Florence Henderson: ‘The Brady Bunch’ Mom Dies On Thanksgiving Day [Video]

The Brady Bunch actress, Florence Henderson has died on Thanksgiving Day, CBS News is reporting.

Her publicist, David Brokaw said the 82-year-old died at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after being hospitalized on Wednesday. Henderson had suffered heart failure. She died surrounded by family and friends by her bedside.

Henderson was still on her feet Monday at a taping of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars. The 82-year-old was there to cheer on her one-time TV daughter, Maureen McCormick of The Brady Bunch. McCormick was a contestant on the popular show this season. Florence Henderson was the oldest contestant to feature on the show in 2010, aged 76.

Florence Henderson, who played one of television’s most famous moms, has died from heart failure at the age of 82 https://t.co/HWtokqGOvu pic.twitter.com/9P16hMzlkw

— CNN (@CNN) November 25, 2016

The last of ten children, Henderson grew up in rural Indiana and lived a difficult life after her mother abandoned the family. She was 12 at the time. At 17, Henderson enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York and soon got a part in the Broadway musical Wish You Were Here.

Her sterling performance got her the lead role in Oklahoma, where she became a lifetime friend of Shirley Jones. Florence followed it up with other Broadway successes like The Sound of Music, Fanny, South Pacific, and The Girl Who Came to Supper.

Henderson enjoyed a successful career on Broadway in the 1950s and 1960s, however, it was The Brady Bunch that turned her into a household name. The ABC sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz ran for five seasons, from 1969-1974.

Florence Henderson, who made a lasting impression as a perky 1970s sitcom mom on "The Brady Bunch," has died at 82 https://t.co/lCEBsh6hRi

— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 25, 2016

Florence played Carol Brady, the ever-smiling matriarch of a large family. In the TV show, Carol Brady is a single mother with three daughters, who soon falls head over heels with Mike Brady, a widower with three sons. The eight of them are The Brady Bunch alongside an eccentric housekeeper played by Ann B. Davis.

Many women would have been overwhelmed by the occasion, but not Henderson’s TV mom who was always happy and available to soothe the fears of her six children. The delectable mother was renowned always for her listening ear, sound advice, and warm snack. A part she said she took seriously because of the mother that she did not have.

“I played Carol as the mother I always wished I had, as the mother a lot of people wished they had.”

The Brady Bunch went beyond portraying a suburban family in America dealing with a wacky situation every week. According to Henderson, the show exuded what people always wanted which was to be surrounded by a loving family.

“It represents what people always wanted: a loving family. It’s such a gentle, innocent, sweet show, and I guess it proved there’s always an audience for that.”

The Carol Brady role set the tone for the rest of Henderson’s career. Millions of people were endeared to the loving family on television and even after the last season in 1974, it kept on returning to television in different forms. There was The Brady Bunch Hour in 1977, The Brady Brides in 1981, and The Bradys in 1990.

The Brady Bunch weaned generations about the bond meant to exist between American families. Despite the five season run, the TV series remained in syndication for decades, making Henderson a consistent attraction on television. The bankable TV icon featured in guest star roles from Ally McBeal to WWE Raw. Her other credits included Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, Ellen, Roseanne, 30 Rock, Samantha Who, and The King of Queens. She also made stops on virtually every game show or talk show in the last 40 years.

The indefatigable Henderson went on to score with more gigs including: The Florence Henderson Show which earned her an Emmy nomination and Retirement Living TV: Who’s Cooking with Florence Henderson. In a memoir released in 2011, Life Is Not a Stage: From Broadway Baby to a Lovely Lady and Beyond, the actress revealed behind the scenes fighting with The Brady Bunch cast.

In September, the 82-year-old reprised her role with TV daughter, Maureen McCormick on Dancing With the Stars. The Brady matriarch in a dress nostalgic of her character confronted McCormick and her partner Artem Chigvintsev with a roll of her eyes and hands on her hips, muttering one of Carol Brady’s most famous lines.

“Marcia, Marica, Marica.”

In February, the then 81-year-old actress admitted that she had “friends with benefits” after losing her husband, Dr. John George Kappas, a hypnotherapist in 2002. Henderson said despite her age, it all came to what made her happy in the end.

Sorry, but I haven't been able to not think of Florence Henderson & not think of her getting crabs from John Lindsay https://t.co/B105tiUnFr

— Joseph Planta (@Planta) November 25, 2016

“It’s very healthy for the heart. I think no matter how old you are and I am pretty up there in terms of numbers. I think you should do whatever makes you happy…If you want to wear long hair or wear that dress, as long as you’re not hurting yourself or anybody else, I say do it.”

Henderson’s first marriage was to Ira Bernstein in 1956. In her 2011 memoir, she admitted to a slew of infidelities including a fling with the then-New York City Mayor, John Lindsay who allegedly gave her the crabs.

Henderson and Bernstein were married for almost 29 years, they divorced in 1985. They have four children. In 2016, Henderson appeared in the funny film Fifty Shades of Black. Her final project Grandmothers Murder Club is due for a 2017 release.

[Featured Image by Antonio Pullano/AP Images]