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Robert Reed
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Robert Reed | |
 in The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976). |
|
| Born | October 19, 1932 Highland Park, Illinois, USA |
| Died | May 12, 1992 Pasadena, California, USA |
Robert Reed (October 19, 1932 – May 12, 1992) was an American stage and television actor. Born in Highland Park, Illinois, and christened John Robert Rietz, Jr., Reed spent much of his childhood in Oklahoma and later studied Shakespeare in college, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He first gained fame in the early 1960s for starring along with E.G. Marshall in the television drama series The Defenders (1961-1965) and later on the sitcom The Brady Bunch (1969-1974).
After winning the role of Mike Brady, he later became unhappy with his part, feeling that acting in the often silly sitcom was beneath his serious Shakespearean training. Despite his discontent with the show as a whole, by most accounts he genuinely liked and was beloved as a father figure by his fellow cast members on The Brady Bunch.
As a result of his unhappiness with the Brady Bunch’s content, Reed constantly argued with the show's creator, Sherwood Schwartz. One such argument even resulted in his being completely written out of the show's final episode. Reed was happy when the show ended, but he did return for the Brady Bunch Variety Hour and the made-for-TV movies and series that reunited the Brady cast in the years to come.
During the run of The Brady Bunch, Reed also had a recurring role as Lt. Adam Tobias on the television drama Mannix (1967-1975) for most of its run.
After the end of The Brady Bunch in 1974, Reed acted on the stage and made many guest star appearances on other television shows and made-for-tv movies, including Pray for the Wildcats (1974). He won critical acclaim for his portrayal of a doctor who wants to undergo a sex-change operation in a two-part episode of Medical Center in 1975. Reed also appeared in The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976) and Roots (1977). He also guest starred on Wonder Woman (1976), playing the Falcon. Other notable guest appearances include: Hawaii 5-0 (1979), Charlie's Angels (1980), Vega$ (1981), and Murder, She Wrote for at least three appearances. Reed played the regular role of Dr. Adam Rose in the hospital drama Nurse during the 1981–82 season. In 1986, he played the role of Lloyd Kendall on the daytime soap opera Search for Tomorrow.
In 1971, Reed was the defendant in Anglia TV v. Reed [1] an important case in English contract common law.
Like many homosexual actors then and now, Reed was secretive about his sexuality. After his death, it became known that he despised his homosexuality and considered it an illness [2] and sought psychiatric treatment in an effort to "cure" himself. Several of his pick-up boys have since come out and stated that he threatened them after sex, that he wanted his homosexuality to remain hidden. He is reputed to have preferred young blonde men.[3] Although gay, he was briefly married to Marilyn Rosenberg (1957-1959). The union produced one daughter, Caroline Reed, who was born 1958. Caroline had a small role in an episode of The Brady Bunch entitled, "The Slumber Caper." Her character's name was Karen and she is credited as "Carolyn Reed". This episode also reunited Reed with his co-star from The Defenders, E.G. Marshall.
Robert Reed died in 1992 at age 59 in Pasadena, California, from colorectal cancer caused by the presence of HIV.[4] He is buried in Skokie, Illinois.