Barry Williams (actor)

Early life and career

Williams, youngest of three boys, was born in 1954 in Santa Monica, California, to Doris May Moore and Canadian-born Frank Millar Blenkhorn of English, Scottish, and German ancestry Barry and siblings Craig and Scott Blenkhorn grew up in Pacific Palisades, California, where actor Peter Graves was a neighbor. Williams decided as a child that he wanted to be an actor, and in 1967 he made his television debut in an episode of Dragnet 1967.

Williams continued to be cast in guest roles on other TV series including Adam-12, The Invaders, That Girl, Mission: Impossible, The Mod Squad, Here Come the Brides and Bartleby, the Scrivener before being cast in 1969 as Greg Brady on The Brady Bunch.

Later career

Following the cancellation of The Brady Bunch in 1974, Williams continued to appear in guest roles on television, and became involved in musical theater, touring with productions such as Grease, The Sound of Music, and West Side Story.

In 1988, Williams appeared on Broadway in the musical Romance/Romance with Tony Award-nominee Alison Fraser. Williams took over the lead male role of "Alfred/Sam" when Scott Bakula left the production. Years later, Williams was able to capitalize on being typecast as Greg Brady. Amid a procession of appearances in TV and movies that played up his famous teen role, he ended up landing a role that was a departure from the Brady image. He was tapped to play English con man Hannibal in 1984, who conspired with Holly Sutton Scorpio (Emma Samms) on the top-rated General Hospital.

Williams has appeared in various Brady Bunch TV movie reunions, including the 1988 Christmas movie, A Very Brady Christmas.

In 1989, Williams was honored by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award for his role as Greg Brady.

His 1992 autobiography, Growing Up Brady: I Was A Teenage Greg, co-written with Chris Kreski, was a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into a 2000 TV movie titled Growing Up Brady starring Adam Brody as Williams.

In 2000, Williams sang a parody of the Eminem hit single, "The Real Slim Shady", called "The Real Greg Brady" co-written by comedy writer and radio producer, David Brody, and Jay Gilbert of Froggy Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio and he sang the same song at Kings Island in Cincinnati in 2008. In 2001–2002, he played Manager Dean "The Machine" Strickland in 13 episodes of the sitcom, Hollywood 7, which featured the British pop group S Club 7.

In 2002, Williams participated on the FOX television show Celebrity Boxing, in a boxing match between him and former Partridge Family star, Danny Bonaduce. He lost to Bonaduce who holds a black belt in Tang Soo Do.

Williams played himself in the 2003 film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.

In December 2007, he launched a fan portal named "The Greg Brady Project". The site features ongoing conversations with Barry, fans and other celebrities.

In 2008, Williams appeared in Episode 6 of the VH1 series, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. Williams participated as a friend of one of the patients, Chyna, and explained to her during a group session how her drinking had a negative impact on his own life and career.

In January 2010, he took a role in The Asylum mockbuster, Mega Piranha, who played alongside the former teen pop singer Tiffany.

Williams has also created a cabaret act that pays tribute to his past and hosts the satellite radio trivia show, The Real Greg Brady's Totally '70s Pop Quiz starring Barry Williams, broadcast Saturdays on Sirius Satellite Radio's "70s on 7" channel.

In late 2011, Williams started appearing in a show at the Yakov Smirnoff theater in Branson, Missouri, where he resides. He then moved to the Americana Theatre in Branson, where he performs his 70s Music Celebration! musical variety show, which showcases his singing and guitar playing ability along with clips, videos, and stories from his time on The Brady Bunch.

On September 4, 2016, Williams performed the national anthem at the NASCAR Sprint Cup 2016 Bojangles' Southern 500,. The TV announcer said Williams was in "full Johnny Bravo mode!"

With the death of Florence Henderson on November 24, 2016, Williams became the oldest surviving cast member from The Brady Bunch.

In 2017, Williams was a promotional spokesperson for the MeTV television network where he promoted The Brady Bunch and other classic television series.

Actors' Equity Association dispute

In January 2001, Williams was fined $52,000 by Actors' Equity Association, the union representing stage actors, for starring as Captain Von Trapp in a non-union tour of The Sound of Music. According to Variety, the production was picketed in several cities. Williams responded by filing a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, arguing that the fine was illegal because he had resigned from the union in September 2000 before the tour began. Equity alleged that Williams, who joined the union in 1974, was still a member when he began contract negotiations for the role.

Williams was reinstated by Actor's Equity as a member in good standing in 2005 after he unionized a non-Equity production of A Christmas Carol in late 2004.