by Karen Brune Mathis
Managing Editor
In marketing terms, Barry Williams is a brand. He’s a Brady, specifically Greg Brady, the oldest son on the 1969-74 TV sitcom, “The Brady Bunch.”
He knew he was a brand by 1988-89 when the “story of a lovely lady” was being parodied on Saturday Night Live.
“Curiosity about the show has never waned,” Williams said last week in an interview just days after he arrived in Jacksonville.
Williams is in town to star as Oscar Madison in “The Odd Couple” at Alhambra Theatre & Dining. The show starts Wednesday and runs through June 19, Father’s Day.
People recognize Williams, despite the fact the show ended 37 years ago. “So, you’re not 16,” is a not-uncommon comment, he said.
Williams, 56, said he spent his teenage years on the show. He was 14-20 years old during its run, and “loved” those years with The Brady Bunch.
“I felt like the luckiest teenager in the world,” he said. “What’s not to like?”
Williams was born Barry William Blenkhorn, the youngest of three sons, in Santa Monica, Calif. He wanted to act at a young age and sought the advice of a neighbor, actor Peter Graves, well known for starring in “Mission: Impossible.”
Willliams, who started his career at the age of 11, appeared in “That Girl,” “The Mod Squad” and more before landing the role as a Brady.
He said the show was the first to depict a blended family. It focuses on a man and woman, each a single parent with three children. She has girls, he has boys.
Mike and Carol Brady marry, move Greg, Peter and Bobby along with Marcia, Jan and Cindy into a big house and all sorts of situations ensue. There also was Alice the housekeeper and Tiger, the dog with a story of its own.
Williams said it was the first show also to show a husband and wife in the same bed, which was realistic, and to depict just one bathroom for six children to share, which now seems logistically impossible.
Williams wrote a book about the show in 1992 called, “Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg,” which details some of the situations on the set. “All the Bradys contributed to it so we could get it right,” he said.
Did he date Florence Henderson, his TV mom? What was his
relationship with Maureen McCormick, the oldest girl known best as “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia”?
Was all the chemistry on the set genuine? It was, he said, and for the rest of the answers, “Read the book.”
Since then, Williams has appeared in Brady reunions or special shows, as well as pursued a diverse career in show business.
Asked who his favorite actors are, Williams said he respects actors Al Pacino and Michael Douglas and is a huge fan of Sean Connery.
Asked his advice for aspiring actors, he said to complete college. “I am a great believer in completing your studies,” he said. If not there already, “then move to New York, Chicago or Los Angeles.”
“To be in national show business, that’s what you do,” he said.
That doesn’t mean an actor can’t make a living and pursue the craft elsewhere, but for the big time, head to the big cities.
Williams credits long-time Alhambra owner and artistic leader Tod Booth for nurturing the dinner theater, which was bought by an investment group, led by Craig Smith, in 2009. Smith’s group has renovated and refreshed the theater, including upgrading the menu.
Williams considers the dinner theater “extremely important” to the community.
“It brings in talent and people from the outside. It creates employment. It creates exposure. It creates other things to talk about. It creates another layer of entertainment,” he said.
Williams will meet with Alhambra season ticket holders and make personal appearances during his time in Jacksonville, as well as hitting “the hangouts.”
He also is a private pilot and he anticipates putting in a great deal of local flying time to places like Orlando and Boca Raton.
Among his next ventures is a partnership in Branson, Mo., with Yakov Smirnoff and the Yakov Smirnoff Theatre.
He continues to pursue his career in many venues. “I am extremely diverse,” he said.
“My enthusiasm hasn’t waned a bit.”
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