Stars From The Brady Bunch You Didn't Know Died

The quintessential TV dad, Robert Reed was beloved by fans for being exactly what they believed a father should be kind, caring, and understanding. Off-screen, however, he was a very different man than his character. A stickler for detail, Reed was known to berate the directors and writers over the smallest things. His intense

The quintessential TV dad, Robert Reed was beloved by fans for being exactly what they believed a father should be — kind, caring, and understanding. Off-screen, however, he was a very different man than his character. A stickler for detail, Reed was known to berate the directors and writers over the smallest things. His intense nature would often cause drama on the set, yet he was never replaced, thanks to his close relationship with his cast mates. According to the New York Post, he was like a surrogate father for the Brady kids, taking them on vacation to England and buying them expensive Christmas gifts.

It turns out, much of his frustration may have stemmed from the fact that he was a closeted gay man. When he died in 1992 of colon cancer, his death certificate listed HIV as a contributing factor, essentially letting the world in on the secret that he wasn't heterosexual. In a 2000 interview with ABC News, co-star Florence Henderson said, "I think had Bob not been forced to live this double life, I think it would have dissipated a lot of that anger and frustration. ... I had a lot of compassion for him because I knew how he was suffering."

In spite of everything, Reed's fellow actors remember him fondly. In the same ABC News interview, Christopher Knight said, "He was the picture of what I wanted to become as a person in his sort of strength." Susan Olson chimed in, "Bob remains to this day my shining example of how an adult should be with kids."

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