Florence Henderson, ‘Brady Bunch’ Mom, Dies At 82

Florence Henderson, the actress who played the upbeat mom in famous TV show The Brady Bunch, has died at 82. She began her career as a soprano in stage musicals in the 1950s but gained fame with her role in the 1970s sitcom.

The Brady Bunch, which also starred Robert Reed as a widowed father of three boys, ran on ABC-TV from 1969 to 1974.

Henderson’s character was memorably introduced at the beginning of the show’s theme song: “Here’s the story of a lovely lady who was bringing up three very lovely girls. All of them had hair of gold, like their mother, the youngest one in curls.”

The actress’ death was confirmed by her publicist. She died at Cedaris-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from heart failure.

“She was quite active until she started not feeling well several days ago.”, Henderson’s publicist said.

Earlier in the week, Henderson had attended a taping of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars to cheer on Maureen McCormick, who played her daughter Marcia Brady on The Brady Bunch. In 2010, when she was 76, Henderson had been one of the oldest contestants on Dancing With the Stars.
Henderson is survived by her children; Barbara, Joseph, Robert and Lizzie, their respective spouses, and five grandchildren.