The Greg Brady Project
Welcome to the official Barry Williams' blog
My friends call me Barry. From time to time I also hear the name Greg. Yeah, as in Greg Brady. The Brady Bunch represents a fun time in my life. But it’s only part of the story. There’s more to say and that’s what The Greg Brady Project is all about - a place to say it. So, I’ve invited some friends to join me and share their perspectives on the Brady’s, the 70’s and just about everything else. Now, I’m inviting you…
Quick! Grab your credit card, make your flight arrangements, and tell the neighbors you can’t make it to their cookout on the day before Labor Day. Why? Because no fewer than three Brady stars will be returning to King’s Island for four shows of singing, dancing, and Brady Bunch anecdotes! Susan Olsen, Mike Lookinland, and our own Barry Williams will be there to entertain, reminisce, and provide memorable meet-n-greet and autograph opportunities for Brady fans of all ages. As we reported previously, King’s Island has been steeped in nostalgia this summer, what with classic park stunts of the 70’s being recreated by Robbie Knievel and Rick Wallenda. What better way to cap off their retro summer than a Very Brady Reunion on Sunday, August 31. At last your dreams are coming true! So don’t just sit there - spindle your blueprints into a yellow cylinder and make your way to Cincinnati this Labor Day Weekend!
Now Search & Win for Great Brady Prizes!
Lamb House, Rye, East Sussex, England. This (and social networking) brought us together…
The other day, a best-selling author thanked me for purchasing his latest book. Not too unusual, perhaps, except for the fact that we were five time zones apart when it happened. We’ve never even met each other, in fact, and until recently we were carrying on our lives without the slightest hint of each other’s existence. The circumstances that produced our unlikely connection make up yet another tale of the way in which the Internet and social networking are changing our lives in unprecedented ways.
The author is Guy Fraser-Sampson, a former lawyer who has become an expert in private equity investment, having written a pair of successful financial books and keeping busy with lecturing at a business school and various public speaking engagements. He lives in London, though he has also called Paris and Abu Dhabi home. I, on the other hand, am an elementary school teacher who has lived in Ohio all of my life, and just reading the Wikipedia entry on private equity causes my eyes to glaze over in a heart-palpitating catatonia of incomprehension and fear. What could we possibly have in common?
There’s a lot of hubbub going on right now about the departure of film critics Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper from their long-running syndicated review show, At the Movies. This is understandable, as any television program that has been around in one form or another for the last 33 years qualifies as an institution of its medium. An entire generation has grown up taking for granted the presence of a pair of Chicago critics commenting on the latest releases from opposite sides of the aisle. The thumbs-up, thumbs-down gimmick introduced by Ebert and Gene Siskel on the first incarnation of the show, PBS’s Sneak Previews, grew so popular as a movie poster endorsement that it began to lose its impact, forcing the critics to invent absurd shades of recommendation like two thumbs up - way up. Like any other TV entity that has been with us for decades, it is hard for us to imagine its disappearance. However, although Disney apparently intends to reinvent the show with different hosts, I would argue that At the Movies and other television programs of its ilk have outlived their utility in the digital age.
Back with more stuff…
If an eight-note bass run segueing into Count Basie’s Jumpin’ at the Woodside still causes you to stop whatever you’re doing in wide-eyed anticipation of a portly stagehand’s shuffling dance moves, then you remember the anarchic joy of The Gong Show. The jazzy motif would interrupt the show at an unexpected moment, causing host Chuck Barris to ecstatically dance along and whipping up the audience into a jubilant frenzy. All this to hail the unremarkable moves of Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, who did his thing while a bizarre assortment of incongruous props pelted him from the wings. It made no sense at all, and that was the point. The recurring bit was one of the greatest intentional non-sequiturs in television. Who among those of us who enjoyed it has not since hoped in vain for those infectious bass notes to bring forth a chaotic interruption of a dull business meeting? The numbers for the third quarter were not as high as we–What’s that?–It’s Gene Gene the Dancing Machine!
Playing along with entertainment conventions and then suddenly destroying them with dadaist glee made the novel game show parody special. No doubt Comedy Central will try to capture that riotous spirit with its new version of The Gong Show set to debut tomorrow night. Hosted by Dave Attell, this latest incarnation promises to retain the format of unusual acts judged by a rotating panel of irreverent celebrity judges. But is it possible for anyone today to recreate the strange concoction of surrealism, send-up, and nod-and-a-wink hipness that Barris and company perfected?
I was a compulsive record flipper in the days of vinyl. Whenever I could break away from my parents, whether at the mall or some discount store, I would make my way to the nearest racks of LPs and look for the file tabs with the names of my favorite artists. Then I would start flipping through those albums, hoping that today would be the day I would find something new. Growing up in a small, Midwestern town, it was the best I could do to stay connected with the musicians I admired. Often, I wouldn’t even know that a new album was in the works until I uncovered it right there at the store. And concert itineraries? Maybe a few dates would come to light thanks to the latest issue of Cream or Circus, but without a regular scanning of bigger city newspapers, a favorite act might swing by the nearest metropolis and be gone without a warning, like the errant path of an unexpected comet. Weekends were for staying up late in the hopes of catching that special performer on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert or The Midnight Special. In between these peaks were the longest valleys of endless record listening and wondering what my preferred entertainers were up to.
One of my all-time favorite artists from those days has a new album coming out at the end of this month, and oh, has the period of anticipating a new release changed!
Looking backward. Some people think it’s a good idea, while others believe the opposite. The folks at King’s Island near Cincinnati seem to be simultaneously embracing both sides of the argument this summer. They’ve been celebrating their 37th season by inviting the descendants of daredevils to recreate the feats that their ancestors performed for park guests in the 70’s. On May 24, Robbie Knievel, son of legendary stuntman Evel, jumped over 24 Coke Zero trucks to beat Dad’s old record of 14 Greyhound buses in 1975. Rick Wallenda honored the 1974 1,800-ft. tightrope walk of his late grandfather, Karl (who fell from a highwire to his death four years later), by completing a 2,000-ft. walk high above King’s Island last Friday. In another nod to history, the park is now running both sides of its Racer roller coaster in the original front-facing orientation for the first time since they flipped one set of trains around in 1982. So much for looking backward.
As for me, I can’t help but glance in the rearview mirror. It was 35 years ago this summer that the cast and crew of The Brady Bunch descended upon King’s Island to film what would become one of their most memorable episodes, The Cincinnati Kids. According to the fan site King’s Island Central, the famous football toss is still there, along with an unchanged administrative boardroom where Mike was seen unfurling Jan’s poster instead of his architectural plans. You can still stand before the signature International Street Fountains and gaze up at a one-third replica of the Eiffel Tower. And of course, the Racer is still racing. Nearly everything else has changed, however.
One of us just had a flaming shot (Hint: it wasn’t me).
One of the most surreal scenes I have witnessed took place in a biker bar on a cold December morning in 1993. The mere fact that I was there at all was odd enough, given that I’ve never frequented bars nor have I ever been enthralled by the staccato belch of a roaring Harley. A goofy, suburban milquetoast, I was a fish out of water amongst a grizzled, tattooed set that would have been a casting director’s dream if extras were needed for a dramatic recreation of the Rolling Stones at Altamont. They were all drinking and smoking and looked as though they had been doing so for hours. I was an open target for ridicule, but the leather and bandanna-clad crowd left me alone. It was obvious that I had invaded their territory for one geeky reason: Susan Olsen.
Earle Hagen (left) and Frank DeVol
Some time ago I stumbled upon a cheap DVD that featured a pair of Andy Griffith Show episodes. Upon giving it a spin, I soon discovered why the disc was destined for the clearance bin. In an apparent attempt to avoid a potentially thorny copyright dispute, the fly-by-night distributor had actually replaced the theme music. Andy and Opie still carried their poles as they walked along the fishin’ hole, but instead of being accompanied by the familiar and beloved whistling theme song, they sauntered to a goofy overdub of some generic tune that wasn’t worthy of a PowerPoint presentation. As the episode began, I was too distracted by this outrage to even process what Barney was telling Andy. Somehow, without a proper introduction to Mayberry, it just wasn’t the same.
Such is the power of a well-written TV theme, and such was the talent of Earle Hagen, who died on Monday night at the age of 88. Hagen was the prolific film and TV composer whose quest for a simple Andy Griffith Show intro (”something you could whistle”) inspired one of the most memorable tunes in all of pop culture. He was also responsible for the brash, big-band theme from The Dick Van Dyke Show, and if you’re not thinking about Rob Petrie and his ottoman right now, you’re probably not familiar with that one. In addition, he scored and wrote themes for many other classic TV shows, including I Spy, That Girl, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., Make Room For Daddy, and The Mod Squad.
How about an autographed copy of this?
More and more, efficiency is the welcome partner of the modern consumer. In an age of overbooked schedules and routine multitasking, making the most of our time and money has universal appeal. Thus, we try to take the sting out of $4-per-gallon gas by utilizing fuel discounts earned through the use of supermarket loyalty cards. We zip around in hybrid cars that convert our forward momentum into usable electrical energy. We support businesses that donate a percentage of our purchases toward the charities we esteem. In essence, we try to find ways in which we can profit from our habitual behaviors (e.g., grocery buying, driving, shopping in general). Now, you can add the everyday task of Internet searches to your list of profitable habits.
Here’s how it works: Start using Search with The Greg Brady Project for all of your Internet searching needs. You’ll be getting the same great results that you’re already used to receiving from Google and Ask.com, because that’s who’s powering the GBP search engine. Random winning times are chosen each day, and if your search is the first one to occur after one of these preselected times, you are an instant winner of one to five Swag Bucks. This virtual currency can be accumulated and exchanged for a wide variety of prizes, not the least of which are autographed Barry Williams collectibles. If your significant other won’t allow yet another Barry collectible a place of honor in your home, there are plenty of other items to acquire, from gift cards to iPods to musical instruments (just the tip of the iceberg, really). And what’s more, you can earn additional Swag Bucks by shopping at participating online retailers, referring friends to Search with The Greg Brady Project, and even by doing your bit for the environment when you recycle old cell phones and mp3 players.
Christopher: a moniker with staying power.
You might think of the Social Security Administration as a rather monotonous bureaucratic arm of our government, a sea of anonymous cubicles inhabited by humorless accountants. But think again: these people know how to have fun with data. Sure, they have to issue all of those sacred, 9-digit numbers to every citizen and attend to the rather serious business of allocating funds to retirees. Along the way, though, they make time to compile an annual list of the 1,000 most popular names bestowed upon babies each year. The 2007 list was just released, and the names Jacob and Emily, reigning king and queen of infant nomenclature, have been echoing from every media canyon and crevasse. The SSA finds this so compelling that its website offers the top 1,000 baby names for every year since 1880 (In case you were wondering, John and Mary were the Jacob and Emily of that year).
Now, at last, pop culture pundits have at their fingertips a tool that can answer the question that has been nagging us for so long: What impact did “The Brady Bunch” have on our nation’s baby name preferences? After surveying the last 100 years of data, I can tell you that the answer is…well, almost no impact at all. All six of the Brady sibling names peaked in popularity well before the series debuted in 1969 (For you statisticians out there, here are the names and their peak positions/years - Greg: #77/1961-62; Marcia: #74/1951; Peter: #35/1955; Jan: #131/1954; Bobby: #23/1934; Cindy: #19/1957. How appropriate is it that the self-esteem-challenged Jan had the least popular name?).
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Recent Comments
- Renee on August 26, 2008 said:
One on the list matches what I am looking forward to…House. Love that show, love... - Amy on August 25, 2008 said:
Thanks for the shout out! - Brandon Hemmy on August 14, 2008 said:
Barry Williams, please do not tell Elliot to break a leg, thanks!
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