‘The Brady Bunch’s Christopher Knight Wishes His Parents Worked Instead of Him
Christopher Knight doesn’t sound that enthusiastic about being a child actor, even though he benefited from the “wholesome environment” on the Brady Bunch set, he said this week on the I Choose Me with Jennie Garth podcast. It’s not that being gainfully employed as Peter Brady was so bad, but “isn’t that your parents’ job to work, not you?”
One reason Knight had to work in the first place was because his actor dad was having trouble landing roles, he explained. With theater jobs in scarce supply, Knight’s father found an agent for Christopher and his older brother, Garth. To everyone’s surprise (because Garth was the outgoing one), Christopher was the one who booked work, including his role on Brady Bunch.
It was a good thing that young Knight delivered a regular paycheck since his home life was “chaotic and not abundant.” How bad was it? When the family didn’t have enough milk, Dad told Mom, “Feed them every other day.”
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Mom doesn’t sound like a walk in the park either. You’d think she would have been grateful that Knight was buying the milk, but she trashed The Brady Bunch anyway. “She had an idea of what art should have been, and we weren’t doing it,” Knight said on the Classic Conversations podcast. “And the more successful it became, the more irritated she became.”
Knight’s mom was a frustrated artist as well (she painted), and Knight took the brunt of her disappointments. “I would have to live through all that negativity at home,” he said, “knowing at the same time, I’m here in part because of you and supporting the family. The whole thing was inside-out.”
Knight’s dad was able to land one acting job, at least — a guest spot on The Brady Bunch as game show host Monty Marshall. His mom was no doubt grateful for the nepotism although that didn’t make her “any less critical of his performance on the show,” Knight chuckled.
Despite the dysfunction at home, Knight has fond memories of The Brady Bunch, a show he starred in from age 10 until he was 16. He said the set environment was just as squeaky-clean as it appeared in the episodes, and that the job had a significant impact on his childhood. “You’re forming yourself,” he said, “you’re forming an idea of self.” He also remains close with his TV siblings.
Does that mean he’d let his own offspring star in a sitcom? Forget about it. He says the “chances of falling apart” are way too high for child actors. “If I had kids,” he told Garth, “I would try to keep them away from show business until they’re 18.”
