On the Strip, Florence Henderson left Mrs. Brady at home
Florence Henderson owned a sharp comic edge. Known as the kindly Carol Brady on “The Brady Bunch,” her live appearances were often a departure from her role as the sitcom wife of architect Mike Brady and the mother of six.
Henderson showed that snap during an appearance in 2014 at Aria, when she was honored as Nevada Ballet Theatre’s Woman of the Year on the 30th anniversary of the award. Henderson took the podium after being introduced to Mitzi Gaynor, the honoree from 2013, and recalled performing at the old MGM (now Bally’s) in the 1970s.
“I’ve never been Woman of the Year, but I have been Woman of the Night a couple of times,” Henderson said, sparking a wave of laughter and applause from the crowd. “But that’s another story.”
Henderson also told a version of the “Viagra” joke, which starts with, “If an erection lasts longer than four hours, call your doctor.” Henderson’s punch line: “And on your way to the doctor, stop by my house!” She also recalled being the youngest of 10 children, growing up “very, very poor,” born when her father was 69 years old.
“I love to tell this story because it’s so darned encouraging,” Henderson said. “I can always tell how old the men in the audience are. Those who around that age kind of perk up!”
She was joined that night by two of her TV sons, Barry Williams (Greg Brady) and Christopher Knight (Peter Brady). Knight’s heartfelt comments from the stage: “Thank you, Florence, for your support throughout the years, your kindness, your honest advice, your patience when I haven’t taken it and your unconditional love. To some measure, I am what I am today because of your influence, and I’m better for it.”
Standing at Knight’s side, Williams chuckled and said, “That was very nice, thoughtful and caring, Chris. … You said it all! I don’t think I have anything to say!”
During an interview the week before that event, Henderson ran through the Strip hotel-casinos in which she had performed, beginning as an opening act for Alan King at the Sands in 1967. She performed at Desert Inn with Milton Berle; Sahara with Bob Newhart, Buddy Hackett and Tennessee Ernie Ford; MGM with Shecky Greene and Dean Martin; Caesars Palace’s Circus Maximus with Sammy Davis Jr.
Typically, Henderson was backed by a quartet of male dancers, singing from the Great American Songbook and from her musical theater career, which included the national tours of “South Pacific,” “Oklahoma” and “The Sound of Music.”
“I liked Caesars Palace a lot,” she said in January 2014. “It was kind of neat and fun, and we got treated so well there. That was when we had big orchestras and shows on the Strip.”
She recalled a classic Vegas appearance with Greene at the old MGM, with whom she worked with, on and off, for about three years.
“It was the late ’70s, early ’80s, around then. I would come out in a showgirl costume at a certain point in his show, and we would do a whole routine ad-libbing,” she recalled. “He’d sing fake opera, we’d have our little arguments, and it was a crazy 5 to 10 minutes.”
In 1974, near the end of her run on “The Brady Bunch,” Henderson was on the dais for one of Martin’s legendary Celebrity Roasts from the MGM, honoring Jack Benny. She joined a lineup of such all-time heavyweights as Jerry Lewis, George Burns, Jimmy Stewart, Wayne Newton, Joey Bishop, Foster Brooks, Pearl Bailey and Norm Crosby (and characteristic of the range of celebs in those shows, swimming superstar Mark Spitz was also among the roasters).
Henderson also performed at the Burns’ last show on the Strip, at Circus Maximus, marking the iconic comic’s 98th birthday in January 1994. Henderson famously asked Burns if he still dated. “Yes,” he said. “The only difference is now, when I have an orgasm, dust comes out.”
In remembering those times, Henderson just laughed and said, “What a time that was. Life is amazing, isn’t it?”
John Katsilometes’ column runs Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday in the A section, and Fridays in Neon. He also hosts“Kats! On The Radio” Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on KUNV 91.5-FM and appears Wednesdays at 11 a.m. with Dayna Roselli on KTNVChannel 13. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.