What happened to Ann B. Davis— Alice from The Brady Bunch— when the show ended?
A person needs a roadmap in life. Knowing where you're going is half the journey. So, when we're presented with a fork in the road, where do we turn? It depends on what we've employed in life as our guide, whether that's the advice of our family or a suggestion from a trusted friend. Some of us turn to faith, asking a higher power for assistance in making the big decision.
That was the case for Ann B. Davis, who played the beloved housekeeper, Alice, on The Brady Bunch. When the show wrapped production in '74, Davis found herself at a crossroads. She'd been in show business for a long time, and by most standards, had achieved it all. Davis had twice won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her work in an earlier series, The Bob Cummings Show. She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Davis conquered both stage and screen before The Brady Bunch, and when that show brought her even more recognition, she had a crucial decision to make.
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In January 1976, Davis— who'd done it all— renounced show business and moved to Denver. She joined an Episcopal community established by Bishop William C. Frey. Davis met Frey two years earlier while doing summer stock in Denver. According to an interview in Andrew J Edelstein's The Brady Bunch Book, while giving up Hollywood wasn't exactly a faith-based decision, Davis used her religion to build the support she needed in forgoing her earlier career.
"I never heard a large voice from above saying, 'Get out of show business, Ann.' I just found that my priorities had changed and I knew that I needed some space. I called my agents and said, 'Look, guys, I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing, but I think I need at least a year to figure it out, so don't call me for a year for anything.' They were wonderful. They all four said, 'Nobody else is going to understand this, Ann, but I do and I'm very happy for you.' They all four said that!"
The next year, the gang was back together for The Brady Bunch Hour.
"That was after I moved [to Denver]," said Davis. "I went back and did a few bits on that, a couple songs and stuff, had a lot of fun. They had already started it, given out the [cast and crew commemorative] T-shirts and all that, and somebody insisted that my agent call me, just to come in and do a cameo 'cause they didn't feel it was complete without me."
The community Davis was a part of in Denver became a driving force in her life, guiding her, and even joining in on some post-Brady trips back into the acting world.
"I take somebody from the household with me, and it gives them a chance to see how I used to make a living. It also gives people a chance to sit with them and ask, 'What's Ann doing in Denver?'"
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