‘Brady Bunch’ Star Susan Olsen Says She ‘Almost Died’ Filming First Episode

A surprising revelation from a 1970s television icon has shed new light on the behind-the-scenes dangers faced by child performers during Hollywood’s golden age of family sitcoms. Susan Olsen, who portrayed pigtailed youngest daughter Cindy Brady beginning at age 8, recently disclosed a frightening on-set accident that occurred while filming the pilot episode of The Brady Bunch in 1969.

During an appearance on The Real Brady Bros podcast, hosted by former castmates Christopher Knight and Barry Williams, Olsen recounted the terrifying incident that left her with significant facial injuries just before shooting the iconic wedding scene between Mike Brady (Robert Reed) and Carol Brady (Florence Henderson).

“On the Culver lot, they were shooting something — I would assume, in the girl’s bedroom — and I was getting body makeup on my legs. Was standing on a makeup chair and something from the catwalk, where they keep all the lights and everything, fell,” Olsen explained on the podcast. “It hit the makeup man first, [bounced] off the body makeup woman, and hit me in the face.”

The aftermath was visibly severe, with Olsen noting that evidence of her injuries can still be detected in early footage. “You can tell, if you look at the ceremony and you see the three girls on one side, if you were to zoom in really tight, you can see my face is quite swollen,” she revealed.

The severity of her injuries became apparent the following day, with Olsen describing her condition in graphic detail: “My eyes were black. I mean, I had two black eyes. My nose was swollen. My face was swollen.” Despite the obvious trauma, the young actress claims production staff attempted to downplay the incident, insisting, “It didn’t really hit her. She’s fine.”

Henderson, who played Olsen’s TV mother, advocated for the injured child performer, instructing Olsen’s actual mother to “make sure everybody sees her” to document the extent of her injuries. The incident was apparently so serious that the production brought in special assistance to ensure Olsen could appear on camera.

Despite the physical trauma, Olsen admits finding some enjoyment in the attention her injuries garnered, telling her podcast hosts, “I remember loving it, because I looked like I was in a horror film. And then everybody knew, yes, I had gotten hurt, and I had gotten hurt very badly.” Interestingly, Knight expressed complete surprise at learning about his former co-star’s ordeal, admitting, “Didn’t know anything about that.”

The iconic family sitcom about a blended household of six children ran for five seasons on ABC from 1969 to 1974, launching multiple spinoffs and feature films. The wedding episode that Olsen references marked the beginning of the Brady family’s journey, featuring typical sitcom hijinks involving the children’s pets disrupting the backyard ceremony. Despite Olsen’s painful experience, the show continued filming, creating what would become one of television’s most iconic family series.