Florence Henderson (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Florence Agnes Henderson (born February 14 1934) is an American actress and singer best known for playing the role of Carol Brady in the television program The Brady Bunch, which ran from 1969 to 1974.

Biography

Born in Dale, Indiana, as one of 10 children in a Roman Catholic tobacco farmer's household, Florence Henderson graduated from St. Francis Academy in Owensboro, Kentucky in 1951; shortly thereafter, she went to New York City, enrolling in the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Henderson started her career on the stage, performing in musicals, such as the touring production of Oklahoma! and South Pacific at Lincoln Center. She debuted on Broadway in Wish You Were Here in 1952, and later starred in such notable shows as Fanny (1954), and The Girl Who Came to Supper (1963). In 1962, she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre, and the same year became the woman to host The Johnny Carson Show.

Her most widely seen role was as "Carol Brady" in The Brady Bunch which was produced from 1968 until 1974. A worldwide success, it continues to be screened in many countries through syndication.

Henderson was a frequent panelist on the original version of the television game show Hollywood Squares.

Henderson was also the spokeswoman for Wesson cooking oil, from 1976 to 1996. During that time, she hosted a cooking show on TNN called Country Kitchen, and also did ads for Prange's, a former Wisconsin department store chain. Henderson co-hosted the talk show Later Today on NBC (1999-2000) with co-hosts Jodi Applegate and Asha Blake. Today, she is the spokeswoman for Polident denture cleanser (although she does not wear dentures herself). In 2003, Henderson seemed to poke fun at her wholesome image by appearing in a Pepsi Twist television commercial with Ozzy Osbourne.

Henderson regularly tours as a singer on the condominium circuit with other performers such as magician/comedian Jamie Porter.

Henderson has also appeared with her TV children whenever the opportunity comes about. For instance, she appeared on the reality-television series My Fair Brady starring Christopher Knight. She is also in the sixth season of VH1's Surreal Life.

In most years since the mid-1990s, the song "God Bless America" has been performed by Henderson at the Indianapolis 500. Henderson is a friend of the Hulman-George family, the owners of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Her performance is followed by "The Star-Spangled Banner," performed by a notable artist each year.

She appeared in the Weird Al Yankovic video for "Amish Paradise".

She currently co-hosts Living Live! with former Designing Women star Meshach Taylor on Retirement Living TV.

Personal life

In the mid-1950s, Henderson was diagnosed with a bone deformation of the inner ear, and she had to have surgery to prevent deafness.

Henderson married Ira Bernstein in January 1956, and the couple had four children. During the filming of The Brady Bunch in Los Angeles, Henderson returned to the family's New York home each weekend to spend time with her children. In 1985, she divorced him after almost 29 years of marriage. She later married Dr. John Kappas, a hypnotherapist she met when battling depression in the mid 1980s. Henderson studied hypnotherapy and is a licenced therapist. Kappas died in 2002.

She is an Aluma Initiate of the Alpha Chi chapter of Delta Zeta Sorority.

Filmography

Television

General Foods 25th Anniversary Show: A Salute to Rodgers and Hammerstein (1954)
Sing Along (1958-1959)
Little Women (1958)
The Jack Paar Show (regular guest from 1958-1962)
Oldsmobile Music Theatre (1959) (canceled after a few months)
The Today Show (Today Girl from 1959-1960)
The Brady Bunch (1969-1974)
The Love Boat (1976) (pilot for series)
The Muppet Show (1976) guest star
The Brady Girls Get Married (1981)
The Brady Brides (1981) (canceled after 10 episodes)
Country Kitchen (1985-????)
Just a Regular Kid: An AIDS Story (1987)
A Very Brady Christmas (1988)
The Bradys (1990) (canceled after 6 episodes)
Fudge-A-Mania (1995)
Short Cut Cooking (1998-2000)
Later Today (1999-2000)
Legend of the Candy Cane (2001)
Moms On Strike (2002)
Speaking of Women's Health (2003-????)
The Surreal Life (cast member in 2006)
The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2007)
Living Live (2007)

Film

Song of Norway (1970)
Shakes the Clown (1992)
Naked Gun 33?: The Final Insult (1994) (Cameo)
The Brady Bunch Movie (1995)
Holy Man (1998) (Cameo)
Get Bruce (1999) (documentary)
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003)
Whose Line Is It Anyway? (2002) (Guest appearance)
Venus & Vegas (2006)
For Heaven's Sake (2006)

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