Here’s the story… of a man named Barry Williams!
He played the eldest son Greg Brady in the seminal US ’70s sitcom The Brady Bunch across its entire five-year run, and it made him one of Hollywood’s biggest heartthrobs.
And now, more than 50 years later, he’s headed into the South African jungle for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Australia.
So, how on earth did we get here!?
“Well, I’ve conquered a lot of things that I’ve wanted to do. I’ve been on television, I’ve made records and movies. I’ve produced and written. I’ve been on Broadway. So this presents a challenge unlike anything I’ve ever taken on,” he tells Woman’s Day. “And I’m really grateful, to tell you the truth, to have the challenge.
“I know I’m going to have to do some pretty uncomfortable things,” Barry, 71, answers when asked about what he’s most nervous about on joining the show this year.
“It’s funny, when I told my family, one of my kids was like, ‘Is your will in order?’” he laughs.
“I’m not fond of swimming with alligators. I don’t like the idea of being in a coffin or having snakes crawl across my face. But I am prepared to experience those things,” he adds.
“I’ll do my best to make friends with the snakes and deal with the spiders and eat things that aren’t normally on the menu. I believe with this type of thing you can’t tiptoe into it. I think you jump in, and I’m going jump in with both feet.”
Besides, Barry won’t be completely roughing it, with the star putting down “an electric toothbrush, a photo album and a cowboy hat that is like my security blanket” as his luxury items.
Barry also has a unique advantage going into the jungle this year as his TV sister Maureen McCormick, who played Marcia Brady, starred in the first Aussie season back in 2015!
“I know she had a pretty good experience with it, but I didn’t discuss the particulars because it’s been a while [since we’ve spoken] but I know she wishes me luck,” he says.
It’s been more than five decades since a then-teenage Barry starred in The Brady Bunch. And while he would be forgiven for growing tired of talking about it, he says he’s eternally grateful to the show.
“Oh gosh, I don’t talk about it enough – that’s why [co-star] Christopher Knight and I started a recap podcast [The Real Brady Bros],” he laughs.
“Some of the episodes we hadn’t seen in decades, if ever. So going through it and sharing our differing memories and experiences, it was fresh and there was a sense of fulfilment or completeness about doing that.
“But listen, I’m glad I’ve been a part of something that has been around for 50 years. I don’t think there are a lot of people that can tell you that. It’s been a great career, a great ride.”
And while he admits he may not have signed a Friends-style contract that would see him still reap potentially millions in residuals, especially as the show is still in high-rotation syndication around the world, Barry holds no ill will.
“I think there’s an enormous difference between being an actor and wanting a job and a network needing to have you in a production of that job,” he hints.
“But let’s just say this, I’m living on a lake. I’ve got a boat and I’m having a ball,” he laughs.
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