Every Brady Boomer had every episode memorized, and had an ongoing series of crushes on one or more of the six Brady kids.
Most gay guys liked Greg (Barry Williams), the oldest boy, and the self-appointed hunk of the group, but he was obnoxiously girl-crazy. I liked Peter (Christopher Knight), the middle boy, who hardly ever displayed any interest in girls, and had other traits that would get him dubbed "a Fairy" in my junior high.
And, as the years passed, Christopher Knight grew hunkier than Barry Williams. He was displayed in shirtless spreads in Tiger Beat long after the series ended, and was asked to take off his shirt on tv a lot.
Though he's been busy with various Brady spin-offs and sequels, he's had time for a lot of tv appearances, on The Bionic Woman, Chips, Happy Days, The Love Boat, and others. He starred on Joe's World (1979-80) and the soap Another World (1980-81), and as himself on The Surreal Life and My Fair Brady (2005-2008).
Today Christopher Knight is probably the most gay-friendly of the exceptionally gay-friendly Bunch. He starred in two of Greg Araki's gay-themed angst movies, Nowhere and The Doom Generation, and played half of a gay couple (with tv brother Barry Williams) a 2006 episode of That 70s Show. He was interviewed on the gay talk show Queer Edge.
And he still has an amazing physique.
See also: Barry Williams/Greg Brady.
Totally agree! This show went off the air around the time I was born, but thank the goddesses for endless reruns. After the first season, puberty took hold of Greg and it wasn't pretty.. For me, the show was ALL about Peter and I'm glad I wasn't the only one who saw him as a coded gay character of the time. I remember the episode with all the other school boys calling him a "canary" (translation: "fag") for being in the glee club, the episode where Peter wore a "girl scout" uniform and sold cookies, and not to mention the episodes where he was downright repulsed by a girl who was attracted to him.. For the time, Peter was about as "gay" as a child/teen character on a "kids" television show could get... and I LOVED it (the fact that he become more and more beautiful with each successive season didn't hurt either).
ReplyDeleteI agree that Peter was written in a way that allowed young gay viewers to identify with him. I believe that was the intent. If there had been no reunion TV movies and The Brady sequel series depicting him with a wife and kids that is how it would be remembered.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the Peter team too- and never found Greg the least bit attractive
ReplyDeletestarted off liking bobby the best (closest to my age) but definitely switched to peter once i caught up to their onscreen ages or so.
ReplyDeletesomewhere there is an amusingly inappropriate teen mag cover of c.k. shirtless, smiling sweetly, laying on a bed, age maybe 14-15 & the headline reads : "peter brady (or chris knight; i forget which) in our hotel room!" xD!? ah the 1970's ...<3
For the most part, in a heterosexual context, boys are basically treated as small men. Even when it gets gross: I remember my grandfather making inappropriate jokes about Mary-Kay Letourneau.
DeleteHow about a profile of Mike Lookinland, Bobby Brady?
ReplyDeleteHe didn't get super-muscular, like Peter, but he did have a nice bulge on display later on. There are two pics in the post "Razzle Dazzle: 1970s Variety Shows."
DeleteI loved Peter Brady!
ReplyDelete