The Shocking Reason ‘Brady Bunch’ Star Mike Lookinland Asked to Double His Pay
What To Know
- Mike Lookinland, who played Bobby Brady, tried to leave The Brady Bunch Hour by asking for double his pay, expecting to be rejected. But producers surprisingly agreed to his demand.
- Lookinland was eager to move on from his child star role and even turned down other acting opportunities to pursue a more typical teenage life, such as going on a ski trip with his classmates.
- After his Brady Bunch years, Lookinland transitioned to work behind the camera, started a decorative concrete business in Utah, and now enjoys performing music with a Grateful Dead tribute band.
Mike Lookinland turned 65 on December 19, and long ago moved on from acting — but for many of us, he will always be Bobby Brady, the sweet youngest brother on The Brady Bunch. But behind the scenes, especially during the later years of the franchise, Lookinland was quietly figuring out how to step away from the role that defined his childhood because he wanted a more normal life. And his plan to quit being Bobby Brady involved asking producers to double his pay — assuming they would fire him.
Why Mike Lookinland didn’t want to be on The Brady Bunch Hour
By the time The Brady Bunch Hour went into production in 1976, Lookinland was no longer the little kid viewers remembered from the original series, which began in 1969, when he was just eight years old. He was a teenager, ready to move on, and not particularly interested in spending his next few years singing, dancing, and performing sketch comedy in a variety format that even the cast has since admitted was awkward.
In a candid interview, Lookinland explained that he actually tried to get out of the show before it even started by asking for double his salary, assuming the producers would refuse and recast Bobby. Instead, the request was accepted.
Lookinland explained in an interview alongside Brady Bunch costar Susan Olsen that they recorded for The Brady Bunch Hour DVD, “They [Sid and Marty Krofft] offered me a price, I said, figuring they would say no way, I asked for twice that much. They called back in five minutes and said, ‘Okay, you’re hired.'” Olsen joked, “You could have tripled it!”
He also spoke about being asked to do the Swiss Family Robinson film before Brady Bunch Hour came about. He turned it down because he wanted to go on a ski trip with his eighth-grade class and even said his parents made him turn it down himself in a phone call with producers.
Where is Mike Lookinland now?
After The Brady Bunch Hour, Lookinland continued to reprise the role of Bobby Brady in various reunion projects, including The Brady Girls Get Married, A Very Brady Christmas and the short-lived series The Bradys. He also began moving behind the camera, working as a production assistant and camera operator, and eventually stepping away from acting altogether. For years, he built a career in television production and later ran a decorative concrete business in Utah, a path far removed from soundstages and studio audiences.
Everett Collection; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
In 2019, he reunited with his castmates for HGTV’s A Very Brady Renovation, where the group helped transform the famous Brady house into its classic TV form. In 2021, Lookinland appeared alongside fellow Bradys Barry Williams, Christopher Knight, Susan Olsen and Robbie Rist in the Lifetime holiday movie Blending Christmas. Around the same time, he surprised a new generation of viewers by competing on The Masked Singer in 2022 as part of the group costume “Mummies” with Williams and Knight.
Away from television, music has become a meaningful creative outlet as well. A longtime Deadhead, Lookinland plays keyboards and sings lead vocals for the Utah-based Grateful Dead tribute band The Pranksters.
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