Fred Allen Berry (March 19, 1951 – October 21, 2003) was an American actor and street dancer. He was best known for his role as Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs on the 1970s television show ''

What's Happening!! ''What's Happening!!'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from August 5, 1976, until April 28, 1979, premiering as a summer series. Due to other shows being cancelled across the network, and good ratings and reviews from ...

Career

Berry was born on March 19, 1951, in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, and grew up in an inner-city

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States a ...

. He had aspirations of becoming a successful dancer and actor as a child. Early in his career, Berry was a member of the Los Angeles-based dance troupe

The Lockers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, with whom he appeared on the third episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' in 1975. He additionally appeared on the dance music show ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series w ...

'', and was featured in the program's signature line dance segment doing the memorable early 1970s dance step "the slo-mo". Berry achieved more widespread fame playing the character Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

sitcom ''What's Happening!!'', which aired from 1976 to 1979 as he was in his mid 20s. The role was originally going to be given by that of a skinny and white actor. His earned Rerun

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...

was chosen because the character had to continuously repeat all of his classes during summer school. He became one of the show's top characters with a trademark red beret, suspenders, and the dance moves he previously used during his time with The Lockers. In 1985, Berry returned to reprise his role as Rerun in the series ''

What's Happening Now!! ''What's Happening Now!!'' is an American sitcom sequel to the original ABC 1976–79 sitcom '' What's Happening!!'' focusing on its main characters as adults. It aired in first-run broadcast syndication from September 7, 1985 until March 26, 19 ...

''. He was fired before the first season ended due to a salary dispute, when he requested that he receive more money than the rest of the cast. Berry struggled with drug and alcohol issues throughout the span of his career and life. In 1996, he told People magazine “I was a millionaire by the time I was 29, but then the stress of success got to me. The fat jokes got to me. And I got heavily into drugs and alcohol.” In a 1996 interview, he said that he had been experimenting with drugs and alcohol since he was a teenager, but as he became more successful, he could afford more drugs. Berry had attempted suicide three times, but later recovered and spent his time visiting many churches. During the 1990s, Berry became a motivational speaker and

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister, and lost 100 lbs after being diagnosed with type 2

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

Personal life and death

Berry was married six times to four different women, the first two of whom he married twice each. He has three children: DeShannon, Portia and Freddy, who works as Fred Berry Jr. On October 21, 2003, Berry was found dead at his Los Angeles home, where he was recovering from a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. The cause of death was listed as natural causes. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...

of Los Angeles.

Filmography

* ''Hammer'' (1972) – Dancer (uncredited) *''

'' (1976-1979) – Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs *''

The Brady Bunch Variety Hour ''The Brady Bunch Hour'' is an American variety show featuring skits and songs produced by Sid & Marty Krofft Productions in association with Paramount Television. It ran on ABC from November 28, 1976, to May 25, 1977. The series starred the o ...

'' (1977) – Rerun (one episode) *''

Vice Squad A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tr ...

'' (1982) – Sugar Pimp Dorsey *''A Stroke of Genius'' (1984) *'' Alice'' (1984) – Bobo (one episode) *''

'' (1985-1986) – Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs *''

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

'' (1993) – Himself (one episode) *''In the Hood'' (1998) – Uncle Paul *''

Big Money Hustlas ''Big Money Hustlas'' is a 2000 American comedy film directed by John Cafiero as his feature film debut. The film, a homage to exploitation films of the 1970s, focuses on a streetwise San Francisco detective who tries to take down a New York City c ...

'' (2000) – Bootleg Greg *''Bum Runner'' (2002) – Can Man (short film) *'' Scrubs'' (2003) – Himself (one episode) *'' Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star'' (2003) – Himself *''In the Land of Merry Misfits'' (2007) – Himself

Other selected appearances

*''

Battle of the Network Stars III ''Battle of the Network Stars'' is a series of competitions in which television stars from ABC, CBS and NBC would compete in various sporting events. A total of 19 of these competitions were held between 1976 and 1988, all of which were aired ...

'' (1977) – Himself *" I Wonder Who She's Seeing Now" by

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

(1988) – Club Patron (music video) *''

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...

'' (1992) – Himself (one episode) *''

In Living Color ''In Living Color'' is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in a ...

'' (1993) – Himself (one episode) *'' Murder Was the Case: The Movie'' (1995) – Rerun (music video short) *''The Freshest Kids: A History of the B-Boy'' (2001) – Himself *'' I Love the '70s'' (2003) – Himself (one episode)

References

External links

* *
Lockerlegends.net Fred Berry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Fred 1951 births 2003 deaths African-American Baptist ministers American male television actors 20th-century American male actors Male actors from St. Louis Male actors from Los Angeles African-American male actors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) People with type 2 diabetes 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States