Susan Olsen | |
|---|---|
 Olsen in 2009 | |
| Born | Susan Marie Olsen August 14, 1961 Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Education | William Howard Taft High School |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1968–present |
| Known for | The Brady Bunch The Brady Kids The Bradys |
Susan Marie Olsen (born August 14, 1961) is an American actress and former radio hostess. Olsen is known for her role as Cindy Brady, the youngest Brady child in the sitcom The Brady Bunch for the full run of the show, from 1969 to 1974.
Olsen was born in Santa Monica, California, to Lawrence and DeLoice Olsen, the youngest of four children. [1] Her siblings are: Larry (23 years older), Christopher (15 years older), and Diane (5 years older). Christopher was also a child actor whose most prominent role may be in the 1956 feature film The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956).
Susan Olsen really did have a lisp. That feature was real, and Olsen worked hard to overcome the speech impediment throughout her life. Olsen's role as the youngest Brady followed her after she left the series, and she was often teased for portraying the character[ citation needed ]. She graduated from William H. Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California in 1979. [2]
Olsen landed a number of supporting roles in television, most notably in Ironside , Gunsmoke , and Julia , and appeared in the Elvis Presley movie The Trouble With Girls (1968) as a squeaky-clean singer in a singing contest.
At just under age eight, Olsen was cast as Cindy Brady on The Brady Bunch (1969-74). As an adult, Olsen has said that portraying Cindy made friendships difficult for her as a child. She most disliked the season two "tattletale" episode, in which Cindy incessantly tattles on her siblings. Because of the episode, she was shunned by real-life peers, who did not understand the difference between actors and their characters.[ citation needed ] She was also the voice of Cindy in the ABC Saturday morning cartoon The Brady Kids (1972-74). Olsen has appeared in all Brady Bunch reunion movies and specials with the exception of A Very Brady Christmas (1988), which was filmed when she and her first husband Steve Ventimiglia were on their honeymoon. In that movie, Cindy Brady was played by actress Jennifer Runyon.
In 2005, VH1 ranked her No. 34 in The 100 Greatest Kid Stars of television and film. [3] In 2007, Olsen and her fellow cast members were honored with the TV Pop Culture Award on the TV Land Awards, one of the few awards The Brady Bunch has ever won.
As a teen, Olsen was the spokesgirl for Sindy doll, made by Marx Toys from the mid-1970s. As an adult, Olsen moved into the graphic design business and in 1998 briefly marketed a brand of glow-in-the-dark shoes for Converse. She also worked as a talk show host at the Los Angeles radio station KLSX from 1995 to 1996 with Ken Ober, and co-hosted and co-wrote another radio show with comedian Allan Havey at Comedy World in 2000.[ citation needed ]
Along with Brady Bunch costar Mike Lookinland, she auditioned for The Swiss Family Robinson television series in 1975. Her role was eventually played by Helen Hunt. In 1976, she signed on for the variety show, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour , which lasted ten episodes.
After graduating high school in 1979, her acting roles were few, save for several Brady Bunch reunion specials. She reprised her role as Cindy Brady in The Brady Brides in 1981, and the short-lived CBS drama series The Bradys in 1990. An urban legend claimed that Olsen had become an adult film star. In a late 1990s television interview, Olsen stated that her "porn" connection was that she created space ship sound effects for a porn film called Love Probe from a Warm Planet. [4]
She appeared in episode 26 of Cartoon Network's talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast , "Switcheroo", with Cassandra Peterson as "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark". Olsen has also been an advocate for migraine sufferers since 1998. She described her headaches on Larry King Live .[ citation needed ] In the fall of 2008, Olsen appeared on Fox Reality's Gimme My Reality Show, in which celebrities compete to win their own reality show. She used this vehicle to make a statement about animal rescue, a cause with which she is thoroughly involved. On June 6, 2009, Olsen thanked retired game show host and animal rights activist Bob Barker when The Bradys accepted an honor at the GSN Awards. An animal welfare advocate, she has served on the board of directors of the nonprofit organization Precious Paws, a rescue group.[ citation needed ]
On September 1, 2009, Olsen released the coffee table book Love to Love You Bradys: The Bizarre Story of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour that celebrates the 1976–77 television variety show The Brady Bunch Hour . [ citation needed ]
In September 2010, Olsen made a guest appearance on The Young and the Restless playing Mrs. Liza Morton, the owner of a preschool. In 2011, she appeared in season 3, episode 43 of The Biography Channel's reality show Celebrity Ghost Stories . [ citation needed ]
In July 2012, Olsen was one of a limited number of artists and celebrities invited to show their work in Art with an Agenda: An Exhibit Inspired by Kelly Thomas at the PAS Gallery in Fullerton, California. [5] inspired by the life and circumstances surrounding the death of Kelly Thomas, a homeless, schizophrenic, 37-year-old man who was beaten by members of the Fullerton Police Department on July 5, 2011. [6] Olsen's piece, "Still Life," showed a half-eaten donut in a puddle of blood beside a lit flashlight. [7]
In December 2016, Olsen was let go from her radio show, "Two Chicks Talkin' Politics" on LA Talk Radio, after engaging in a feud with openly gay actor Leon Acord-Whiting. Responding to comments Acord-Whiting had made about her on another station, Olsen unleashed a profane rant against him, accusing him of cowardice. Acord-Whiting accused Olsen of homophobia for the remarks (which included repeated use of the word "faggot") and successfully lobbied to have Olsen fired. [8] [9] Olsen told Fox News in 2019 that she has "been the subject of fake news" and "never got fired." [10]
Olsen joined with the other surviving main cast members of The Brady Bunch in the 2019 television series A Very Brady Renovation on HGTV. [11] In 2021, she starred in the Lifetime Christmas movie, Blending Christmas, alongside her Brady Bunch co-stars Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland, Barry Williams, and Robbie Rist. [12]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | The Trouble with Girls | Auditioning Singer | |
| 1995 | The Brady Bunch Movie | Mailwoman | Scenes deleted |
| 2009 | Zombo | Frumpy Woman | Short |
| 2015 | Mama Claus, Deck the Halls with Guts | Mama Claus |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Ironside | Tracy Richards | "Barbara Who" |
| 1968 | Julia | Pamela | "Paint Your Waggedorn" |
| 1968–69 | Gunsmoke | Marianne Johnson | "Abelia", "A Man Called 'Smith'" |
| 1969–1974 | The Brady Bunch | Cindy Brady | Main role |
| 1970 | The Boy Who Stole the Elephant | Lucy Owens | Disney TV film |
| 1972 | The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie | Cindy Brady (voice) | "The Brady Kids on Mysterious Island" |
| 1972–74 | The Brady Kids | Cindy Brady (voice) | Main role |
| 1976–77 | The Brady Bunch Hour | Cindy Brady | Main role |
| 1981 | The Brady Brides | Cindy Brady | Regular role |
| 1990 | The Bradys | Cindy Brady | Main role |
| 1999 | Pacific Blue | Cindy Russell | "Stargazer" |
| 2010 | The Young and the Restless | Liza Morton | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | The Great Halloween Puppy Adventure | Rachel | TV film |
| 2013 | Holiday Road Trip | Edna | TV film |
| 2013–2016 | Child of the '70s | Nickel Laundry | TV series |
| 2019 | A Very Brady Renovation | Susan Olsen | TV series |
| 2021 | Dragging the Classics: The Brady Bunch | Margie | Paramount Plus TV special |
| 2021 | Blending Christmas | Valerie | TV film |
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family of six children, with three boys and three girls. After its cancellation in 1974, the series debuted in syndication in September 1975. Though it was never a ratings hit or a critical success during its original run, the program has since become a popular syndicated staple, especially among children and teenage viewers.
The Brady Kids is an American animated television series and a spin-off based on the ABC live-action sitcom The Brady Bunch, produced by Filmation in association with Paramount Television. It aired on ABC from September 9, 1972, to October 6, 1973, and also spun off another Filmation series, Mission: Magic!, starring Rick Springfield.
The Bradys is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS from February 9 to March 9, 1990. The series is a sequel and continuation of the original 1969–1974 sitcom The Brady Bunch, focusing on its main characters as adults, and was the second such continuation after the 1981 sitcom The Brady Brides.
A Very Brady Christmas is a 1988 American made-for-television Christmas comedy-drama film directed by Peter Baldwin and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, Ann B. Davis, Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick, Christopher Knight, Eve Plumb, Mike Lookinland, and Jennifer Runyon. It reunited the original cast members of the 1969–1974 sitcom The Brady Bunch, with the exception of Susan Olsen. Ron Kuhlman and Jerry Houser both reprised their characters from the short-lived 1981 sitcom The Brady Brides.
Eve Aline Plumb is an American actress, singer and painter. She is best known for portraying the middle daughter Jan Brady on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch.
Barry William Blenkhorn, better known by his stage name Barry Williams, is an American actor. He is known for his role as the eldest of the Brady sons, Greg Brady, on the ABC television series The Brady Bunch (1969–1974), a role he reprised in several sequels and spin-offs including the animated series The Brady Kids (1972–1973), the variety series The Brady Bunch Hour (1976–1977) and the television films The Brady Girls Get Married (1981) and A Very Brady Christmas (1988) and the reality television series A Very Brady Renovation (2019).
Florence Agnes Henderson was an American actress. With a career spanning six decades, she is best known for her starring role as Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch. Henderson also appeared in film, as well as on stage, and hosted several long-running cooking and variety shows over the years. She appeared as a guest on many scripted and unscripted television programs and as a panelist on numerous game shows. Henderson was also contestant on Dancing with the Stars in 2010.
Christopher Anton Knight is an American actor and businessman. He is best known for playing Peter Brady in the 1970s series The Brady Bunch. He has since gone on to become a businessman and enjoyed a semi-resurgence in the public eye with television appearances in the 2000s.
Michael Paul Lookinland is an American actor and cameraman. He is best known for his role as the youngest brother, Bobby Brady, on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974, and all of its sequels and spinoffs.
The Brady Bunch Hour is an American variety show featuring skits and songs produced by Sid & Marty Krofft Productions in association with Paramount Television. It ran on ABC from November 28, 1976, to May 25, 1977.
Olivia Catherine Hack is an American actress, best known for providing the voice of Rhonda Wellington Lloyd in Nickelodeon's Hey Arnold!, and for playing Cindy Brady in the 1990s theatrical Brady Bunch films. She has also done voice work for Fillmore!, Bratz as Cloe, Family Guy, Blood+ and Avatar: The Last Airbender as Ty Lee. She appeared in Star Trek Generations, Party of Five and Gilmore Girls.
Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg is a 1992 autobiography written by actor Barry Williams with Chris Kreski and a foreword by Robert Reed.
Growing Up Brady is a 2000 American made-for-television biographical film based on the 1992 autobiography Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg written by actor Barry Williams with Chris Kreski. Directed by Richard A. Colla, it starred Williams, Adam Brody, Kaley Cuoco, Daniel Hugh Kelly and Michael Tucker, and was originally broadcast May 21, 2000 on NBC.
Frank J. Delfino was an American actor. Delfino had dwarfism, and most of his roles were related to his small stature. He remains best known for portraying the character of the Hamburglar in the McDonald's advertising campaign television commercial's over a 20-year period.
Love to Love You Bradys: The Bizarre Story of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour is a 2009 coffee table book written by The Brady Bunch actress Susan Olsen with co-authors Ted Nichelson and Lisa Sutton, about the 1976–77 spin-off TV variety show The Brady Bunch Hour. The book's release also coincided with the 40th anniversary of the debut of The Brady Bunch.
A Very Brady Renovation is an American reality television miniseries airing on HGTV. It showcases the renovation of the Studio City, California house that was used for many of the exterior shots in the 1969–1974 American sitcom The Brady Bunch. The house was purchased by HGTV in 2018 for $3.5 million. The renovation was completed in May 2019 and the miniseries premiered on September 9, with the surviving Brady Bunch cast appearing in the program.
The Kids from the Brady Bunch is the third studio album by American pop group the Brady Bunch. It was released on December 4, 1972, by Paramount Records. Two songs on the album, "It's a Sunshine Day" and "Keep On", were featured on season 4, episode 16 of The Brady Bunch, "Amateur Nite".
Dragging the Classics: The Brady Bunch is a television special that was released on the streaming service Paramount+ on June 30, 2021. The special sees drag queens from RuPaul's Drag Race and original cast members from The Brady Bunch recreating the season two episode "Will the Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up?".
Susan Marie Olsen, the youngest of the Brady clan, is also the youngest of the Olsen clan. Born in Santa Monica, California, on August 14, 1961, to Lawrence and DeLoice ("Dee") Olsen…
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