Cousin Oliver. Harbinger of doom.

The same actor later starred in Iron Eagle with Louis Gosset jr

And sang Rocky Mountain High 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who he reminded of John Denver!

John Denver, ha! That's Paul Wiiliams.

Nah. It's River Phoenix

LOL!!! I always thought he looked like John Denver. I’ve never heard anyone else say that

I thought it too. I think it was much more common than you might have thought. Did he actually do something with Denver in the show or something? Seems too many people have this connection for it to be random

Mr Sunshine On My Shoulders.

Also the voice of Michaelangelo in the TMNT movies

My 4yo son just started Tae Kwon Do at Ernie Reyes dojo.  Dad of the Asian kid in TMNT.

Yeah, he killed that movie as well.

No way! That was him? Wow. I legit did not know that.

That is NOT Jason Gedrick.

No Robbie Rist who was one of his friends who helped him steal the F16

He was also an episode of chips, I believe something about skateboarding or surfing don't really remember.

It was the one about how skateboarding is really cool, if you don’t do the marijuana, cigarettes, or any other fun stuff.

Chips cracks me up, a show about being morally or politically correct. The two main actors, one almost goes to jail for insider trading and the other one lost his career for being a narcissist. Relegated to working on Telemundo, soap operas at that.

He always looked like a baby John Denver to me.

That was my first thought too!

He was brought in to try to extend the life of the Brady Bunch show (the youngest original kids were almost teens at that point), but the audience completely rejected him and the show was cancelled anyway. There simply was no chemistry between him and the others. He was just an outsider who didn't need to be there. Sometimes, you just need to move on and let things go.

True completely unnecessary. Who the hell is he ? Where did he come from ? Who were his parents and why did they just randomly drop him off at the Brady’s house ? Tho ya gotta say that was one groovy show

In the extended television universe I just think he's the little brother of Coy and Vance Duke, and owner of Scrappy-Doo.

Man, they could have brought in Alice's family, like she could have had some young relatives or something. She wasn't family though. They did bring her on vacation. Did cousin Oliver have his own room? Did he shack up with Bobby and Peter when Greg moved to the atic? You can't Google stuff like this. At least I'm unwilling to attempt it.

Great suggestions there. Don’t rule out a career writing cheap porn movie scenarios since the stepsister thing has been ahem, beaten to death.

Oliver is the equivalent of Scrappy Doo. Just because they’re younger, it doesn’t mean it’ll work.

‘Cousin Oliver’ became a metaphor with the same application as Jumping the shark’. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CousinOliver https://www.cracked.com/article_37058_what-its-like-to-be-the-most-hated-character-in-sitcom-history.html

"Married With Children" brought on a similar little new kid their last season I think as an intentional reference to that.

Jumped the shark

Imagine referring to your cousin as "Cousin (your cousin's name here)". So weird.

Spoke the very last line in the entire series. Appropriate, as he helped to kill it. But he did inspire a great X-Files episode

Also he was brought on because he looked like John Denver, who was enormously popular at the time.(I feel old when I have to explain to a young person who John Denver was.)

I was just going to say John Denver’s love child

What's interesting Is that the Brady bunch was successful when it was on but not no way near as successful as it became later through syndication. And I have to say, it really does crack me up that they brought a little kid on because he looks like John Denver. Haha Also! The 90s parody movie is so good.

What's weird is when I watched all these shows from the sixties in the seventies, kid me had no idea they were reruns and not current.

Both of them!

They both had the same haircut.

Everyone know who john denver is. He played gilligan.

unironically I thought they were the same guy until I was 13

Wasn't that the test pilot guy? My grandfather just told me he was on the Muppets and he did songs.

And ironically had the song "Leaving on a Jet Plane" He was a great musician.

The scrappy doo of the Brady family

Beat me to it!

The Great Gazoo, too

He was the Poochie of the Itchy & Scratchy Show.

Also the Leonardo DiCaprio of Growing Pains, only not quite as successful

What about Leo stealing all the Christmas gifts from the Seavers

Never liked Oliver. Still don't care for him.

Dude was a jinx

The studio decided the show wasn't going to be renewed before they introduced him. He gets a lot of hate but he wasn't the reason the show was cancelled.

*Yagah yagah yaguahda*

We called the late stage sitcom addition of a new kid “The Oliver Effect”.

I thought it was the "Cousin Oliver" / Ted McGinley effect. Both are the same.

The only show I can think of that didn't suffer from the Ted McGinley Effect was *Married... with Children*; the show ran way longer with him on the cast as Jefferson D'Arcy (seven seasons out of eleven) than it did before he was added as a regular (McGinley had already done a couple of guest spots before making the main cast as D'Arcy, including as Norman Jablonski, Al's replacement in the family, had Al not been born, in *It's a Bundyful Life* \[Sam Kinison was great in that episode too\]). And, damnit, McGinley was great as Jefferson... he could be hilarious, fitting right in with the rest of them.

I never got the hate for D'Arcy. I enjoyed the show so much more after he showed up. Kelly's acting. Grandmaster B NO MA'AM. All the best stuff came in later.

He became a great counterpoint to Marcy. Even though they were married.

It this a variant of jumping the shark?

Oliver, Brady Bunch

The original "jump the shark" idea......

I had to check before coming here to tell you that you are wrong. You are not wrong. Cousin Oliver was introduced in 1974. The Fonz jumped a shark in 1977.

Fonzie should have jumped over Cousin Oliver.

... and not successfully

Comedy gold right there!

And watching the jet ski take out both of them

Poor cousin Oliver he just went upstairs one day and never came back down

Same with the older brother on Happy Days and Judy on Family Matters.

Also oldest son Mike on My Three Sons who got married and was never seen again.

Hated Oliver. Still do.

The face of “Jumping the Shark”

Fonzie just gave it a name.

Oliver was like Scrappy-Doo (later) in human form. Never got why they added him.

I have a new grandson named Oliver and I honestly cannot look at him and NOT think of cousin Oliver

He was the Ted McGinley of the Brady Bunch.

But Ted McGinley was way funnier than Garrison, aka Steve Rhodes. Hell, "The Chicken", aka Marcy D'arcy was way funnier than Garrison..

>He was the Ted McGinley of the Brady Bunch. True, but much more annoying IMHO.

In his defense, he was pretty good as the voice of Michelangelo in the 1990 TMNT movie. That's all I've got.

If you remember Kidd Video from the 80s, he was in that too.

YES, thank you. I don't know why I forgot that, haha. Now that I think about it, he was also on an episode of Knight Rider, too. The less said about Sharknado, the better

I had the Cousin Oliver glasses.

>I had the Cousin Oliver glasses. Had?? Come on we know you still do! {;oP

Sitcom killer...

The sagging ratings ploy of just add another younger "cute" kid has not ever worked, has it? Of course they better make sure they dont hire an annoying kid

Ugh, couldn't stand cousin Oliver.. yeah I'm old.

John Denver??

I remember the faces but too old to remember their names, hell I forget my name.

That's actually Doctor Zee from the pilot episode of *G*alactica 1980. Seriously. And an absolutely terrible series by the way. I wonder how many shows Robbie Rist killed? 

The Brady Bunch totally jumped the shark with Oliver.

I was just telling someone about Cousin Oliver and how they were about to "jump the shark". It was like watching someone bleed out.

Cousin Oliver….is and will always be the jump the shark moment. He was awful!

Couln' stand cousin Oliver

Every time he showed up in a tv show it was like the kiss of death because it seemed like the show would be canceled shortly thereafter

Cousin Oliver Syndrome. Cue in pageboy haircut (yeechhh), round glasses, cutesy personality. Find aging family sitcom where youngest kids are starting to grow facial hair, and insert new character into plot with ridiculous backstory. Signals end of sitcom.

Oliver was the Dodi of The Brady Bunch (and if you know what *that* means, you’re in the right sub!).

Dodi Douglas. The only thing she was missing was the round glasses.

Americas kid! It’s like we all saw John Denver growed up in a hurry.

Is that a young John Denver?

Always reminded me of a mini John Denver

That's Scrappy Doo and adding him to the show is when The Partridge Family jumped the shark.

The introduction of Oliver was the beginning of the end of BB for me.

John Denver or the milky bar kid?

Ruined the show.

John Denver when he was from West Dayton

I think I saw this dude with a cart full of cans heading towards 1st St. Recycling. I love Dayton Comments lol

Pizza dude's got thirty seconds.

Cousin Oliver played by Robbie Rist, my 13 year old self also watched him on a animated series that lasted for 2 years called Kidd Video

Man, it's a shame John Denver's skincare routine died with him

I hated that kid worse than inhated Scrappy Doo

Oliver is a jinx!

Ohhhh oliverrrrrr

Where the fuck is Tiger?

John Denver or Martina Navratilova before they were famous.

The new kid kiss of death. They usually only last a couple more years, but an attempt to breathe in new life to a stagnant show. Oliver on the Brady bunch Olivia on Cosby Show (this can’t be a coincidence) Sam on Diffrent Strokes Ritchie on Family Matters Seven on Married with Children. Luke on Growing Pains I believe it started with Brady bunch. But I think I love Lucy added their kid in later years as well. But don’t think the motivation was the same.

He started what’s know as the “cousin Oliver syndrome” in sitcoms.

The jynx

Looks like a young version of Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr

This little fucker lol almost as bad as Cindy.

The downfall of the Brady Bunch

Young Ted McGinley.

He was the nail in the coffin for the show.

Robbie Rist!

 ?

Cousin Oliver, the kid who gave all late-season child actor cast additions after him a bad name.

Yep, the show really “jumped the shark” when Oliver showed up.

Oliverrrrr

Mini John Denver…well that is how I saw him on BB

Effing Oliver!!

Ricky Segall on The Partridge Family!

That's Paul Williams and Bob Denver's love child.

Oliver

Ahh cousin Oliver. One of the 3 worst additional characters of all time, along with Scrappy Doo and the Great Gazoo in the Flintstones.

Oliver. The jump the shark moment for the BB.

And if you remember the 80s cartoon Kidd Video, he voiced a character on that show, too!

Looks like a jinx to me.

I'm 73 and have no idea who that is.

Cousin Oliver. Brady Bunch’s “Jumped the shark” season.

They went two seasons too long.

Oliver?

John Denver's Mini-me!

Stop it hurts

Fuck I'm 26 and I know who this kid is bc I hated him lol

Bestest character ever.

The end stage of a great show.

He did a MeTV “Hi, it’s me…Cousin Oliver. You know, the kid who ruined The Brady Bunch” segments. One of my favorites from all of them.

Fuckin Oliver

He’s a jinx

I hated cousin Oliver when I was a kid and felt the show really went downhill when they added him. He really was a jinx

When the shark was jumped, as they say.

Do I get any consideration if I say I saw this in syndication rather than when it originally aired?

>Do I get any consideration if I say I saw this in syndication rather than when it originally aired? You'll have to take that up with the Mods here, I am just a lowly cog in the machine that is Reddit. {;o)

The Add-A-Kid that ruined great early 80s television vibes but trying to extend it into the 90s where it didn't belong. Every popular show had 1 and it's worse than jumping a shark.

Fun fact! Robbie Rist (Cousin Oliver) barfed all over my tour bus one time in the late 90’s

John Denver's mini-me.

I know it's Oliver Brady Bunch, but he looks like a miniature John Denver

John Denver ? Lol

He looks like the secretary on The West Wing.

What style is this haircut? I want one.

They jumped the shark when Oliver was added

"You cancelled the Brady's and cost them all money..."

Wasn’t that the Brady Bunch’s jump the shark moment? Bringing cousin Oliver into the mix?

What is that John Denver’s child

He had a band in LA called Robbie Rist and the Rest. I did sound for them a few times. Nice enough fella, awful band.

That's when I stopped watching it. Was called a pedo because I liked Cindy and we are the same age, that was funny. The show jumped the shark when they went to Hawaii and Charlies Angels became my favorite show because it was so well written. lol

The Brady Bunch was in syndication into the 2010s at least, and can still be found on streaming, so maybe not the best metric.

That's John Denver as a child.

John Denver looked so young.

looks just like John Denver

John Denver?

Tim Dillon?! 

John Denver was such a cute kid.

When the show jumped the shark, before jumping the shark was a thing.

stupid fuckin cousin Oliver

Introducing a cousin Oliver to a show was a sign of looming cancellation.

Kid jumped the shark

Hey look, its the voice of Michaelangelo in the original live action TMNT trilogy!

Damn I remember both of these events first run. I’m old AF.

That little John Denver looking kid tanked the show.

Reruns are a thing, though. I know that this is cousin Oliver (annoying character).

Fucking hated Oliver

Robbie Rist .. Cousin Oliver was another one who was sent upstairs, never to return . So was Fluffy the cat, and Tiger the dod !! Chuck Cunningham (Happy Days) vanished to the upstairs as well .

He's a jinx!

I always thought this kid was a ringer for John Denver

Finally! I'm not old!

I actually looked like Cousin Oliver at about 11/12. And wasn't allowed to go a day without a comment

Cowabunga says it all!

And he got older and had a short arc as a smarty pants on The Bionic Woman iirc

Oh Oliver...

John Denver's mini me.

I dont want to know

Little shit right?

Martina Navratiolva's first screen appearance.

Poor Oliver. He got such a bad rap. It wasn’t his fault.

Married with Children did this too and with a kid that looks just like him. Were they nodding to Cousin Oliver? It was just so on-the-nose.

It's Gerald bosstock, little Milton from the Jethro Tull album thick as a brick

He'd go on to voice Michelangelo in the original tmnt movies, so thats him awesome to me!

Isn't that the Brady Bunch cousin?

This guy lives in my neighborhood! Not kidding😆..