Geri Lee Reischl (born December 31, 1959) is an American actress and singer. She was a

child actress The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated ...

in the 1970s, most notably as Jan Brady on the

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

The Brady Bunch Hour ''The Brady Bunch Hour'' is an American variety show featuring skits and songs produced by Sid & Marty Krofft Productions in association with Paramount Television. It ran on ABC from November 28, 1976, to May 25, 1977. The series starred the o ...

'', and appeared in various television commercials.

Early life

Reischl was adopted when she was three days old. She recalled that her mother told her she was adopted when she was four or five years old because she did not want her to develop the idea that there was something wrong with being adopted.

Acting career

Reischl's first appearance was at the age of six playing Gretl in a production of ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...

'', starring

Patrice Munsel Patrice Munsel (born Patrice Beverly Munsil; May 14, 1925 – August 4, 2016) was an American coloratura soprano. Nicknamed "Princess Pat", she was the youngest singer ever to star at the Metropolitan Opera. Early years An only child, Patrice ...

, at the Melodyland Theatre in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

. There, she was discovered by a talent agent who signed her and got her parts in two commercials. She was then signed to an exclusive contract with

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

Toys until she was retired in 1971 by the company at the age of 11. Her last Mattel commercial was for Mattel's Rock Flowers series of fashion dolls, and according to Reischl the series' 'Heather' doll was patterned after her likeness. During her career, Geri appeared in over 40 commercials. From 1979 to 1983, she appeared in a series of '' Wizard of Oz''-themed commercials for the breakfast cereal Crispy Wheats-n-Raisins, in which she played

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters *Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...

. On television, Reischl appeared on ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'', '' The Interns'', ''

Apple's Way ''Apple's Way'' is an American drama television series that aired on CBS from February 10, 1974, to January 12, 1975. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr. Premise The Apples of Los Angeles—architect George, his wife Barbara, their children Paul ...

'' and ''

The Bold Ones ''The Bold Ones'' is the umbrella title for several television series. It was produced by Universal Television and broadcast on NBC from 1969 to 1973. It was a wheel format series, an NBC programming approach also used by that network in serie ...

''. In addition, Geri filmed a

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

with Rene Simard entitled ''Rene and the Proteens''. She went on to star in two low budget

splatter film A splatter film is a subgenre of horror films that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of wikt:gore, gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the h ...

s: '' The Brotherhood of Satan'' (1971) and ''

I Dismember Mama ''I Dismember Mama'' (also known as ''Poor Albert and Little Annie'' and released in the UK as ''Crazed''), is a 1972 American horror film written by William Norton and directed by Paul Leder. The film centers on a violent sex criminal who goes o ...

'' (1974).

''The Brady Bunch Variety Hour''

Reischl is best known for portraying

Jan Brady File:The Brady Bunch.jpg, 300px, Characters of ''The Brady Bunch'' (Mouse over to identify) rect 0 0 105 79 Marcia Brady rect 108 0 211 79 Carol Brady rect 216 0 320 79 Greg Brady rect 0 82 105 159 Jan Brady rect 108 82 211 1 ...

in nine episodes of ''

'' during the 1976–77 television season. Her appearances as Jan have been referred to as 'Fake Jan'. Reischl has embraced this fan-created moniker as a badge of honor and her personal brand. She was selected from over 1,500 girls, including Kathy Richards, who auditioned for the role in 1976 and supposedly came in second place for the part. Reischl had not watched the original ''The Brady Bunch'' show at the time, since she was too busy with schoolwork, playing and singing with her band, and acting in television commercials and movies to watch much television. The rest of the cast immediately welcomed her and made her feel at ease on the show. After ''The Brady Bunch Hour'', Reischl went back to

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and after graduating she held a job in a doctor's office while continuing to audition. Reischl was given the role of Blair Warner in the

''Garrett's Girls'' (later renamed '' The Facts of Life''), but was forced to give it up due to her contract with

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...

Music career

Reischl sang and played guitar in a California band Sand Dabs from 1974 to 1976. Later, she performed at

U.S.O. The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

clubs, Magic Mountain,

Knotts Berry Farm Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park located in Buena Park, California, owned and operated by Cedar Fair. In 2015, it was the twelfth-most-visited theme park in North America and averages approximately 4 million visitors per year. It features 40 ...

, the Harrah's Club, and with

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and suc ...

at the Palomino Club of

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

. She was one of Sammy Davis, Jr.'s "Kids" in his

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...

night club act, and also performed with

Red Skelton Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...

. In the summer of 1976, Reischl toured the United States and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

doing an act with Canadian singer

René Simard René Claude Simard, , (born February 28, 1961) is a pop singer from Quebec. He is the older brother of Nathalie Simard. Early life Simard was born in Chicoutimi, Quebec. Career In 1974, René Simard was awarded the Grand Prix by Frank Sinatra a ...

. Because of her interest in country music she made a guest appearance on the show ''

Pop! Goes the Country ''Pop! Goes the Country'' is a weekly half-hour syndicated variety country music television series that originally aired from September 7, 1974 through 1982 for a total of 234 episodes. Originally hosted by Ralph Emery, the series was recorded at ...

'' in 1977 that was filmed at the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

. Reischl released a re-recording of her ''Brady Bunch Hour'' performance of "

Your Song "Your Song" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's first international Top 10 chart single. "Your Song" was first released by American rock band Three Dog Night in M ...

" titled "Fake Jan Sings for Real" on September 25, 2011. A studio album, ''1200 Riverside'', was released later the same year on November 1. It was well-received critically.

Personal life

Reischl married in 1979 and had two children. She and her husband divorced in 2010.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Fake Jan Sings For Real'' (2011) *''1200 Riverside'' (2011)

Filmography

References

External links

*
Website for ''1200 Riverside''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reischl, Geri 1959 births Living people Actresses from Los Angeles American child actresses American women country singers American country singer-songwriters American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American television actresses People from Greater Los Angeles 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American women guitarists 21st-century American women