Geri Reischl is an American actress and singer. She was a child actress 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 performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

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 ...

'', 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''. ...

'', 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, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

. 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 corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

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. 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 centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'', '' The Interns'', '' Apple's Way'' 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 series, wheel format series, an NBC programming approach also used by that net ...

''. 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 Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

with Rene Simard entitled ''Rene and the Proteens''. She also starred in two low-budget horror films: '' The Brotherhood of Satan'' (1971) and '' I Dismember Mama'' (1974).

''The Brady Bunch Hour''

Reischl is best known for portraying Jan Brady in nine episodes of ''

'' during the 1976–77 television season. Her appearances as Jan have been referred to as 'Fake Jan', a term which Reischl has since embraced 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, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

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 corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...

Music career

Reischl sang and played guitar in a California band Sand Dabs from 1974 to 1976. Later, she performed at U.S.O. clubs, Magic Mountain, Knotts Berry Farm, 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 country and western singer and songwriter. He was one of the most popular and successful singers of his genre for most o ...

at the Palomino Club of

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Th ...

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

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...

night club act, and also performed with

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

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

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

doing an act with Canadian singer René Simard. Because of her interest in country music she made a guest appearance on the show '' Pop! Goes the Country'' in 1977 that was filmed at the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

. Reischl released a re-recording of her ''Brady Bunch Hour'' performance of " Your Song" 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 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 Musicians from Greater Los Angeles Actors from Greater Los Angeles 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American women guitarists 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)