Barry Williams Returns to Kent State

By Bob Thomas
Bedford Heights, OH

We started out from Cleveland, at 6:15pm. Lucky for us, the Kent State campus is only about 40 miles from where we live. We arrived in the city of Kent around 7:00pm. We were really getting excited about seeing Barry again. We decided to find a place that we could grab some dinner and then we were off to see Barry. By the time we finished dinner, it was already 7:40pm. We had to hurry, but Wendy had a map so we were on our way!

We arrived at the auditorium at 7:55pm and quickly went inside and got our seats. The presentation was being held in a room upstairs from a ballroom. The seating was set up so that Barry would be standing against a divider wall in a loft area. There was a big crowd gathered. However, we found two seats in the back together. The atmosphere was friendly and personal.

The director of student activities announced that the presentation was starting. A short video began playing on a projection screen in the front of the room. There were some cool film clips of the Bradys and just as the video was ending, Barry walked out from the far left end of the room. The room was full of cheers and applause.

Barry started off by saying that on the first day of filiming back in 1969, none of the cast members had actually met before. He noted the first time he saw Maureen McCormick. He thought, "Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!" He also mentioned that he had a crush on Florence Henderson. What some people may not know is that according to Barry, Florence jokingly announced on Geraldo that she had a crush on him too! Barry and Florence did go out on a date together but they realized that the situation was not going to work out.

Barry went on to discuss the evolution of the Brady Saga. From the early days of the show, to the reunions and specials and his "First Kiss with Maureen". During his presentation, he would pause to show video clips to the audience which related to the topic that he was discussing. Barry seemed very comfortable and natural on stage. He really was able to keep the audience's attention throughout the entire presentation.

Toward the end of the show, Barry showed a video introducing, "Johnny Bravo", Greg Brady's two-minutes as a rock-star. As soon as the video was finished, "Johnny" entered the room and made his way to the front of the room. It is important to note here, that Barry was wearing "Shades", and by no means should they be confused with sunglasses. Shades are cool! Sunglasses just aren't cool!

He then invited members from the audience to join him for some groovy dancing. He demonstrated the Brady dance moves and gave the group a chance to practice the steps a few times. Then, the big moment came, the music was on and it was time to dance! The group did really well and were declared "Honorary Bradys for life". Everyone enjoyed that part of the presentation.

At the conclusion of the Presentation, Barry answered questions and mentioned that he would be downstairs to sign autographs and take pictures.

Wendy and I were one of the last people to make it downstairs. There was a really long line of people waiting for autographs. We decided to wait for a little while until the line was shorter.

While we were waiting, Wendy and I got a chance to talk to Barry's manager. He is a really great guy, I might add. He took time to talk to us about Barry's tour, some of the recent television appearances that Barry has made and told us how much he and Barry enjoyed looking at our web site. We were so happy to hear that!

We also got a chance to talk to Barry briefly. He remembered that we gave him a printed copy of Brady World. We got an autograph and later had our picture taken with Barry. I have to say that Barry is one of the nicest people that I have met. He is a great person. He goes out of his way to make time for fans and really enjoys being around everyone.

Wendy and I wish Barry the best of luck with the rest of his tour!

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