Christopher Knight

“Pork chops and applesauce!” Like a mantra, these words are spinning in my head as I glide through the corridors of CBS Television City. It’s from The Brady Bunch episode where fourteen-year-old Peter Brady feels that he lacks personality and says this line in a confident Humphrey Bogart growl.

I’m at CBS today, not to drop off my headshot, as Ms. Ruby’s ingenue days are—er—somewhat over, but to meet Christopher Knight, who played middle brother Peter Brady—and if ya ask me, the most attractive one of the brothers! Now forty-seven, he has had a varied career since the show ended, making guest appearances on such classic shows as Happy Days, Another World, and The Love Boat and working in films, including You and Me, Kid, and Good Girls Don’t. But a good portion of his adult life has been spent in the corporate world of computers and hi tech, helping to pioneer several technological applications. Recently he moved back to L.A. from the San Francisco area to plunge back into acting. The Bradys Back In Hawaii, a documentary for The Travel Channel, will be released this spring, and this fall he’ll appear on the Discovery Health Channel’s Body Challenge.

Having been diagnosed with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), Chris has been quite active in the community and as a spokesperson for the National Consumer League’s AD/HD Campaign to Inform the Nation. He’s done PSAs for various organizations, and is committed to such causes as population control, teaching tolerance, the environment, and AIDS. Unfortunately, AIDS has touched his life, especially with the demise of his TV father, actor Robert Reed, who died from complications from AIDS in the early nineties.

CBS holds many memories for yours truly. You see, Ms. Ruby was a page here many moons ago and worked on such shows as The Price Is Right, Three’s Company, and The Carol Burnett Show. One afternoon, Carol and I even lunched together in one of the stairwells and shared a laugh or two. Reaching the rehearsal hall, I find Chris sitting there studying a script.

Ruby Comer: Oh, Chris. [Dazed for a moment] Years ago, in this exact rehearsal hall, I would sneak away from my job, peer into that little glass window and watch Sonny and Cher rehearse skits for their hit TV show. 

Christopher Knight: That’s right, you mentioned that you used to work here in our phone chat.

Well, enough about me, let’s talk about you. What do you think of me?! [We both snicker and sit smack-dab on the floor in the middle of the room.] No, really, it’s such a thrill to meet you.

Likewise, Ruby.

 You are still a heartthrob. Chris, tell me about your experience with HIV/AIDS.

Thanks, Ruby. Through the years, I’ve made contributions to several AIDS organizations, like APLA [AIDS Project Los Angeles]. Now that I have the time, I want to offer more of my services to help those who are afflicted.

Good for you. Just let me know when you’re ready and I’ll get ya connected.

In the way of losing people, I’ve lost a cousin, and friends of my father have died from AIDS. The closest person to me who died was my brother, David, but he didn’t die from AIDS—amazingly. Fortunately, neither he nor his significant other were HIV-positive. David committed suicide.

Oh, god!

He suffered from depression. He was diagnosed and was being treated. It was like a train wreck unfolding—terribly sad. This happened in 1997. He was the baby, and he was only thirty-one. [He pauses.] He was very special to me, Ruby.

I’m so sorry, Chris. How do you handle the grief?

I don’t know [how to] other than to recognize what that person represents within you. So when someone passes, you don’t lose that; the relationship that you enjoyed with them transcends the physical.

Do you feel David around you now?

I get the sense that he’s around. He’s there guiding me. I also get the sense that he’s happier. I’m hopeful that our lives are intertwined for eternity.

Is there life after life?

Oh, God! [He says with exasperation.]  I’m not traditional in my thinking. I believe we are here to learn something, and we probably recycle through lives with a core group. That’s why we occasionally meet somebody ‘new’ and we are immediately driven toward each other, as if the relationship wasn’t really new. That’s what faith is.

What a concept. Speaking of relationships, you’ve been married twice, Chris. Are you single now?

Yes. I’ve learned my lessons but haven’t given up [he laughs].

Cute. Did you have a crush on anyone in the Brady cast?

I was aware of Eve when she became full-figured. She was always interested in me, but I was never really interested in anything until I was sixteen. Then I finally woke up, and returned the crush for a very short period of time.

Are the Brady castmates all friends now? Do you hang out together frequently?

Yeah, when we can. I just shared an e-mail with Eve’s husband yesterday; Barry and I talk regularly; two weeks ago I was in Utah and dropped in on Mike; I received an e-mail from Susan two days ago. We enjoy each other’s company because we are family…always will be.

Check out Chris’s unofficial fan site: www.cknow.net.

Ruby Comer is an independent journalist from the Midwest who is happy to call Hollywood her home away from home. Reach her by e-mail at MsRubyComer@aol.com.

April 2004