All of them had hair of gold …

There are certain cultural touchstones that appear destined never to go away. “Hamlet,” for instance. The Beatles, certainly. “Star Trek,” “Catcher in the Rye,” “Through the Looking Glass,” “The Road Not Taken,” the Mona Lisa … all examples of comets forever crossing the horizon of popular culture, only to return time and time again.

Then, there’s “The Brady Bunch.”

The original series went off the air in 1974, and yet the blended family of squabbling siblings wouldn’t go away. They did a variety show (!) with song and dance numbers and retina-burning day-glo costumes. They did a slew of sappy TV movies. They did a sitcom about Marcia and Jan and their husbands sharing a house. They tried a dramatic interpretation of the show, “The Bradys,” that featured job loss, alcoholism, marital woes and little Bobby Brady paralyzed in a stock car race.

People still tuned in. Some of the kids tried music careers, some left the business completely and one — Christopher Knight, who played Peter — went the reality show route in a show (”My Fair Brady”) that detailed his courtship and marriage to another reality show type.

People still tune in. Hollywood made a satirical film of the show … and it turned out to be a hit. The Bradys still wouldn’t go away. They’re a staple of TV Land, have made cameo appearances as their characters in movies and music videos, and have written more than their share of memoirs.

The latest chapter in the saga played out this week when the six now-grown Brady children were to be part of a week-long series of reunions on NBC’s “Today” show. It wasn’t to be, however, because of a long-standing feud between Marcia and Jan.

Yup, they’re STILL fighting.

According to various media reports, Jan (Eve Plumb) is upset at oldest sister Marcia, Marcia, Marcia (Maureen McCormick) for veiled references to a shared kiss between the actresses that McCormick wrote in her memoir (”Here’s the story …”) and led to rumors of a lesbian relationship.

And so, the two women aren’t speaking and one (or both) refused to share the “Today” spot with the other. (It’s right about here that Carol would march the girls into Mike’s architectural office in the split level and he’d homily the problem away.)

According to Mail Tribune theater critic Bill Varble, the new “Hamlet” at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is stellar. The music of the Beatles continues to be re-issued in varied formats. The latest “Star Trek” film jump-started the franchise and there’s a 3-D version of “Alice in Wonderland” on the way.

But you don’t really have to reinvent “The Brady Bunch” to understand its cultural significance. You just have to have been a kid at some stage of your life, and it all makes sense.