'Bunch' star recalls drug past in book

NEW YORK, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. actress Maureen McCormick, who is best known for playing squeaky clean Marcia on "The Brady Bunch," discusses her past addiction to drugs in a new book.

Appearing on the "Today" show Tuesday to promote her memoir "Here's the Story," McCormick likened playing Marcia to "a double-edged sword."

"It always will be whenever you play a character like that. You will be known as that character forever," she said.

In the book, McCormick wrote, "Life after Marcia Brady was a whirlwind of experimentation and searching that evolved into a grim spiral of avoidance, denial and self-destruction."

Asked on "Today" to describe some of the challenges she faced, the now-sober actress said, "I hit rock bottom when I was doing 'The Brady Brides,'" a spinoff of "The Brady Bunch."

"I was supposed to be at the studio, screen testing to pick the guy that would play my husband," she recalled. "I had been up for three days doing coke and was playing solitaire in my closet. My agent had to go to the sixth floor, climb into my place, tear off my clothes and get me in the shower. He said, 'You have to get to Paramount right now, and you have a problem.' I couldn't hide anymore. Everyone knew. ... I had an extremely addictive personality, and drugs just took over my life."