Eve Plumb - Later Career

Later Career

After The Brady Bunch ended, Eve and her young co-stars suffered from considerable typecasting. Plumb, however, managed to go on to a respectable acting career in her late teen and adult years. Her first notable post-Brady role was that of a teenage prostitute in the 1976 NBC television movie Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway. She also appeared in the sequel Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn. Plumb starred as "Beth" in NBC productions of Little Women, both a TV movie and a short-lived series. Plumb also made numerous guest-starring appearances in such shows as Here’s Lucy, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Wonder Woman, One Day At A Time,The Facts of Life, Murder, She Wrote, The Super Mario Brothers Super Show, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and All My Children.

Plumb was the only original cast member who declined to reunite for the 1976–77 variety show The Brady Bunch Hour on ABC. Much was made of her absence, including accusations that she no longer wanted to be associated with the Bradys. Plumb has stated in interviews that she was willing to do to the variety show’s original special episode, but could not commit to a five-year option for additional shows. Her role would be filled by Geri Reischl, who went on to be known among Brady Bunch fans as “fake Jan”.

Plumb returned to the “Jan” role for the 1981 NBC TV movie The Brady Girls Get Married, which led to The Brady Brides, a short-lived sitcom in which she co-starred with Maureen McCormick. She also appeared in the 1988 CBS television movie A Very Brady Christmas and its 1990 spinoff dramedy series, The Bradys. To promote their latest incarnation, the cast appeared on an episode of Sally Jessy Raphael, which is remembered for having been shot outdoors in Florida during a rainstorm.

Like most of her Brady Bunch co-stars, Plumb capitalized on her “Jan” role and was interviewed as part of a 1995 retrospective special titled Brady Bunch Home Movies, produced by Susan Olsen, who played Cindy Brady. That same year, Plumb appeared on a special “child stars” installment of The Jenny Jones Show. In 1996, she reminisced about her Brady years on The Rosie O’Donnell Show and on the E True Hollywood Story: The Brady Bunch.

In 2001, Plumb appeared on a special Brady-themed edition of the NBC game show The Weakest Link. In 2004, she was part of the TV Land production The Brady Bunch 35th Anniversary Reunion Special: Still Brady after All These Years. Plumb appeared on the December 18, 2006, premiere episode of the NBC game show Identity.

In 2007, Plumb was the only surviving cast member who was not on hand when TV Land honored The Brady Bunch with its Pop Culture Award. In 2008, she appeared on a special Brady-themed week of the syndicated game show Trivial Pursuit: America Plays, hosted by Christopher Knight, who played Peter Brady. Also in 2008, Eve was a guest on The Florence Henderson Show on RLTV, hosted by her former TV mom.

Eve was a member of the cast of the Saturday morning sitcom Fudge (1995–1997), playing the title character’s mother, Mrs. Ann Hatcher. The show aired on ABC in its first season and moved to CBS for its second season. Plumb also appeared in the movie Fudge-A-Mania (1997). To promote the series, Eve appeared on The Jon Stewart Show. Plumb was the original Pam Burkhart on That ’70s Show (only seen in episode 6, “The Keg”).

She appeared in a number of made-for-television movies, including The House on Greenapple Road in 1970, The Force of Evil and Telethon in 1977, Secrets of Three Hungry Wives in 1978, The Night the Bridge Fell Down in 1983 and Yesterday Today in 1992. Her film credits include I’m Gonna Git You Sucka in 1988, ... And God Spoke in 1993, Nowhere and Breast Men in 1997 and Manfast in 2003.

In August 2008, Plumb appeared on an episode of the NBC daytime drama Days of our Lives. From October 2010 to May 2011, Plumb starred as the title character in the New York production of Miss Abigail’s Guide to Dating, Mating and Marriage, inspired by a book and website of the same name. The role was her first New York stage role. She made several TV appearances to promote the show, including Access Hollywood, The Joy Behar Show and Geraldo At Large.

From September 7, 2011 to September 17, 2011, Plumb co-starred in "Same Time Next Year" with Broadway's John Bolton at the Surflight Theater in Beach Haven, NJ. From November 4, 2011 to December 4, 2011, Eve was part of the cast of "Love, Loss and What I Wore" at the Westside Theater in New York City. In 2012, she was also appearing in the web series "The Sisters Plotz".

Plumb has been painting for more than two decades and has enjoyed good success at select galleries across the U.S. Using oil on canvas, her focus is on “spontaneous still life”.