Sam “Dimes” Franklin

July 2nd, 2017 by Proprietor

He had a heart as big as a cow’s, and became a de facto part of the Brady Bunch when he began dating Alice. Sam Franklin, aka Sam the Butcher, delivered the meat and other euphemisms throughout the whole run of the Brady Bunch. Sam would become a friend to the children, a boyfriend to Alice, and a man who pulled Mr. Brady out of many bad situations.

From humble introductions in season one, Sam made a quip to Bobby, and because Bobby was overly sensitive about his height at the time, Bobby ran off in a fit. Sam went up, apologized, dispensed some wisdom through humor, and from then on, became a friend to the Brady children.

Sam gave Greg a job as a delivery boy, because the former delivery boy quit over fringe benefits, and Greg wanted money to buy a surfboard. It was one of the few jobs Greg did not screw up, and lose things, like the one his father got for him as an office boy at the architecture firm. Sam even gave Greg an advance on his pay so Greg could buy the board. Then Greg never worked again or the job was never mentioned. Years later, in one of the sequels, Bobby mentioned Sam gave him his first job. Bobby was at least familiar with how to work the meat locker, he locked himself and Greg in the locker once, and Sam with the building owner in the locker. Why didn’t Peter go to Sam for a job when he wanted to buy a stereo?

When Mr. Brady wanted to teach his children a lesson, and installed a pay phone, when things backfired, and Mr. Brady had to call a client, it was Sam to the rescue. Sam produced the dimes needed for Mr. Brady to seal the deal with the client.

He took Alice bowling, to the Meat Cutter’s Ball, and plenty of Brady Family functions. There were always meat jokes. Subtle metaphors for sex or sexual frustration not lost on adults, but lost on children. Maybe the jokes were innocent, and played on the dirty minds of adults?

After the final season of the Brady Bunch, it would seem no one would know where the relationship with Alice would end up, until the Brady Girls Get Married (nee Brady Brides), it is revealed Sam and Alice are now married. Sam turned out to be a bit of a cad, and lout, when he cheated on Alice during the Very Brady Christmas movie. “Spicing her rump roast” Sam wrote in his note to Alice on butcher paper. Sam in a Santa suit came to the Brady Bunch, professed his stupidity, and love, Alice forgave him. After that, Sam was mentioned and never shown in the short-lived spinoff The Bradys.

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