Actor Fred ‘Rerun’ Berry Dies at Age 52
LOS ANGELES – Fred Berry, the bulb-shaped, squeaky-voiced actor famous for playing red-beret-wearing Rerun on the 1970s TV sitcom “What’s Happening!”, has died at age 52, police said Wednesday.
Berry died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles apparently of natural causes, police Officer Jason Lee said. The county coroner was investigating, but friends said Berry had been ill because of a recent stroke.
He wore his red beret and suspenders in real life, and it was unclear whether he originally brought his own style to the character of Rerun or whether he was forever mimicking the goofball character that made him famous.
“What’s Happening!”, which ran from 1976-1979, focused on three teenage friends ó Rerun, Raj and Dwayne ó who learn about life, women and trouble while growing up in Los Angeles.
The name Rerun, according to Berry, referred to the character’s brainlessness: In the summer, he had to rerun all the classes he failed during the school year.
Among the more famous episodes was one in which Rerun joined a bizarre cult and another in which he was busted for making bootlegged tapes of a Doobie Brothers concert.
Berry’s success on the show was clouded by his heavy use of marijuana and cocaine. “There were dealers right there in the studio, people that worked there,” he said in 1996.
By the time “What’s Happening!” ended, Berry said he had blown more than a million dollars on drugs, cars, homes and an airplane. With no acting jobs heading his way, Berry tried to live off his fame by charging for appearances at shopping malls.
Lately, he had earned money by calling fans on the telephone, taking part in the service www.HollywoodIsCalling.com. About $30 would earn a fan a 30-second call.
Rerun brought Berry another brief moment of success in 1985, when “What’s Happening!” was revived as the syndicated “What’s Happening Now!” Berry quit in a contract dispute after the first season, and the show ended in 1987.
By 1986, Berry says, he abandoned drugs and started speaking to churches, schools and other groups, finally working as a minister in Madison, Ala.
He continued to dabble in show business. Berry recently appeared on the TV shows “Star Dates” on the E! Entertainment Network, MTV’s “Doggy Fizzle Televizzle” with Snoop Dogg and in a cameo role in the David Spade comedy film “Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.”
Berry married a dancer while in his 20s, and the two divorced, remarried and divorced again. Berry also married and divorced his second wife twice, most recently in 1991. He also married and divorced two other women.
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