By Kayla DeKraker
Hollywood notoriously harms child actors, and BRADY BUNCH star Mike Lookinland’s experience was no different.
“I lived my childhood in my 20 because I couldn’t when I was a child,” he told former co-star and “The Real Brady Bros” podcast host Christopher Knight. “And in my twenties, I had a car and money and freedom…I was fully off the rails.”
Lookinland, who played Bobby Brady, continued, “I’m just thankful that not every man, woman and child had a high-def camera in their pocket when I was 25, like they do now, because it would have ruined my life.”
After his time in Hollywood, the actor moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he faced a DUI charge when he was 36.
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“Lookinland has been in St. George working as first assistant cameraman on the set of PROMISED LAND, a CBS television show that has been filming in the area,” Deseret News reported at the time. “Police reports put his blood-alcohol level at .258, more than three times the Utah legal limit of .08. He also was cited for an unsafe lane change. Lookinland was wearing a seat belt and was not speeding.”
Lookinland has since turned his life around and now remains sober.
“When it became clear that the choice wasn’t between sobering up or drinking, but the choice was actually between living or dying, then it became a simple choice for me,” he said previously of his decision to get sober. “Life’s better, that’s for sure.”
Even while on THE BRADY BUNCH, Lookinland wanted to escape Hollywood. So he asked for double his pay, hoping the show would let him go.
“They [Sid and Marty Krofft] offered me a price, I said, figuring they would say no way, I asked for twice that much. They called back in five minutes and said, ‘Okay, you’re hired,’” he recalled.
He’s also been open about how early fame took him away from normal childhood experiences. His mother would pick him up for school for auditions.
“And I would drop everything no matter what my plans were that day, to go skateboarding or just any kid stuff that you might want to do, your hobby or your pursuits you had as a 10 year old, they were put aside,” Lookinland said. “And I was picked up by my mother and driven the hour long drive to Hollywood to try to get on a paper towel commercial, or a guest spot on Mannix or whatever.”
Lookinland doesn’t act as much anymore. Entertainment Weekly reported that “He reprised his role as Bobby in every BRADY BUNCH sequel and spinoff over the years. He hasn’t acted much otherwise, working more behind the camera, specifically on HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MEYERS (1988), the original miniseries version of THE STAND (1994), and Christopher McQuarrie’s THE WAY OF THE GUN (2000).”
He is married to his wife Kelly Wermuth whom he wed in 1987. Together they have two children. His story shows that although Hollywood certainly impacts young stars negatively, they can also heal and chose a better path.
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