Whatever Happened to Geri Reischl, the ‘Brady Bunch Variety Hour’s Fake Jan Brady?
The Brady Bunch‘s infamous follow-up series, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (1976) was known for many crazy things — after all, it was created by Sid Krofft and Marty Krofft, the minds behind H.R. Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost. But the show’s craziest decision was definitely hiring Geri Reischl to replace Eve Plumb as Jan Brady.
We recently caught up with the delightful Reischl, who shared with us some of her Fake Jan stickers and memorabilia, as well as many stories about life after The Brady Bunch Hour.
For the past 16 years, Reischl has made New Jersey her home state. Following her acting and singing career, she’s found happiness working with dementia patients and indulging her love for Disney.
“I worked with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients for eight years. That was the highlight of my life. I loved those people. They were like my family,” she gushed. “You look at ’em, and they’re each their own individual and person, and you just go with the flow and you step into their life and you just love them to death. And the more you say ‘I love them,’ the more smiles they give you back.”
Still somewhat a kid at heart, the 65-year old’s real passion is Disney World, where she visits a few times every year.
Credit: Remind Staff
“I grew up in Southern California, born and raised, so I had season passes to go to Disneyland and California Adventure. Now I have a pass to go to Walt Disney World. It’s just a happy place. It puts a smile on my face,” she laughs. “I even go by myself sometimes. And it doesn’t really matter, because you’re around people that enjoy everything that you love, and you see their smiles and they see my smile. And you may talk a little bit in line about the ride or something. I’m a happy-go-lucky person.”
Reischl has also visited all but two presidential libraries in her travels.
“I just need two more presidential libraries and I’ve been to every presidential library and their gravesites,” she adds. “I’ll need Trump, but he doesn’t have a library yet. I need Eisenhower and I think it’s Truman. Their homes go from teeny tiny to humongous and gorgeous. And the carvings in the wood, to their stairways — just beautiful. I’m really fascinated about that.”
Jeri is also an avid baseball fan, she tells us she has only two more baseball stadiums to visit, too — Toronto and Minnesota.
Remind 
1970s Fall TV
September 2023
Take a trip back to the ’70s by looking at the TV Guide Magazine Fall Preview primetime lineups.
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