Robert Reed

 Robert Reed (October 19, 1932 – May 12, 1992)

From 1961 to 1965, he portrayed Kenneth Preston on the popular legal drama The Defenders, alongside E. G. Marshall. He is best known as the father Mike Brady, opposite Florence Henderson's Carol Brady, on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch, which aired from 1969 to 1974. He reprised the role of Mike Brady in several later reunion programs. In 1976, he earned two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his guest-starring role in a two-part episode of Medical Center and for his work on the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man. The following year, Reed earned a third Emmy nomination for his role in the miniseries Roots. Reed was gay but kept this fact private, fearing it would damage his career. In July 1954, Reed married fellow Northwestern student Marilyn Rosenberger. The couple had one daughter, Karen, before divorcing in 1959. In November 1991, Reed was diagnosed with colon cancer. When he became ill, he allowed only his daughter and his close friends actress Anne Haney and Josh Miller to visit him. Haney later said of Reed, "He came from the old school, where people had a sense of decorum. He went the way he wanted to, without publicity."

He died on May 12, 1992 at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, California, at age 59. Reed's death was initially attributed solely to cancer, but details from his death certificate were made public revealing that Reed was HIV positive. However, Reed did not have AIDS at the time of his death. Reed is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Skokie, Illinois.