Florence Henderson, Actress, 1934

When The Brady Bunch launched the actress into the limelight, she helped comfort the audience with her sunny disposition from 1969 to 1974. Henderson died in a Los Angeles hospital, surrounded by family and friends. “She never had an unkind word about anyone”. And she didn’t just do that with me.

The show’s reruns unexpectedly caught on with a new generation of viewers, many of whom saw it as a form of camp, complete with the outlandish hair and clothing styles of the early 1970s. Later in her career, however, Henderson would often joke that she imagined Carol had killed her husband in interviews.

It didn’t take long for Florence Henderson to hit Variety’s radar after she moved to NY from her childhood home in Kentucky to pursue a career on the stage.

Before the series, Ms. Henderson had built an impressive reputation with stage work.

The veteran Hollywood actress died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, Daily Mail reports.

“Florence was one of the most gracious people I have ever known, Proud to call her Mom and life long friend”.

According to Williams, Henderson also enjoyed filming episodes in Hawaii, and said those were perhaps her favorite.

IMS president Doug Boles added: “Florence Henderson had an fantastic impact on generations of Americans through her platform as an actress and an even more profound impact on Indianapolis Motor Speedway fans through her passion for and contribution to those special moments leading up the command to start engines at the Indianapolis 500”. To me, she was both. And in 1962, after Paar left and before Carson arrived, she became the first woman to be the show’s guest host. With her support, he nailed the audition and got the part.

“She would sign every autograph, she would stay for hours, sign every 8 x 10 glossy, answer every fan letter because to her it was a real – to be a celebrity”.

One person tweeted “Florence Henderson?”.

She had a strict Roman Catholic upbringing and was sent to St. Frances Academy in Owensboro, Kentucky, for her high school education. She said that anyone who loved Henderson’s character, Carol Brady, as a mother, “should have”.

Beyond her work in the sitcom world, Henderson, a native of Dale, Indiana, made her start in acting on Broadway, after moving to NY at the age of 17. The movie role went to Shirley Jones, but Henderson’s theater and television careers took off from there.

She dabbled in movies, appearing in “The Brady Bunch Movie” and most recently, “50 Shades of Black”. She kept acting in prime time, with appearances on everything from “Hart to Hart” to “Ally McBeal”.

That made her a household name. She was grand marshal for this year’s race.

Henderson’s life story wasn’t as ideal as the one she was a part of on TV. Other stars who worked with Henderson, like Marlon Wayans and Al Yankovic, expressed how honored they’d been for the experience.

“She was just delightful in Dancing With The Stars”.

Henderson’s last public appearance was Monday at a “Dancing With the Stars” taping, where she cheered on McCormick, who followed Henderson’s 2010 example as a contestant this season.

She also shared a photo of the two of them together.

Watch McCormick’s finale dance featuring Henderson below.