Happy Days in the Brady Bunch House: The 70’s Mashup You Never Knew you Needed

This isn’t going to make any sense to some of you. For others…prepare to have your minds blown.

Mr. and Mrs. C from Happy Days once did an anti-smoking PSA set in the Brady Bunch house!! And their kid is played by Cousin Oliver!!

In 1974 the American Cancer Society put out a thirty minute video starring Tom Bosley and Marion Ross, the actors who played the mom and dad of Richie Cunningham on Happy Days.  But they’re not in Milwaukee, where Happy Days was set. Instead…they live in Mike and Carol Brady’s house from The Brady Bunch. And their son isn’t Ron Howard…it’s Cousin Oliver from the Brady Bunch!

It’s obvious that this is the Brady house from the very first second of the video. An establishing shot of the famous split-level ranch style home is recognizable to everyone who’s ever seen even a single episode of The Brady Bunch. Then, an interior shot shows us Howard and Marion Cunningham waking up…but in Mike and Carol’s bed. Except Mike and Carol are nowhere to be seen and Howard and Marion are called George and Maggie.

The next scene, CLEARLY set in the Brady’s kitchen where Alice used to whip up her signature pork chops and apple sauce, introduces the kids. One of whom is played by Robbie Rist, the divisive “Cousin Oliver”.

Cousin Oliver only appeared in the second half of the final season of Brady Bunch. “The Cousin Oliver Maneuver” has become a well-used TV trope. When kids in the original cast of a show get older and “less cute”, you bring in a younger, cuter kid. Happy Days itself did it a couple of times.

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First, with Fonzie’s cousin Spike in season 2 and then with Fonzie’s OTHER cousin Chachi in season 5. The same phenomenon occurred on The Cosby Show when Rudy got a little too old to be “cute-cute” so they brought in Raven-Symone who was…a niece? Random orphan? Sondra and Elvin’s kid? Honestly, it’s been too long and I don’t have the energy to Google it.

I’ve been trying to piece together how this amazing pop culture mash-up came to be. 1974 was the LAST year Brady Bunch was on and the FIRST year Happy Days was on. Brady was created by Sherwood Swartz and Happy Days by Garry Marshall.  The one thing they had in common was they were both on ABC.

By 1974, the Brady Bunch house was as recognizable a residence as the White House to most Americans. So, that was an odd choice (it was just an exterior, after all). The inside was a set…but they didn’t change a single thing about the furniture or décor. It was almost like they said, “We have this set, already. And, this IS a PSA so we don’t want to spend too much. Hey, I’ll bet we can get the two adults from this NEW show to do it for nothing!”

The PSA, again, for the American Cancer Society, is actually pretty funny (some of the humor didn’t age great). It really reminds you of what a talented comedic actor Tom Bosley (later, Father Dowling and the Glad Garbage Bags guy) was.

So, check it out. It’s nostalgic, but in an “alternate universe” sort of way. Also, the way the doctor has to tell Tom Bosley “we THINK smoking MIGHT lead to cancer and heart disease” is a good reminder of what a grip Big Tobacco had over television fifty years ago.

Also, both Mr. AND Mrs. C. smoke CARTONS of cigarettes though the whole thirty minutes. And…does anybody else get the vibe that a “key party” is about to break out in the last scene in the middle of the Brady’s living room?