It was just a “group” of bulls.
The son of ‘The Brady Brunch’ producer Sherwood Schwartz finally wants to squash a certain rumor about the beloved family sitcom once and for all.
Lloyd Schwartz, 75, worked alongside his father on the 1969-1974 ABC series and became well-immersed in the show when he was young.
The writer and producer spoke to Fox News recently on fond memories of the show – and in particular the long-rumored affair between sitcom stars Florence Henderson (who played Carol Brady) and Barry Williams (as stepson Greg Brady) .
Whispers have swirled around Hollywood over the decades that Henderson – who died in 2016 at 82 – and Williams dated for a while.
“There have always been rumors that Barry and Florence are going on a date or having an affair, depending on who you ask,” Lloyd told Fox News.
“It was all smoke and mirrors. The reality is that Barry was interested in music, Florence was married and had four children,” he explained. “Barry’s dad drove them to see this singer. After that dad took them home and she kissed him on the cheek.
“That was the extent of the so-called affair between Barry and Florence,” he concluded.
Williams, 67, detailed his television crush on his mother in his 1992 book “Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg.”
“The story [of an affair] surfaced after Barry’s book came out,” Lloyd said. “I remember Florence calling me and saying, ‘You know, there’s something in Barry’s book.’ I said to her, “No, don’t worry, Florence, no one will think much about it. I was very wrong.”
In Henderson’s subsequent 2012 book, “Life Is Not a Stage,” she also described their date at LA’s “long-vanished” Cocoanut Grove nightclub, where they went to hear a singer play.
“I didn’t give it much thought, as I would gladly have done the same for any of the older children if asked,” she wrote.
The couple accompanied Williams’ older brother since the “Brady” star didn’t yet have a driver’s license.
“After the concert, Barry was very sweet,” she wrote. “We picked up his brother and he gave me a goodnight kiss at my hotel. So from his book, our playful but shy interviews… which followed, an urban legend was born.
Lloyd also noted that after Henderson passed away, he was considering developing a show in which Mike Brady (played by Robert Reed, who died in 1992 at age 59) died.
Henderson’s character would then start “seriously” dating one of Greg’s friends.
“We thought it would have been very interesting to go in this direction. I remember I called her and she was really excited about it,” Lloyd recalled. “Unfortunately, we never had time to do that.”
