Actor Fred "Rerun" Berry dies

[Slayer 0]

Source

 

Fred Berry was well into his 20s when he was cast as a high-schooler on the 1970s sitcom What's Happening!! Well into middle age, he was still playing the role.

 

 

Berry, who portrayed the beret-wearing, suspender-clad teen known as Rerun on the 1976-79 series, and was rarely without his signature accessories in the nearly quarter-century since, was found dead in his Los Angeles apartment Tuesday, E! has learned. He was 52.

 

 

Berry's agent, Arlene Thorton, said the actor died in his bed sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning. The Los Angeles coroner is planning to perform an autopsy to determine cause of death. There were no signs of foul play, Thorton said.

 

 

Berry recently cameoed in the David Spade comedy, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, and looked for love on E!'s Star Dates. Berry was a veteran groom, walking down the aisle six times with four women.

 

 

He played himself in an episode of NBC's Scrubs last April. As was his way, he wore the Rerun red beret, and the Rerun red suspenders.

 

 

Until recently, Berry had been one of the on-demand telephone friends for HollywoodIsCalling.com, the new service connecting fans with a roster of largely low-watt stars.

 

 

"I bet you that I've made more calls than anyone on this service," Berry told the Washington Post in August.

 

 

Never able to shake the role that made him famous, Berry reprised his Rerun self in 1985 for the updated What's Happening!! series, What's Happening Now!.

 

 

If not able to rid himself of Rerun's baggage, at least he was able to drop some of the heft. In 2002, he told People he was 100 pounds lighter than during his prime-time heyday.

 

 

The appeal of the original What's Happening!! cannot be described clinically--you were either impressionable enough to find it funny, or you weren't. On paper, anyway, the sitcom was about three friends--Raj (Ernest Thomas), Dwayne (Haywood Nelson) and Berry's Frederick "Rerun" Stubbs, the perennial flunk-out with the flashy dance moves.

 

 

Berry came by Rerun's steps honestly--prior to joining the sitcom at age 25, he was a member of the pioneering break-dance troupe, the Lockers.

 

 

Post-Rerun, Berry struggled--and not just with his career. "The stress of success got to me. The fat jokes got to me. And I got heavily into drugs and alcohol. I was empty inside," he told People in 1996.

 

 

By the mid-1980s, Berry sobered up. He became a Baptist minister. And he found there was a lucrative business in being Rerun--businesses would pay him to wear the beret and bust some moves at their functions.

 

 

Berry is the third What's Happening!! star to die, after Mabel King and Shirley Hemphill, who died within a month of each other in 1999.

 

Shame. I enjoyed him on that show.

 

RIP

[Papacita 0]

Damn. I had been hearing rumors that he was sick for a while, but still, this is sad to hear. I was always a Rerun fan.

 

Too many people dying this year.

[WrestlingDeacon 0]

I just saw this and was about to post it. We already have two now with Jack Elam. One more to drop. I can't say much about Rerun, but he was funny and notable on What's Happening and seemed to enjoy being known for that role.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

 

Thank you for the times. RIP Fred

[Vyce 0]

I'll be damned upset if they don't give him a tribute com Oscar time.

 

Those bastards in the Academy didn't do it for Hemphill, and I'm still bitter.

[WrestlingDeacon 0]

Berry didn't make any movies. The Oscars aren't going to cover him if he didn't make any movies.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Maybe he meant the Emmys?

[Guest Frank The Tank]

Jesus, so this makes at least 7 celeberties in the last 2 weeks.

 

R.I.P. Rerun

[BlackFlagg 0]

Hey-hey-hey

[Mecha Mummy 0]

... Oh Jesus fucking CHRIST I hate 2003. RIP Fred, you'll be missed.

[Steviekick 0]

RIP Fred.

 

I'll always remember Rerun.

[The Czech Republic 0]

This is a terrible loss for the television community. My favorite episode was when he was on Family Feud with Mama and the rest of the Harpers. His work on F-Troop was also brilliant. You'll be missed.

[WrestlingDeacon 0]

I guess I get to be the guy to point out that you're talking about Ken Berry, who is not dead but should probably be. And yes, I realize you're making a weak joke since Rico posted a picture of Rerun.

[Slayer 0]

I guess I get to be the guy to point out that you're talking about Ken Berry, who is not dead but should probably be. And yes, I realize you're making a weak joke since Rico posted a picture of Rerun.

At least he didn't make a joke about this Berry

 

[Lil' Bitch 0]

 

What the fuck is that?!!

[WrestlingDeacon 0]

Kids today, don't know what Fraken Berry is. Hell, I think it's even still on the shelves. There are three main monster cereals, Count Chocula, Fraken Berry and Boo Berry. There was also Fruit Brute and Fruity Yummy Mummy. Fraken Berry is pretty much like Count Chocula, but it's strawberry in flavor and appearance.

[Guest FrigidSoul]

Kids today, don't know what Fraken Berry is. Hell, I think it's even still on the shelves. There are three main monster cereals, Count Chocula, Fraken Berry and Boo Berry. There was also Fruit Brute and Fruity Yummy Mummy. Fraken Berry is pretty much like Count Chocula, but it's strawberry in flavor and appearance.

You'll see the occasional Boo Berry in Mass but as far as I know Franken Berry has long since been dead

 

Also what the fuck is up with the dog being the main thing on Cookie Crisp now? They just up and got rid of the cop and robber, then redid the dog's whole gimmik into some lovable cutesy-wutesy cereal companion.