Why wasn't Allan Melvin back as Sam the Butcher in this one? I know it was a very small part but it was soooo obvious t
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mamamiasweetpeaches — 20 years ago(December 22, 2005 07:46 AM)
How come I thought usan Oleson wasnt in it because they offered her less money than everyone else? Thats just a rumor?
(What a crappy fake Sam they picked. Much worse than Fake Jan (VARIETY SHOW)and Fake Cindy!)
LOUD & PROUD HAL LOVER
LIVING IN THE PAST
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6spdi/index.html -
bmovies — 19 years ago(July 17, 2006 11:50 AM)
"I just assumed Allan Melvin wasn't available though I have never heard any concrete story as to why he didn't play Sam."
It could be that he was too old. I mean, he looked like he was in his fifties during his appearances on the Brady Bunch. It could be that he looked too old, even for Alice.
(Though he give a few voice over commentaries on the Phil Silvers show (Bilko) DVD -
dynoguy88 — 19 years ago(January 23, 2007 08:25 AM)
I assumed he had died as well but he is still alive.today.
It shouldn't have mattered whether or not he looked too old or not. All he had to do was wear a Santa Clause suit. You're supposed to look old in that. -
bmovies — 18 years ago(June 05, 2007 08:23 PM)
"It shouldn't have mattered whether or not he looked too old or not. All he had to do was wear a Santa Clause suit. You're supposed to look old in that."
Basically, they used that Santa suit to hide the fact that it wasn't our beloved Allan Melvin playing Sam.
Remember, when "Sam" came to the Brady House dressed as Santa, and alice asks him what he brought her for Christmas, he answers, "Yes, I brought me". At that moment, he has his back to the camera as he takes off his phony beard momentarilly as Alice exclaims "SAM!". Then he puts the beard back on, and then the camera goes back to showing his face (with the Santa beard).
No doubt, if they had the actual Sam, Allan Melvin, in the cast, they would have expanded his part and not have used that phony story line about Sam leaving Alice for another woman. And would have not hidden his face behind a Santa beard. -
scribe1270 — 9 years ago(January 09, 2017 12:26 AM)
Actually he would have been 46 in 1969 when the series began which means he would have been 65 in 1988. So not too old to have played the part again. Maybe he was in ill health at the time or was tied up with other jobs. He voiced several cartoon characters in 1988 according to IMDB so it is possible that he had a schedule conflict that couldn't be resolved.
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jefgg — 11 years ago(July 02, 2014 03:34 PM)
In the early 1980s Allan Melvin appeared as a regular in "Archie Bunker's Place", a successor to "All in the Family", in which he played the role of Barney Hefner. When this series ended in 1983, Melvin's work was exclusively devoted to cartoon voice-overs. Melvin died of cancer on January 17, 2008 at age 84. Ann B. Davis passed away on June 1, 2014. But Alice and Sam will live forever.
In "A Very Brady Christmas" Sam The Butcher was played by Lewis Arquette. Arquette died in 2001 due to congestive heart failure.