‘Brady Bunch' Star Eve Plumb Didn't Recognize Some of the Show's Famous Guest Stars
The Brady Bunch featured several big-name guest stars during its five-season run, but some of the child actors on the show were too young to realize who they were. The classic TV sitcom, which aired from 1969 to 1974 on ABC, featured cameos from everyone from football great Joe Namath to Monkees singer Davy Jones.
In an April 2026 interview with Newsday, series star Eve Plumb (Jan Brady on the series) revealed she didn't know who guest Imogene Coca was when she made a guest appearance on the show in the 1972 episode "Jan's Aunt Jenny." When asked if she was aware of the legendary comic actress who played her eccentric great aunt, Plumb, now 67, replied, "I think I was too young."
Ditto for Jim Backus, the iconic actor who played Mr. Howell on Gilligan's Island and made several guest appearances on the Brady episodes "Ghost Town USA," "Grand Canyon or Bust," and "The Hustler." "Yeah. Same," Plumb replied when asked if she was too young to recall Backus.
When asked if she had seen the actor on Gilligan's Island, which Brady Bunch showrunner Sherwood Schwartz also created, she admitted, "No. I was watching Mary Tyler Moore."
Several 'Brady Bunch' guest stars caused quite a stir
Plumb may have recognized some of the younger guest stars, such as Monkees legend Davy Jones and actor Desi Arnaz Jr.
In her 2008 memoir Here's the Story, co-star Maureen McCormick dished, "Davy's arrival on the set created a buzz greater than any other guest star we had on the show. Davy was a lovely guy, and it was a big deal to have a pop star of his caliber on set. "
Super Bowl-winning quarterback Namath, fellow NFL star Deacon Jones, and legendary Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale also made cameos on the show. In Barry Williams' book Growing up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg, Brady Bunch matriarch Florence Henderson admitted, "I was crazy about Joe Namath." She also recalled that she jokingly asked the football legend to "take her away" because she "couldn't stand this family anymore." "And he just said, ‘Sure Mrs. Brady,' and carried me off the set," she shared.
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In an interview with USA Today, Christopher Knight (Peter Brady on the show) also dished on his favorite guest stars. "Working with Vincent Price was an honor. And Davy Jones. I was a fan of The Monkees," The Brady Bunch star said.
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This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 10:13 AM.