Maureen McCormick

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maureen McCormick
Best Buddies Ride charity event, Hyannis, Massachusetts, May, 2009
Born	Maureen Denise McCormick August 5, 1956 (1956-08-05) (age 52) Encino, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer
Years active	1964–present
Spouse(s)	Michael Cummings (1985–present)

Maureen Denise McCormick (born August 5, 1956) is an American actress, reality show participant, and recording artist. She is best known as a child actor who played Marcia Brady in the television series The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974.

[edit] Life and career

[edit] Early life

McCormick was born in Encino, California, the daughter of Irene (née Beckman) and William McCormick, a teacher.^[1] She first gained notice at the age of six after winning the Baby Miss San Fernando Valley beauty pageant.^[2] She made her television debut in 1964 in Barbie doll and Chatty Cathy commercials. She also lent her voice to the redesigned Chatty Cathy doll that was introduced in 1970. She appeared in two episodes of Bewitched and played guest roles on I Dream of Jeannie, Honey West, The Farmer's Daughter, and My Three Sons.

[edit] Marcia Brady

The Brady Bunch was an American sitcom about a blended family that aired from 1969 to 1974 on ABC and whose continued popularity has led to spinoffs, movies, and a largely uninterrupted airing in syndication. McCormick played the eldest daughter Marcia, a popular girl with a perky personality.

[edit] Later career

McCormick attempted to further her career after the cancellation of The Brady Bunch. Although she made guest appearances on numerous television series such as Happy Days, Donny & Marie, Love Boat, and Fantasy Island, and played supporting roles in a few B-movies (including 1979's Vacation in Hell, Skatetown, U.S.A. and 1987's Return to Horror High), she was never able to completely distance herself from her Brady role due to the sitcom's continuous syndicated reruns. McCormick claims she failed to a get a part as a prostitute or heroin dealer for the movie Midnight Express because of the "Marcia connection"^[3] Much later, she was the first of two actresses (Andrea Evans was the second) to play Rebecca Crane on the soap opera, Passions. Neither she, nor Evans who succeeded her in the role, were ever on contract.

In 2007, McCormick returned to television as a cast member on the fifth season of VH1's Celebrity Fit Club. She said that she hoped to lose the 30 pounds she had gained since her mother died of cancer, as well as having to move her intellectually disabled brother into an assisted living facility. McCormick actually lost 34 pounds and was declared the individual winner of Celebrity Fit Club in June 2007. In 2008, she became a spokesperson for Children International. ^[4] Later that year, she became a cast member on the CMT reality show Gone Country. That appearance lead to a spin-off reality series, Outsider's Inn, in which she opens a bed and breakfast inn in Newport, Tennessee.

On March 15, 2009 Maureen McCormick appeared on the dais of Comedy Central's roast of Larry the Cable Guy.

[edit] Personal life

McCormick had an on-again-off-again romantic relationship with fellow Brady Bunch cast member Barry Williams that began while the series aired.^[5][6] Their first romantic kiss was during the filming of the Hawaiian episodes. On March 16, 1985, she married Michael Cummings, who had never seen or heard of The Brady Bunch. The couple fell in love immediately upon meeting in a church.^[7] They have one child, Natalie Michelle Cummings (born May 19, 1989). The family lives in Westlake Village in Southern California.

During McCormick's run on The Brady Bunch, her grandmother died from syphilis while in a mental institution. She had contracted the disease from her husband, who had become infected while in Europe during World War I. Her mother contracted it in utero, leading McCormick to develop a life-long, unfounded fear that she too would contract the disease and suffer the same fate as her grandmother. As a result, her favorite scenes in The Brady Bunch were the ones that called for her to cry because it allowed her to release the negative emotions surrounding those fears.^[5][6]

In her post Brady Bunch years, McCormick suffered through a series of personal problems, including addictions to cocaine and Quaaludes. These addictions interfered heavily with her career, particularly when she flubbed an audition with Steven Spielberg for a part in Raiders of the Lost Ark after being high from cocaine and sleepless for three days. She eventually developed a reputation for unreliability in Hollywood, and a powerful producer threatened to stop her from ever working again. The addictions became so severe that she would occasionally resort to trading sex for cocaine. She had two unwanted pregnancies, both of which ended in abortion. She also suffered from bouts with depression and bulimia.^[2][5][6][8]

McCormick went through a series of interventions, stints in rehab, and experimental therapies. McCormick says treatment with the controversial psychiatrist Eugene Landy, who has also treated Brian Wilson, set her back.^[6] Although she began to get sober after marrying her husband, she continued to suffer from depression and paranoia. At one point, McCormick threatened to jump from a balcony in front of her husband.^[7] She fought her depression through therapy, medication, and the moral support of former Brady Bunch cast members.^[2] Both she and her husband were initially resistant to treatments involving the use of medication due to her addictive personality. McCormick has been treated with antidepressant medication, including Prozac, since the 1990s.^[3]

After her mother's death in 2004, McCormick began experiencing weight problems. In 2007, at her daughter's suggestion, she became a contestant on the reality television show Celebrity Fit Club and became the season 5 individual winner, setting a record for percentage weight loss. She found coming forward about her weight problems in front of television audiences to be cathartic. At around this time, she began opening up publicly about her other personal problems. ^[6] In April 2007, McCormick revealed a family dispute on Dr. Phil, accusing her brother of elder abuse and of alienating their father from his other children to gain control of his financial assets.^[9]

On October 14, 2008, she released an autobiography titled Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice.^[5][6] The book debuted at the number four position on The New York Times Best Seller List, remaining on the list for three consecutive weeks.^[10]

McCormick has been approached about making her autobiography into a movie, which she has said is likely to happen.^[11] The Today Show chose to air an interview with McCormick about the book rather than switch to a story about bank rescues. ^[12]

While promoting her 2008 autobiography, she was a guest on many news and talk shows including Today Show, Access Hollywood, The Howard Stern Show, Good Day L.A., and Paula's Party.

[edit] TV/Film/Stage appearances

• On February 5, 1989, she reprised her role as Marcia Brady in a dream sequence episode of the short-lived sitcom Day by Day. The episode brought together the Brady family in a dream to slacker son Ross who neglects schoolwork to watch a Brady Bunch marathon. McCormick scored big laughs in the satiric segment playing a visibly pregnant Marcia.
• In 1993, she played herself on an episode of Herman's Head.^[13]
• In 1994, McCormick played the role of Rizzo in the Broadway production of Grease.
• In 1997, she played the title role in Get to the Heart: The Barbara Mandrell Story. As of June 30, 2007, it is rated at 5.0 out of 10 stars on IMDb and continues to be shown on Lifetime and WE.
• In 2000, she played Rebecca Hotchkiss on Passions for 10 episodes; after her stint ended, she was replaced by Andrea Evans.
• In 2001, she played Mrs. Strawther on Son of the Beach.
• In 2003, she appeared in Scrubs in a dream sequence where protagonist J.D. imagines Marcia Brady as his ideal bride (he shushes her when she points out that her name is actually Maureen McCormick).
• In 2007, she played a shy, clumsy woman who was the eventual object of Jason Alexander's desires in the Brad Paisley country music video, "Online".
• In 2009, she participated in the Comedy Central Roast of Larry the Cable Guy, which aired on March 14.

[edit] Recording career

After recording four albums with the Brady Bunch cast and touring as a group act, McCormick released her first solo single in 1972, containing the songs "Truckin' Back to You" and "Teeny Weeny Bit (Too Long)." One year later, McCormick recorded an album with Brady co-star Christopher Knight. The pop LP, titled Chris Knight and Maureen McCormick, featured a combination of duets and solo tracks by the two young stars. The song "Little Bird" was released as McCormick's second solo single (backed with "Just a Singin' Alone") and enjoyed minor chart success in the western U.S. McCormick performed the song on American Bandstand for Dick Clark, who encouraged her to pursue a singing career. Shortly after, she was offered a contract to record a country album but turned it down in favor of attending UCLA. McCormick released one other single in 1973, containing the songs "Love's in the Roses" and "Harmonize," which were never included on any album.

In 1995, McCormick released her debut album, a country CD titled When You Get a Little Lonely. Though not a great commercial success, it earned her generally positive reviews. After playing country singer Barbara Mandrell in the television biopic Get to the Heart: The Barbara Mandrell Story in 1997 and competing for a record contract on the CMT reality show Gone Country in 2008, McCormick has yet to follow up her first CD but has hinted at recording a sophomore album in recent interviews.

[edit] Maureen/Marcia portrayals

• Kaley Cuoco portrayed McCormick in Growing Up Brady. McCormick's character Marcia Brady has been portrayed by Christine Taylor in The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Maureen McCormick at the Internet Movie Database
• Maureen McCormick's Blog on Fancast
• The Official Maureen McCormick Fan Club Home Page
• McCormick, Maureen. Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice. William Morrow, October 14, 2008. ISBN 978-0061490149
• Book review of Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice