Henderson played a key part during the hit show’s five seasons and several spin offs contributing an uplifting smile that appealed to audiences in search of a wholesome family. Time after time, Henderson’s iconic character Carol wound up in wacky situations with her three daughters and three stepsons, an early television representation of a blended family.
Henderson died of heart failure Thursday in Los Angeles with family at her side at Cedar Sinai Medical Center.
Florence Henderson as Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch episode, "Pass The Tabu" on Sept. 29, 1972. CBS Photo Archive/Getty ImagesBarry Williams, Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland, Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, Maureen McCormick, Eve Plumb, and Susan Olsen pose in a group portrait at a wedding in a publicity image issued for the US television series, "The Brady Bunch," in 1969. Silver Screen Collection/Getty ImagesPictured, top row: Christopher Knight (Peter), Barry Williams (Greg), Ann B. Davis (Alice); middle row: Eve Plumb (Jan), Florence Henderson (Carol), Robert Reed (Mike), Maureen McCormick (Marcia); bottom row: Susan Olsen (Cindy), Mike Lookinland (Bobby) on Sept. 14, 1973.ABC Photo Archives/Getty ImagesThe cast of the television series 'The Brady Bunch' stands and watches Robert Reed and Florence Henderson exchange wrapped Christmas presents during the episode 'A Very Brady Christmas'. Hulton Archive—Getty ImagesIn the first of a three-part story filmed on location at the Grand Canyon the Brady Bunch were locked in a ghost town jail by a prospector who suspected that they were there to steal his gold, on Sept. 17, 1971.ABC Photo Archives/Getty ImagesFlorence Henderson, Mike Lookinland, and Ann B. Davis in the episode, "Law and Disorder," on Jan. 12, 1973.
ABC Photo Archives/Getty ImagesFlorence Henderson, admiring photographs-issued as publicity for the US television series, The Brady Bunch, in 1972.
Silver Screen Collection—Getty ImagesFlorence Henderson talks to her co-stars during The Brady Bunch episode "Fright Night," on Oct. 27, 1972.ABC Photo Archives/Getty ImagesFlorence Henderson dances with co-star Maureen Mccormich during The Brady Bunch episode "The Show Must Go On," on Nov. 3, 1972.ABC Photo Archives/Getty ImagesAmerican baseball player Don Newcombe (back, centre) with the cast of the US TV sitcom 'The Brady Bunch', at a charity baseball game at Dodger Stadium, in Los Angeles, in 1973.Frank Edwards—Getty Images Mike Lookinland (Bobby), Susan Olsen (Cindy) and Florence Henderson (Carol) in The Brady Bunch episode, "The Brady Braves," on Oct. 1, 1971.CBS Photo Archive—Getty ImagesThe Brady Bunch Variety Hour in 1976.ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images
