Money and fame have an awful way of ravaging close relationships. Jealousy starts to take root in the hearts of people you hold dear. Meanwhile, others may try and cozy up to you just for the mere prospect of getting a little change or squeezing into an opportunity. It starts to become an increasingly isolating experience for someone like Barry Williams, who even felt the wrath of his father for his success.
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Recently, Williams and his co-host Christopher Knight sit down for an episode of The Real Brady Bros podcast. There, they talk with Brady Bunch costars Susan Olsen and Mike Lookinland about being actors so early in their lives. Barry recalls feverishly trying to find a consistent gig and finding Brady Brunch was a miracle for him. However, all of his ambitions in show business didn't sit quite as well with his old man Frank Blenkhorn. Eventually, resentment starts to sink in the family.
Barry Williams Recalls Tense Household While Working on Brady Bunch
"He never was, at any point, exactly approving of the fact that I was in show business," Williams explains. "As the show became more successful, I think he was more disenchanted. And I think there was a point where I may have had more opportunities, or there was a year or two where I was literally making more money than he was."
Barry notes that his pops would have down periods in his own business and wouldn't be the house breadwinner as the result. As a man and a father, he grew to despise the fact that his own son could make more than him and felt like it was a threat to his authority. "He was very sharp with me about ego, about, you know, about making sure that I wasn't getting too big for my britches, which probably was deserved," Barry says. "But I sensed a bit of jealousy."
