Children Fred Berry Jr. Role Actor | Name Fred Berry Occupation Actor, street dancer | |
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Full Name Fred Allen Berry Born March 19, 1951 ( 1951-03-19 ) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. Died October 21, 2003, Los Angeles, California, United States Spouse Essie Berry (m. 1999–2003) Movies and TV shows What's Happening!!, What's Happening Now!!, Big Money Hustlas Similar People | ||
Fred berry jr interview the midnight hour radio show
Fred Allen "Rerun" Berry (March 19, 1951 – October 21, 2003) was an American actor and street dancer. He was best known for the role of Fred "Rerun" Stubbs on the 1970s television show What's Happening!!.
Contents
- Fred berry jr interview the midnight hour radio show
- Fred berry
- Early life
- Career
- Personal life
- Death
- Filmography
- References
Fred berry
Early life
Berry was born in St. Louis, Missouri.
Career
Before starring on What's Happening!!, he was a member of the Los Angeles-based dance troupe The Lockers, with whom he appeared on the third episode of Saturday Night Live. He also appeared on the dance music show Soul Train, and was featured in the program's signature line dance segment doing the memorable early 1970s dance step "the slo-mo".
What's Happening!! aired from 1976 to 1979.
Berry was a millionaire by age 29 in 1980. After the show ended, Berry, weighing over 300 lbs, had trouble finding work because he was typecast with the Rerun character. Eventually, however, he came to embrace his typecasting, and made his peace with it as the best means to maintain his celebrity. In public, he was often seen wearing the red beret and suspenders that are part of the Rerun character.
During the 1980s, Berry faced challenges with drug addiction and alcoholism. He reprised his role as Rerun in "What's Happening Now!!" but remained on the show for just a year due to salary disputes. He demanded higher pay than his co-stars, convinced he was the main draw for audiences. According to Berry's widow, Essie Berry, in an interview with Urbanite magazine at Georgia State University, the failure to adequately compensate Fred Berry contributed to the premature conclusion of both series. In the 1990s, Berry embraced a new path as a Baptist minister and underwent significant weight loss, shedding 100 lbs following a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. He made a living during this time mostly through making public appearances as Rerun.
Berry made a brief appearance in Insane Clown Posse's film Big Money Hustlas as Bootleg Greg, a merchandise counterfeiter. In 1996, he made an appearance in Less Than Jake's video "Dopeman" (which was never aired on television). In the second season of the comedy television series Scrubs, he appeared in his iconic Rerun suspenders and beret in an extended dance sequence fantasized by Dr. John "JD" Dorian (which included a dozen others also wearing the same outfit).
For at least the Spring and Summer of 2001, and for an unknown duration, Berry toured with the UniverSoul Circus as his Rerun character. At that time, he was their sole celebrity performer and received accolades from the cast and circus patrons alike.
Berry appeared in the Snoop Dogg video for "Doggy Dogg World", which was a tribute to the black culture of the 1970s. He performed his legendary dance moves in a Soul Train line. He appeared in fellow Locker Toni Basil's music video "Shopping From A to Z". Berry returned to the screen in 1998 in the action movie In the Hood and appeared in Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003), playing himself in a song at the end. His final role was in In the Land of Merry Misfits, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Personal life
Berry was married five times to four different women, the first two of whom he married twice.
Berry had legally changed his middle name to Rerun after his success on What's Happening!!.
His daughter Portia Berry-Allen was in a Safe Auto commercial under the name "Lady Rerun".
Death
On October 21, 2003, Berry died at his Los Angeles home, where he was recovering from a stroke. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles.