One of the most famous episodes of The Brady Bunch came with a behind-the-scenes twist that fans never knew about—until Maureen McCormick, who played Marcia Brady, revealed the truth.
In her memoir Here’s the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice, McCormick shared that she was actually recovering from a painful real-life accident on the same day the episode “The Subject Was Noses” aired. In the episode, Marcia is famously hit in the face with a football thrown by her brother Peter Brady (Christopher Knight), just as she has two dates lined up with classmates Doug and Charlie.
But off screen, McCormick had already hurt her nose earlier that day in a car accident. She wrote that she crashed into a car making a turn, slammed her face into the steering wheel, and noticed immediately that her nose was “huge and swollen.” Luckily, it wasn’t broken, and it healed with time—but the timing made the episode’s storyline eerily ironic.
Adding to the pain, filming the football scene wasn’t as simple as tossing a ball at McCormick. According to First for Women, the Brady brothers—Greg (Barry Williams), Knight, and Bobby (Mike Lookinland)—couldn’t land the hit on her face for the shot. The task eventually went to Lloyd Schwartz, son of show creator Sherwood Schwartz, who finally got it right. McCormick later admitted that practically everyone on set threw the Nerf football at her during multiple takes, leaving her less than fond of the episode.
“Although it is one of the most famous Brady Bunch episodes, it’s not one of my favorites because of the memories I have of making it,” she confessed, adding how relieved she was when the director finally said, “Perfect! Print that one!”
Despite her mixed feelings, McCormick has embraced the moment in recent years. In 2018, she posted a playful photo with Knight, referencing the iconic “Oh my nose” scene and joking, “It was his birthday. I had to make him happy.”
The Brady Bunch ran from 1969 to 1974 and has since become a cultural phenomenon, continuing to charm new generations of fans—even with its behind-the-scenes secrets.