November 11 is National Sundae Day. 

Speaking of sundaes, remember the time on The Brady Bunch when Marcia worked at an ice cream parlor, and she deliberately sprayed whipped cream all over her boyfriend and a girl he had taken out to make Marcia jealous? Yeah, that was great.

The episode was “Marcia Gets Creamed.” In this episode, Marcia is working at a part-time job at Mr. Haskell’s ice cream parlor, and she has also persuaded Mr. Haskell to hire Jan. Marcia’s boyfriend for the episode, Jeff, is a selfish jerk who is pissed that Marcia has no time for him because of her job. So he decides to make Marcia jealous by bringing some other chick to the ice cream parlor and ordering two “Lover’s Delight Specials” (which I assume is some kind of sundae). That’s when Marcia gets even with him by spraying him and his date with whipped cream.

Then Mr. Haskell decides he really only needs one employee, and he picks Jan over Marcia despite the fact that Marcia has seniority. And after her initial feelings of betrayal, Marcia is happy, because now she has time to date that jerk Jeff. So in the end, Marcia makes up with the sister who stole her job and the boyfriend who behaved like an asshole. What a forgiving soul. Or a sap. You decide.

Clip from “Marcia Gets Creamed,” The Brady Bunch (Oct. 26, 1973)

Whenever I watch this episode, the actor who plays Jeff, Michael Gray, strikes me as a poor man’s David Cassidy. But I never realized he was also the guy in Shazam! If you want to see what he looks like now and read what he has to say about being a teen idol in the ’70s, go here.

Henry Corden, who plays Mr. Haskell, is a “Hey, It’s That Guy” character actor who appeared in lots of shows of the era. He was also, apparently, the voice of Fred Flintstone after 1977 when the original Fred, Alan Reed, passed away. I was only dimly aware that there were new Flintstones programs after the 1960s, so I checked IMDb. Turns out there have been tons of them, including Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo, Fred and Barney Meet the Thing, and The Flintstone Kids Just Say No Special. Yes, those were real shows. In Just Say No, “Michael Jackstone” performs a special version of “Beat It” to urge kids not to use drugs [unless, of course, they are prescribed by a doctor]. Watch it here.

This National Sundae Day post has been brought to you by Dairy Queen. Below, see a vintage DQ commercial  in which the Dairy Queen herself sings a happy little jingle. Have a happy National Sundae Day!

Vintage Dairy Queen commercial (1950s)

Now listen…
I’m the Dairy Queen
Won’t you come with me
Along the Milkshake Way
I’ve got lots of good surprises
Fresh and yummy for you every day
There are malts and shakes
And sundaes too
Whenever you stop
And of course, your very, very favorite
The cone with the curl on top!