Susan Olsen paid tribute to her Brady Bunch “replacement,” Jennifer Runyon, hours after the actress's death was announced. Runyon, 65, died on March 6 surrounded by her family, TMZ reported.
In a Facebook post on March 8, Olsen, 64, recalled how Runyon played her character, Cindy Brady, in the 1988 A Very Brady Christmas TV movie, when she declined a return to the role.
Olsen noted that Runyon really became part of the Brady family, unlike replacements for Maureen McCormick’s Marcia (Leah Ayres) and Eve Plumb’s Jan (Jeri Resichl) in previous Brady revivals.
“Over the decades, all three Brady Bunch girls have been replaced for one reunion or another. There is ‘Fake Jan’ and ‘Fake Marcia.’ But Jennifer Runyon must always to be referred to as 'Christmas Cindy,'” Olsen wrote. “I was very happy when they chose her to replace me in A Very Brady Christmas because she was so pretty. I was relieved to know that anyone who didn’t realize that she wasn’t me would think I turned out good.”
Olsen also shared that while she didn’t know Runyon at the time the movie was made, she met her by chance at Burger King when they were both with their kids years later. “Just like in the movies, we trotted toward each other, meeting in the middle of the play area in an embrace!” she wrote. “We were instant friends!”
The former child star revealed that she had a close friendship with Runyon and that they had more in common than just playing the youngest Brady child.
“We even co-hosted a podcast together for a while,” Olsen shared. “She was always kind, always funny and always gorgeous. The kind of person who would be there if you ever asked. At the time when I was trying to sell a TV show about going off the grid, she actually did it! I’m sure she and her wonderful husband weren’t actually ‘roughing it’ but they lived in Montana in nature’s beauty – another common passion. I had a standing invitation to visit, and like with so many things, I always meant to…
Olsen signed her tribute, “Love You Forever!- OG Cindy.”
Cast of 'A Very Brady Christmas.' (Photo by CBS Photo Archive on Getty Images)Photo by CBS Photo Archive on Getty Images
RELATED: Jennifer Runyon Replaced an Original ‘Brady Bunch’ Star in 1988 Christmas Movie
Susan Olsen skipped the TV movie over a pay dispute
Olsen played Cindy Brady from 1969 to 1974 in the original Brady Bunch series, but she squabbled with producers over the pay for the 1988 Christmas movie.
While fellow original cast members Robert Reed, Florence Henderson,Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick, Chrisopher Knight, Eve Plumb, and Mike Lookinland all joined in the highly rated holiday film, Olsen gave the project a hard pass when she found out what her salary would be.
"They were being stingy," she told cultfilmfreak.com, per MeTV. “I decided to take a stand because they were doing this 'You're the youngest, so we'll pay you the least' thing. I was like, 'They've GOT to be kidding,' and what I didn't realize was that they didn't need me anyway. They only had to deliver five out of six ‘kids’ in the cast, so I was expendable. They only wanted to pay five of us.”
Olsen said she had no problem with Runyon taking over her role. “Jennifer is much prettier than I am, so I was OK with her as a replacement,” she added. “She's totally nice and got out of the business to be a mom. I think she's great."
In 2025, Runyon told Nosti’s Nook that all of the Brady stars were “terrific” to work with, but that she formed a special friendship with Olsen even though they didn’t appear in the movie together. “Susan actually is a friend of mine, and she calls me Christmas Cindy,” Runyon said in a video posted three months before her death.
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