Mike Brady
Mike Brady in season 2 or 3 of The Brady Bunch.
Seasons/Episodes	5 seasons from 1969-1974, 117 episodes
Birthname	Michael Brady
Location	Friskonia, California, U.S.
Relatives	Marcia, Jan, and Cindy Brady (step-daughters) Greg, Peter, and Bobby Brady (sons)
Spouses	Ms. Brady (presumably late wife, rarely alluded to in series) Carol Brady (1969-present, presumably)
Character played by	Robert Reed

Michael Brady, better known as Mike, was the father/widower of the Brady Family. He married Carol Martin in 1969, adopting her three girls, Marcia, Jan, and Cindy Martin. He was an architect. He was portrayed by Robert Reed.

Shortly after the fourth season began, Mike grew his hair into a longer, curly style. He was named "Father of the Year" by a local newspaper after his stepdaughter Marcia submitted an essay. His parents have sometimes been mentioned but never seen (unless depicted without identification at the wedding in the pilot), whereas his paternal grandfather, Judge Hank Brady (Robert Reed in a dual role) appears in one episode. Mike has a firm personal integrity (i.e. he refuses to participate in commercial if it means saying a product is the best that he believes isn't) coupled with a strong sense of ethics.

It is implied that Mike is a very highly qualified and well-respected architect, although he has had his share of failures. For instance:

• In "How to Succeed in Business?" Mike says that he has lost jobs (in reassuring Peter that failure and getting fired are a part of life).
• In A Very Brady Christmas, contractor Ted Roberts (who is looking to save money on his building project) fires Mike when he refuses to cut corners and take out important safety provisions. Mike, however, is later proven right when the structure begins to crumble (trapping two security guards, and later Mike, inside); everyone escapes with only a few bruises.

Mike was one of the staff architects with the firm he worked at; the name was never mentioned in the series, and Mr. Ed Phillips was his boss. By the time A Very Brady Christmas and The Bradys aired, he was the senior partner at the firm.

In episode #4 of The Bradys, "Hat in the Ring," when sworn in as City Councilman, his full name is given as Michael Thomas Brady.

Both Gene Hackman and Jeffrey Hunter were considered for the role of Mike Brady. Hackman was Sherwood Schwartz's first choice, but was rejected by Paramount for not having enough experience. Jeffrey Hunter approached Schwartz to play Mike Brady, but Schwartz felt Hunter was too attractive to play a down-to-earth architect.^[1]

In 2004, TV Guide ranked him number 14 on its 50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time list.^[2]