florence henderson

The reason I don't particularly like The Jay Leno Show (besides the fact that he's taking up five hours a week on the NBC schedule) comes down to three words: "it's not funny."

Usually I post videos because they're good or funny or interesting or clever or strange. I'm posting this one to show you the type of humor you're missing if you don't watch Leno's show. Talk about forced and going on too long. Jeez.

Guest stars can be good and guest stars can be not-so-good, but this one sounds like a winner to me. EW's Michael Ausiello has an exclusive report that Florence Henderson will be on Samantha Who?

And if you think Christina Applegate kind of looks like she could be related to Florence, you're not alone. The Brady Bunch veteran has been cast as Samantha Newly's grandmother, Jean Smart's mama. And if that's not blonde goodness and potential hilarity for you, TVGuide.com has another exclusive; Christine Ebersole will play Sammy's aunt. In the very same storyline!

"I adore Chris, and I wish him and Adrianne all the happiness in the world. I hope, you know, they're married forever."

To many people, Florence Henderson will forever be Mrs. Carol Brady. But the 74-year-old actress (yup, we said 74) has played many different roles during her half century in showbiz.

In addition to portraying one of the most iconic TV moms of all time, she's been a Broadway diva, talk show hostess and, more recently, a reality queen. Her no-nonsense stint on the sixth season of 'The Surreal Life' as the housemates' counselor (she has a degree in hypnotherapy in real life) won her a younger generation of fans. But sometimes her honesty gets her into trouble: On 'My Fair Brady,' she caused a rift with her 'Brady' son and friend Christopher Knight when she said he shouldn't marry model Adrianne Curry. (They did anyway.)

At an age when most people would opt to retire, Florence Henderson refuses to even slow down. Her latest project is 'Ladies of the House,' a heartwarming Hallmark movie about three women of a certain age who decide to rebuild a run-down home as well as their own lives. AOL TV chatted with the TV legend about her plans for the future, whether she and Knight are on speaking terms and the reality competition she's dying to go on.

The naming of the new celebrities for Dancing with the Stars is shrouded in secrecy. Like when they name a new Pope. But In Touch has the details on who is going to be on the new season of the hit ABC reality show.

How's this for a list? Brady Bunch mom Florence Henderson, singers Lance Bass and Toni Braxton (if she wears that dress in the article I might watch), reality star Kim Kardashian, football great Dan Marino, and rodeo star Ty Murray. Actually, the article above calls him "Jewel's boyfriend Ty Murray," which must be a terrible way to go through life when you have your own career.

Of course, ABC won't confirm or deny any of the names of the contestants. Fans will have to wait until August 25, when the show will reveal the names on a very special episode of Good Morning America. Can you stand the wait? (Answer: yes, you can stand the wait.)

Of course, by "Mrs. Brady" I mean the woman with Wessonality, Florence Henderson, and by "son" I mean her TV son Christopher Knight, who played pork chops and applesauce-lovin middle kid Peter on The Brady Bunch.

Henderson was speaking at a press conference at the Television Critics Association tour for a new Hallmark Channel movie when she mentioned that she thinks that VH-1 pressured Knight into getting married to America's Next Top Model's Adrianne Curry so they could create buzz and more reality show goodness.

There are six human beings on this planet who will be forever linked by one experience: growing up on the set of The Brady Bunch. But, of the six actors who played the Brady kids during the show's 1969-74 run, none has embraced the role as consistently and enthusiastically as Barry Williams, who played Greg. Over the years, Williams has been involved in every reunion show (including the ill-fated "dramatic" show The Bradys in 1990) and has never shied away from discussing the show during interviews. He even wrote a book about the experience, 1992's Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg, where he recounted stories like his crush on co-star Maureen McCormick, his "date" with his TV mom, Florence Henderson, and Robert Reed's constant arguments with the producers. The book was made into a TV movie in 2000.

Now, at 53, Williams has a blog, called The Greg Brady Project, which debuted in December. There, Williams tells stories about his experiences as an actor over the last 40-plus years while a series of co-writers wax nostalgic about the past, and not necessarily about The Brady Bunch. I spoke to Williams by phone earlier this month. We talked about the blog, why he's embraced his Greg Brady past more than his co-stars, and what he thinks of some of those co-stars' new projects. The interview is after the jump.
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The buttoned down mind of Bob Newhart is coming back to TV. In August, Hallmark Channel will present Newhart in Herb's Murders, a two-hour original TV movie. And that's not all. Hallmark, which yesterday announced Jane Seymour in a detective movie called Dear Prudence, has other old TV favorites slated for original telefilms.

There's former 7th Heaven star Stephen Collins will star in The Ride of Her Life; Jacqueline Bisset has a holiday pic in the works called Thanksgiving Reunion, which will air in November; and Pam Grier, Florence Henderson (The Brady Bunch) and Donna Mills (Knots Landings) will headline Ladies of the House, about three women from the same church who team up on a home renovation project.

If you've read any of the 200 books written about The Brady Bunch or seen any of the TV movies or "behind the scenes" exposes, you know that Robert Reed wasn't a big fan of the show's scripts. In fact, he had battles with the producers on the show many times and even refused to be in a couple of episodes because of the plot and/or his arguments with the people in charge of the show.

And it wasn't just verbal arguments. Reed actually took the time to send memos to the producers explaining why a certain plot point/line/scene didn't make sense. Reed was a veteran TV (The Defenders) and stage actor and often referred to Shakespeare in his memos. This site has one of the memos, and after the jump is the full text of the memo (it's about the classic episode where Greg's hair turns green because of some shampoo Bobby sold him).

Walter Cronkite is coming back to television.

Oh, sure, you hear his voice every night in the intro to The CBS Evening News, but his entire body is coming back to TV, on a cable network called Retirement Living TV. It's a year-old network aimed at people who constantly scream at the TV and always misplace "the clicker."

Actually, it sounds like an OK channel for people 55 and older (though isn't 55 a little on the young side?). Shows will include Healthline, Bargain Retirement Places, and Who Wants To Buy A Coffin? Just kidding on the last one. Also signed up on the network are ex-CNN anchor Mary Alice Williams, ex-NBC News anchor/reporter John Palmer, and Florence Henderson, who has hosted several daytime shows, including that Today spinoff a few years back.

It's no surprise that the choice of celebrities on this show just get worse and worse each season... Unfortunately, I see no end to this series because the B-list just grows longer and longer with each washed-up film/band/show.

And what's the worst part? Sometimes, these seasons are so bad/bizarre that they have to be watched just so one can participate in the watercooler talk that comes with it (Flavor Flav/Brigitte Nielsen love affair; Verne Troyer naked, drunk, and urinating in the corner of the gym). As long as there are train wrecks, people will tune in. How big of a wreck will this season be? Make your predictions! Read on and check out the cast...

Let me start with a confession: I was a huge fan of The Partride Family when I was a kid. I had a Partridge Family lunchbox, I had a massive crush on David Cassidy (and quite a few posters), and Shirley Jones, as the hip family matriarch, along with the ever-sunny Florence Henderson as Carol Brady, were my visions of maternal  perfection.

I can't really blame Shirley Jones alone for destroying my happy childhood memories. No, I think a good deal of the blame has to rest on the shoulders of Nicholaus Goosen, the director of the film Grandma's Boy, and the producers behind the film, including Adam Sandler, who ought to know better: first, for making a film with two of my least favorite actors - Rob Schneider and David Spade (in ONE film? Are you people insane?!?), and worse, for including in said film a scene with Shirley Jones having a sex romp with a 24-year-old. Do we really need to see that? I think not.