Florence
Henderson: Brady Bunch matriarch dies at 82
Florence Henderson, known to millions for her role as
matriarch Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch, has died aged 82.
According
to her representatives, she died on Thursday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in
Los Angeles, a day after being admitted to hospital.
First
shown in 1969, The Brady Bunch told of single parents with children who marry
to form a "blended" family.
Born
in 1934 in southern Indiana, the actress began her career in theatre before
turning to television.
She
made her first stage appearance in New York at 19 - a one-line role in a play
called Wish You Were Here.
She
went on to land the female lead in a tour of the Rodgers and Hammerstein
musical Oklahoma!, which eventually took her to Broadway in 1954.
She
subsequently played Maria in The Sound of Music and Nellie Forbush in South
Pacific.
But her career nearly ended in 1965 when she suddenly
lost her hearing while appearing in The King and I in Los Angeles.
She
was diagnosed with a hereditary condition called osteosclerosis and had
corrective surgery in both ears.
The
Brady Bunch, which initially ran until 1974, brought her and her co-stars
international fame.
"We
had to have security guards with us," she later recalled. "We
couldn't go out by ourselves. We were like the Beatles!"
The
show went on to return in various forms, among them a 1995 film in which she
played the mother of her former character.
"It's
such a gentle, innocent, sweet show, and I guess it proved there's always an
audience for that," the actress said in 1999.
Oscar-winning
actresses Marlee Matlin and Patricia Arquette are among those who have marked her
passing on Twitter.
Pop star Boy George has also paid tribute,
saying he "grew up with the Brady Bunch", while talk show host Larry
King described her as "America's mom".
Maureen McCormick,
who played Brady's oldest daughter Marcia in the hit TV series, said she had
been "a dear friend for so very many years".
Henderson
was a contestant on Dancing in the Stars in 2010 and appeared on the show days
before her death in support of McCormick, a contestant in the most recent
series.
The
actress made numerous TV appearances outside of The Brady Bunch and was the
first female guest host of The Tonight Show.
She
also made cameo appearances in such comedy films as Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final
Insult, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star and Fifty Shades of Black.
