The Surprising Reason Ann B. Davis Left Hollywood After ‘The Brady Bunch’
When The Brady Bunch ended in 1974, many viewers wondered what happened to Ann B. Davis, the actress who so memorably played Alice Nelson, the Brady family’s wisecracking housekeeper. While she didn’t vanish completely from the public eye, she did make a very unusual choice for a sitcom star: she chose to focus largely on her faith in her final decades.
Davis was not new to stardom when she became Alice. In fact, she had already been a television success in the 1950s, winning two Emmy Awards for her role as “Schultzy,” the secretary on The Bob Cummings Show. By the time she joined The Brady Bunch, she was a seasoned actress who helped to make Alice the glue of the Brady household, keeping everyone together and helping to calm the chaos.
Everett Collection
After The Brady Bunch wrapped, Davis stayed connected to the series through various spinoffs and reunion projects. She reprised her role in A Very Brady Christmas in 1988, appeared in The Brady Brides, and returned again in The Bradys, a short-lived follow-up that attempted to take the family in a more dramatic direction. In 1995, she delighted fans with a cameo in The Brady Bunch Movie, where she played a truck driver named “Schultzy,” a clever reference to her earlier sitcom role.
Outside of the Brady projects, Davis continued working as an actress, particularly on stage. She appeared in productions such as Arsenic and Old Lace and Crazy for You. She also appeared in commercials and even published Alice’s Brady Bunch Cookbook in 1994, a collection of recipes inspired by the series, complete with contributions from fellow cast members.
Paramount Television/Everett Collection
Why Did Ann B. Davis Leave Hollywood After The Brady Bunch?
However, Davis began to focus strongly on her faith after The Brady Bunch wrapped, joining a religious community in Denver, Colorado.
According to Bishop Bill Frey, who spoke to People in 2014, Davis “wanted to see what it was like to live in a big extended family household community. We had a big old house with four generations of people living together – all involved with the ministry of the Episcopal Church.”
After a month of communal living, she returned to her home in California, “packed up her Emmys and a few other articles and moved in. We put her in a bedroom with two other single women and she just became part of the family.”
Davis later relocated with the community to Ambridge, Pennsylvania, when Frey became dean of the Trinity School for Ministry. Contrary to popular rumors, Davis did not become a nun; however, she did live in a religious community, where she volunteered and devoted much of her time to church work.
Despite living a quieter life, Davis never completely left acting behind. She maintained connections with her Brady Bunch costars and occasionally appeared in reunion events. Her final appearance was in 2004, playing herself in the The Brady Bunch 35th Anniversary Reunion Special. Sadly, Davis’s life came to an unexpected end on June 1, 2014, when she died at the age of 88 after suffering a fall in her home that caused a subdural hematoma. Friends shared that she had been in excellent health for her age, which made her sudden passing especially difficult for those who knew her well. She was cremated, and her ashes were placed in Saint Helena’s Columbarium and Memorial Gardens in Boerne, Texas.
Where to Watch The Brady Bunch and its sequels
You can catch the Brady family streaming on Paramount+ or free on Pluto TV. You can also watch it on MeTV and Catchy Comedy. Many of the sequels and specials are on Paramount+ or YouTube.
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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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