When The Brady Bunch premiered on September 26, 1969, Florence Henderson stepped into living rooms across America and made Carol Brady one of the most beloved TV moms of all time. It is hard to imagine anyone else in that role — yet Henderson nearly skipped the audition for the role entirely, and had a conflict that nearly removed her from filming the first season.
Before The Brady Bunch, Henderson was already an accomplished stage actress who had starred on Broadway in productions like Fanny and South Pacific, and was raising her own family of four.