In a new interview, Barry Williams opened up about coming of age while dealing with sudden fame, which he called "a bizarre experience"
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NEED TO KNOW
- Barry Williams is opening up about shooting to stardom while coming of age
- Williams played eldest son Greg Brady on the ABC sitcom from 1969 to 1974 — and noted that growing up while suddenly being recognized in public was a unique experience
- “Our lives were changed dramatically by that,” Williams said in a new podcast
One Brady Bunch sibling is recounting the "very profound" experience of being catapulted to near-overnight fame — and doing it all alongside the show's other young cast members.
Speaking on the May 20 episode of The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan, Barry Williams (who played eldest son Greg Brady on the ABC sitcom) opened up about appearing on the show, which he said averaged 40 to 45 million viewers per week.
"We went from being who we were in our lives and then doing something that we all enjoyed doing — but was professional and … focused and concentrated — and then went out into public," Williams, 77, said. "And our lives were changed dramatically by that … and that's a very profound experience to assimilate with growing up and being a teenager and going through some of that awkwardness and being kind of observed and scrutinized."
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Williams said he was "grateful" to have shared the experience with the actors who played his siblings: Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland, Susan Olsen, Maureen McCormick and Eve Plumb.
"To have these people, these same people, familiar people all through our lives, and the major signpost marriages, sometimes going through divorces, the birth of children and family. So I'm really grateful to have that with a group that I have shared virtually," he said on the podcast.
The Brady Bunch aired from 1969 to 1974 and also grew in popularity during syndication.
Speaking to PEOPLE in an exclusive interview at The Brady Bunch Experience on Tuesday, April 28, in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, Knight, 68, also reflected on the close bond among the actors.
“Family," he said when asked what comes to mind when entering the home made famous on the show. "I mean, we were a big cast that very much, even today, acts like family. It was a special group of people.”
He continued: “For the six of us who are still on this planet, um, [we're] lifelong friends. I don't know, other than my own brothers and sisters and my own blood, there's nobody whom I'm friends with that is from a deeper [moment], in time.”
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