Brady on Sherwood Schwartz's hit 1974 sitcom "The Brady Bunch," and he revealed that, behind the scenes, he dated Maureen McCormick, the actress who played Greg's sister, Marcia. He also talked about how he often butted heads with Robert Reed, who played Greg's father, Mike, and sometimes even argued with Schwartz himself. Williams also spread some gossip about how his other co-stars Eve Plumb and Christopher Knight (who played siblings Jan and Peter Brady), were once caught necking in a prop van. It seems Williams is very much the sort of person to kiss and tell. 

In 2000, NBC and Sherwood Schwartz collaborated on a TV movie adaptation of "Growing Up Brady" that detailed all the behind-the-scenes drama of "The Brady Bunch" as Williams described it. The TV movie was an adaptation, of course, so some of the real-world events were changed to fit a more satisfying movie structure. The TV movie was directed by Richard A. Colla, one of the stars of "Days of Our Lives" in the 1960s, and a prolific TV director thereafter. The "Brady" actors and crew were all played by younger lookalikes. Schwartz was played by Michael Tucker. Florence Henderson was played by Rebeccah Bush, while Robert Reed was played by Daniel Hugh Kelly. Williams narrated the film, but Adam Brody played Williams on camera. 

Kaley Cuoco, the future star of "8 Simple Rules" and "The Big Bang Theory," played the young Maureen McCormick, making the actress sitcom royalty. Not only did she star in several hit shows of her own, but she was also, in a roundabout way, Marcia Brady. 

In an additional piece of casting, Mike Lookinland (who played Bobby Brady) was played by his own son, Scott Michael Lookinland. Mike also had a cameo as a camera operator. Plumb and Knight were played by Kaitlin Cullum and Raviv Ullman, while Carly Schroeder played Susan Olsen (who played Cindy Brady). The real Sherwood Schwartz also has a cameo as himself. The TV movie dramatized the famous meeting between Maureen McCormick and Davy Jones, one of the Monkees. Marcia Brady loved Davy Jones, so his guest appearance on "The Brady Bunch" is beloved by fans. Actor Paul Greenberg played Jones. 

"Growing Up Brady" was, of course, constructed for people who were already obsessive fans of "The Brady Bunch" and who had already known about Williams' and McCormick's relationship. Many "Brady" fans like to spread sexual and romantic gossip about the cast because the show itself was so assertively wholesome. The premise was about a single father of three sons who marries a single mother of three girls, and what happens when such a large family of step-relatives all attempt to get along under one roof. The fact that the actors who played siblings dated one another off-camera gave the show an incestuous note that gossip-mongers loved to cultivate. 

In real life, Williams and McCormick had their first kiss while traveling in Hawai'i together, although in the TV movie, their first kiss — between Cuoco and Brody — was rewritten to have taken place in the back of a limousine after the pair had seen The Who together. Otherwise, "Growing Up Brady" was a light, TV-friendly biography, vaunting and celebrating "The Brady Bunch" as much as it was dissecting it.

The series was already deeply entrenched in pop culture, and two feature film adaptations had already played in theaters, so 2000 was a good time to unpack the "Brady" myth that much further. The scandalousness was present, but it never hit very hard, mostly because Barry Williams was so frank, and because the cast was mostly decent with one another (fights with Robert Reed notwithstanding).

Cuoco was already a well-established film and TV actress by 2000, having first appeared in the 1992 TV movie "Quicksand: No Escape" when she was only seven. She appeared in episodes of "Ellen," "My So-Called Life," and "Northern Exposure," as well as in feature films like "Virtuosity" and "Picture Perfect." "Growing Up Brady" was another step in her long upward career trajectory. In 1999, Cuoco was interviewed by E!, and she was relaxed and at ease with playing Maureen McCormick. She even admitted that she auditioned for the part, fully expecting to be rejected. When asked about the sitcom legacy she was joining, Cuoco said: 

"I've never even thought about it before. [...] I watched the show, then when I got the audition I was like, 'Oh yeah, Marcia Brady. This'll never happen.' I never thought about it being like that but it's so much fun."

Cuoco, as mentioned, would land the role of Bridget in the hit 2002 sitcom "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," and achieve even greater levels of fame playing Penny in the massive "The Big Bang Theory." That series lasted for 279 episodes over its 12 seasons. Cuoco would also play the voice of Harley Quinn and be nominated for Emmys for "The Flight Attendant." Now 39, Cuoco is easily modern TV royalty, and an excellent actress to boot.