Life is Not a Stage by Florence Henderson (Center Street, 2011)

She got crabs from former NYC mayor John Lindsay. As much as she tries to qualify the anecdote and brace you for and apologize for even telling it, it’s what you close this book thinking about: Florence Henderson got crabs from a one-night-stand with John Lindsay. He knew, and sheepishly sent her a gift.

This is a book about a star with a long and varied career. It’s not about a woman who’s trying to convince us that she’s really Carol Brady. Nor is it a book arguing vehemently that she’s completely UNlike her best-known role. The Brady Bunch falls into the narrative logically and chronologically, after a whole bunch of Henderson adventures on the legit stage, in film and in other TV shows.

Oh, and her personal life. Where she got crabs from former New York mayor John Lindsay.

But it’s not the Brady Bunch mom who got crabs, mind you. It’s Florence Henderson.