“The Brady Bunch” star Barry Williams should have just said no. The actor ended up performing a scene on the show while he was stoned.
According to his autobiography, the actor and some of his older brother’s friends had been hanging out. Williams was supposed to have the day off from filming. One of the guys produced a joint and offered it to Williams to smoke.
The actor was enjoying his high when he was called back to set. An assistant director said he needed to shoot a “driveway scene” for an upcoming episode. The actor wasn’t in the proper state to act.
But he felt super confident and “very cool” and decided to give the scene his best shot. In fact, Williams realized he wanted to completely reinvent his character, Greg.
Back on set, a makeup artist put eye drops in the actor’s eyes to mask the redness from the marijuana. Energized, Williams started high-fiving the crew and thought the set, “as crying out for innovation and improvisation.”
“In my mind, I made up a history for the bike; why it needed air, what happened to the tire, where I had been riding it at the time,” Williams wrote in the book. “When rehearsal began, I proceeded to get involved with the spokes of the wheel, forming a relationship with each individual spoke, and then trying to come up with a more aerodynamic design for them.”
Barry Williams Films His Scene
Williams imagined the different ways he might say his lines. In his drug-induced state, he started changing the patterns and inflections of his lines. He also came up with new ones on the spot.
But all that energy dissipated when it came time to film. Williams grew paranoid that everyone was aware of his drug use. He also began second-guessing his artistic choices.
During the scene, Williams groggily said his lines. He also tripped over the bike pump during the scene. Williams pretended not to notice the flub while filming. Later he reflected negatively on his experimentation with drugs.
“Getting stoned instead left me…feeling as phony as the turf in the Brady’s backyard,” Williams said. “Maybe I should’ve just smoked that.”
