Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Brady Mess Hall of Fame

The Brady Bunch (1969-1974) was full of guest child actors, and for every seasoned pro like Pamelyn Ferdin (she laughed at Jan's wig) and Melissa Sue Anderson (she kissed Bobby) there were also green day-players who didn't exactly shine bright in their 1 minute of sitcom time.

The two Brady guest actresses mentioned below have fascinated me for decades:

Teresa Warder played "Seattle Linda" in Season 1's episode called "The Undergraduate"




At the 7:10 mark, Mrs. Brady interrogates Marcia's school chum Linda thinking that she is Greg's mysterious crush. Warder (with her zombie stare and thick tongued speech) is something more apropos for a visit with The Addams Family.

I get such a kick out of Teresa as "Seattle Linda" and could listen to her strange delivery of dialogue all day. Just listen to her say: "SEE-AT-TULL" and
"Wullll, thuz one boy I like, the only problem is - he doesn't know I liiiike 'im."

This phenomenal debut by Ms. Warder on the Brady's sofa was her sole acting credit.

--

Meanwhile in Season 4's episode called "Law & Disorder", Bobby is made a safety monitor and is pestered by a frantic girl to save her cat Pandora. I call her "Spazzy Jill" as in:
"Pleeease! You've Gotta Get Pandora Out For Meeeee!"




"Spazzy Jill" is played by Ms. Shawn Schepps. Shawn was discovered by a TV casting agent while she emoted at kiddie Drama Class. Her unglamorous yet effective portrayal of a frantic girl worried for her cat's safety is truly memorable.
(see her chew the scenery at the 4:10 mark)

Shawn quit acting by her 20s and later became a screenwriter (Encino Man) and writer/producer on WEEDS - where she returned to guest roles. She went to Writer's Boot Camp and sounds like a good egg (read her alumni info).

9 comments:

Christopher said...

cute kids..Makes me long to be back in 6th and 7th grade again ..getting all nervous over girls..

Keith said...

Cool post. I enjoyed learning about those girls.

glyphjockey said...

That's some kinda gourmet obsessing!

Anonymous said...

Just caught the Seattle Linda episode. The way that girl stares into the camera... Creepy, creepy stuff. Gives me the chills.

Unknown said...

You'll get a kick out of this clip of Seattle Linda.

https://youtu.be/a_33Rm62qvU

Unknown said...

Whats funny is Linda is actually my mom, and we laugh all the time about how she cannot pronounce words.

Unknown said...

My gosh! Cool. This episode is on right now on METV. Rainy day in Florida.

Anonymous said...

Wow just saw this episode and was wondering what is the problem with her speech. Thought she must be from another country and trying to hide an accent.

Chris_JP said...

It is possible that Teresa Warder was related to one of the producers or writers on the show. The Brady Bunch apparently featured a number of kids related to associates of the show. For example, in the slumber party episode, Robert Reed and Florence Henderson's daughters portrayed guests at the party, as did a girl related to the director Sherwood Schwarz. But at least they could act in decent fashion. Teresa, I am sorry to say, was simply awful. She could never have passed a screen test on her own, which is why I believe she was related to one of the show's associates.