Archive for October, 2007

12 Jan

Farewell Johnny

written by Barry Williams in barry | No comments

‘My Friend Johnny Grant’

I was saddened to learn of the passing of Hollywood’s Honorary Mayor, Johnny Grant this past Wednesday. Johnny was the torch and the light of Hollywood. He was a great ambassador for the city. I have had a chance to be with him on various occasions and twice in the past year. Once was at the Hollywood Museum and just three months ago at the dedication of an enormous 600 million dollar development in the Hollywood & Vine area that was just breaking ground. He arrived in a wheelchair, but stood and delivered a wonderful talk about what a great impact this project will have on the city. His passion resonated throughout the Pantages Theatre, where the dedication was being held, and an inspiration for me watching one of his life long dreams was about to become a reality.

When the condominiums, apartments and retail space are completed, I plan to go into the new W Hotel that is being built and drink a toast to Hollywood’s finest Mayor, Johnny Grant.

11 Jan

Growing Up 70’s

written by Barry Williams in barry | 4 comments

Greetings, It’s hard to believe we are already into the second week of 2008. Last year closed out perfectly as I completed my run with Growing Up 70’s in the Theatre at HA on December 30^th in New York. It has always been my dream to be in on the ground floor of a new musical to run in New York City, the home of theatre. As one of the co-producers of this show I was involved in every aspect. I helped write it, develop it, cast it, rehearse it and I even got my name above the title with my picture on the marquee right in Times Square! I had a wonderful creative team that included owner Anthony DiNapoli, and director/writer Jason Summers. The cast was wonderful, I felt privileged to work with such talent. A couple of our talented but less experienced cast members were able to take advantage of being in this show and joined Actor’s Equity.

Growing Up 70’s is everything about the 70’s. The music, the styles, television, movies, commercials and of course lava lamps. I had a blast revisiting the decade and singing the songs such as Drift Away, Knock Three Times, Good Old Time Rock n Roll, and Joy To the World. It was an ensemble piece, a pleasure to do and I foresee more productions in the future. I am looking ahead now to the next project and excited about sharing what’s new and current with me and hearing from you as we go blogging together into the new year.

10 Jan

No Love on This Boat

written by Eric Greenberg in Blog, The Brady Bunch, barry | No comments

Let’s raise the bar here at The Greg Brady Project by presenting a little piece of maritime history. After 40 years at sea, the famed cruise ship Queen Elizabeth II set out on its final voyage this week. Vacationers and historians will mark this as the end of an era for the vessel that hosted the likes of Margaret Thatcher, Sir Paul McCartney, and the Queen herself. Now let’s bring the bar right back down as Brady gossip hounds honor the great ship, not for its seaworthiness, but as the site of Barry’s last documented attempt at a little Brady family funny business.

It was Barry’s 18th birthday, and thanks to Robert Reed, the cast was aboard the QE2 for a cultural journey to London. All the kids were there, but Barry only had one Brady on the brain. Here’s his account in “Growing Up Brady” (available for purchase in The Greg Brady Project store): “I was positive, absolutely positive, that the warm sea breezes and lack of parents would combine to finally allow my relationship with Maureen [McCormick] to…uh…expand to its fullest potential.  So Barry took his A game and headed over to the room Maureen was sharing with Eve Plumb. How’d it work out?

09 Jan

Lunch Box Elite

written by Mike Dudas in Blog | 1 comment

‘The Status Symbol’

Status for folks my age may be measured by how big your house is or how flashy your car is.  But, there used to be a more innocent time when status was measured by a much smaller standard.  On the first day of grade school, hundreds of hungry boys and girls marched into the cafeteria with shiny new lunch boxes.  Lunch boxes were a big thing back in the 60’s and 70’s. Really big.

08 Jan

A Mike and a Hard Place

written by Eric Greenberg in Blog | No comments

I don’t envy late night talk show hosts lately. OK. That’s a lie. They make a ton of cash, hang out with cool people, and I go to bed every night wishing I could have their job, if only for a few hours. I just envy them a little less than usual. There are a lot of people hurt by the current writers strike, but no matter which camp you fall in, Leno and company have been put in a pretty tough position.

With Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert making the late night schedule complete with their return to TV last night, the issue has now shifted from whether they should return to what they should do to fill the time. Ironically, David Letterman, one of two hosts able to return with writers, is probably the guy who shines the most in awkward situations like this. As happy as I am that Letterman’s production company was able to come to an interim agreement with the WGA, I’d like to have seen what he’d have done with this. Now what about the others?

07 Jan

Beware the Googleganger!

written by Bob Hunt in Blog | 1 comment

 ‘The REAL Barry Williams?’

Barry Williams is one busy guy, busier than you’ve ever imagined.  He’s the founder and principal consultant of the London firm Database Answers Limited.  Surprised?  Then you might be further intrigued by the fact that Barry Williams is the executive officer of the Australian Skeptics, for whom he has edited the Skeptic Journal for the last 17 years.  Didn’t know that?  If so, you’re probably unaware that Barry Williams is known as a very funny after-dinner speaker throughout the United Kingdom.  And you most likely haven’t heard that Barry Williams is a successful taxidermist. While all of the above is true, none of it has anything to do with THE Barry Williams, aka The Real Greg Brady.  The aforementioned gentlemen are all Googlegangers. 

Yes, Googleganger, a term that just missed being elevated by the American Dialect Society as their 2007 Word of the Year (they went with “subprime” instead).  The term refers to the unsettling discovery of other people with your name when you Google yourself.  These posers are your virtual doppelgangers, hitherto unknown individuals running amok about the world with YOUR name.  The nerve.

A: There are two songs I like on the Brady Christmas album.  Frosty the Snowman and Silver Bells.

A: Yes, I buy them and I am glad you told me about the Mod Squad.  Doing that episode is one of the reasons I got the role of Greg Brady.  Both shows filmed at Paramount along with Gomer Pyle and That Girl which I also appeared in.

A: Appreciation of music and artists is so subjective I can't rate them.  I find that overrated artists just go away on their own as they cannot sustain support.  Long live the Brady Bunch Kids.

05 Jan

Jumping on the Broadway recycling bandwagon

written by Bob Hunt in Blog | 1 comment

‘An old Young Frankenstein?’

As we leave the holiday season behind and anticipate what wonders await us in 2008, I’m taking a moment to look back and think through a notion that struck me during Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. After sitting through production numbers from Young Frankenstein, Xanadu, Legally Blonde and Mary Poppins, I began to wonder, “Is there anything original being written for Broadway these days?” As a most casual observer of the Great White Way, it seems like every show I’m hearing about is either a recycled movie or a story written around someone’s pop music catalog.