I have been watching the U.S. version of The Office since it first premiered, and I was sad tonight to see the series end. Finishing a good book or ending a long-running T.V. series can do something that movies cannot accomplish by making you feel like you are losing a life-long friend. There will be plenty of articles critiquing The Office finale and comparing it to other series’ final episodes. I might think about those questions at some point, but tonight I just enjoyed seeing the characters one last time. Right now, though, what amazes me is that I watched the series all these years and did not know that the character Creed Bratton, played by Creed Bratton, had been in the Grass Roots. How did I miss that?
The final episode noted that the character Creed had been in the Grass Roots. And then when he sang at the end while playing guitar, it made me realize that they were not joking.
After searching for the lyrics (along the lines of “I saw a friend today . . . we forgot each other’s names” and “all the faces that I know have that same familiar glow”), I found that it is indeed a Creed Bratton song, “All the Faces.” Here is a live version of Creed singing the song he sang on The Office finale. Nice.
Creed Bratton joined the Grass Roots in 1967 and played guitar on songs like the classic, “Let’s Live for Today.” Creed is the guy in this video in the striped shirt on your left.
Bratton quit the band two years later, and his life did not go so well. By the nineties he was doing catering jobs, but then he got a big break when he got a job in 2005 on The Office playing someone with the same name as him.
During the run of the series, the real-life Bratton continued to work on his music. At least in one deleted scence from The Office, his character even got to jam out at least one time. In a deleted scene from the “Booze Cruise” episode, he picked up a guitar and even revealed his Grass Roots past. I am not sure why they saved the reveal about his past for so long. Viewers would have assumed it was a joke, but it did make a beautiful touch to the final episode.
Creed is releasing new music with Tell Me About It, a three-part “audio biography.” Check out “Faded Spats.”
Two members of the Grass Roots — Rob Grill and Ricky Coonce — have passed away. In addition to Creed, Warren Entner is still alive. The two are still good friends.
In tonight’s episode of The Office, near the end, the character Creed talked about how life is “arbitrary” in the way things happen in one’s life. But, he explains, no matter where one ends up, “human beings have this miraculous gift” to make a place their home.
With a life of ups and downs, the real Creed Bratton found a home on The Office and now is using that home to go on to other things. Although he will always be that odd guy on The Office to me, he is of course much more than that. It looks like we haven’t heard the last of Creed Bratton.
What is your favorite Creed moment on The Office? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)