''. Back (L-R):
Christopher Knight (Peter), Barry Williams (Greg),
Ann B. Davis (Alice). Second row (L-R):
Eve Plumb (Jan),
Florence Henderson (Carol),
Robert Reed (Mike),
Maureen McCormick (Marcia). Front (L-R):
Susan Olsen (Cindy),
Mike Lookinland (Bobby). ''. Williams decided as a child that he wanted to be an actor, and in 1967 he made his television debut in a Christmas 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;
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.;
Marcus Welby, M.D.; and
Bartleby, the Scrivener before being cast in 1969 as eldest son
Greg Brady on
The Brady Bunch. He was also the voice of Greg in the first season of the ABC Saturday morning cartoon
The Brady Kids (1972–73). Following
The Brady Bunch's cancellation 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,
Pippin, 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 films 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 reunions, including the variety series
The Brady Bunch Hour (1976–77), the television film ''
(1981), the 1988 Christmas film, A Very Brady Christmas, and the drama series The Bradys (1990). In 1989, Williams was honored by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award for his role as Greg Brady. He also had a cameo role as a record producer in the 1995 feature film The Brady Bunch Movie. 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 television film titled Growing Up Brady'' starring
Adam Brody as Williams. In 2000, Williams sang a parody of
Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady" called "The Real Greg Brady"; the song was co-written by Williams, comedy writer and radio producer,
David Brody of Z100 NY
WHTZ, and Jay Gilbert of WEBN Radio in Cincinnati. Other shows Williams has appeared in include
Highway to Heaven;
Murder, She Wrote;
Full House;
That 70s Show; and
Scrubs. Williams appeared briefly as an audience member in the 2002 music video of
Peter Gabriel's song, "The Barry Williams Show". The song is actually about a fictional
Jerry Springer-like talk show host, not the actor; Gabriel later revealed that he did not know of the
Brady Bunch star when he wrote the song. Williams has made multiple appearances as a paid featured dancer at the World's Largest Disco in
Buffalo, New York. Between 2001 and 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. Williams played himself in the 2003 film
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. 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 drinking had a negative impact on his own life and career. in October 2014 In January 2010, he took a role in
The Asylum mockbuster,
Mega Piranha, who played alongside the former
teen pop singer
Tiffany. With the death of
Florence Henderson in 2016, Williams became the oldest living cast member of
The Brady Bunch. As of 2019, he makes
Branson, Missouri, his home and tours with the musical group
Barry Williams and the Traveliers. He also joined with the other
Brady Bunch kids in the 2019 television series
A Very Brady Renovation on
HGTV. In 2021, Williams starred in the
Lifetime Christmas film,
Blending Christmas, alongside his
Brady Bunch co-stars
Christopher Knight,
Mike Lookinland,
Susan Olsen, and
Robbie Rist. In 2022, Williams, Knight, and Lookinland competed in
season eight of
The Masked Singer as "Mummies". They were eliminated on "TV Theme Night" alongside
Daymond John as "Fortune Teller". In 2023, Williams was announced to be competing on
season 32 of
Dancing with the Stars, partnering with
Peta Murgatroyd. In 2026, Williams was a cast member on the Australian version of ''
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''
season 12. He was the second celebrity to arrive, after New Zealand model and actress
Rachel Hunter. ==Personal life==