Barry Williams channeled his teen heartthrob days during Tuesday’s “Dancing With the Stars” – but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to keep him in the competition.
The beloved actor, who famously portrayed Greg Brady on “The Brady Bunch,” was eliminated at the end of “Whitney Houston Night” after eight impressive weeks on the show.
“I felt like, after the second show, I had already won! This has been such a tremendous experience, such an uncomfortable growing experience,” Williams exclusively told Pvnew in the ballroom in a joint interview with his pro partner, Peta Murgatroyd.
“Peta has been the best partner I could have hoped for [and] I’ll have skills I’ll take with me for life,” he added. “And I went out with a bang!”
Williams, 69, and Murgatroyd, 37, kicked off Tuesday night’s performances with a rumba to Houston’s 1987 hit “Didn’t We Almost Have It All.” They received a combined score of 32/40 from judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli and guest Billy Porter.
Later in the evening, they faced off against singer Jason Mraz and Daniella Karagach in an epic dance-off that had Williams ripping open his shirt and receiving a roaring applause from the audience. The clever move was a last-chance effort to receive extra points added to their scores for the evening.
“We knew that going to head-to-head with Jason Mraz with a salsa would be a challenge,” Williams explained. “The strategy was to pull attention, and I think it worked.”
Clearly it worked, as the judges crowned Williams and Murgatroyd victors over Mraz, 46, and Karagach, 30. However, the latter made it through to the next round of the competition while the actor and his dance partner were sadly sent home at the end of Tuesday night’s show.
“The biggest thing that I’ve learned [from doing ‘DWTS’] is how to not be too self-critical,” Williams revealed. “I have learned to keep a positive attitude and to keep moving forward.”
Now that Williams is free from daily dance rehearsals – at least until the full Season 32 cast reunites for the finale – he excitedly told us he’s thrilled to be “sleeping in” Wednesday morning.
“How dare you!” Murgatroyd jokingly responded, calling the Broadway alum her “forever” friend. “You deserve all the sleep in the world, my friend. Go rest!”
“Dancing With the Stars,” co-hosted by Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro, returns next Tuesday for a special “Taylor Swift Night.”
Swifties can tune in at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+, or watch the highly anticipated episode the following day on Hulu.
