Fred Berry

Fred Berry

Fred Berry (actor).jpg

Born Fred Allen Berry

March 19, 1951

St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.

Died October 21, 2003 (aged 52)

Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Cause of death Stroke, Diabetes, Natural Causes

Resting place Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, California, U.S.

Occupation Actor, street dancer

Spouse(s) Franchesska Berry (1976-1976)

Franchesska Berry (1978-1980)

Carol Ann Ross (1984-1991)

Darlene Bitten (1994-1999)

Essie Berry (1999-2003)

Children DeShannon Berry

Portia Berry-Allen

Fred Berry, Jr.

From TV's What's Happening!! (1977). Seated, L-R: Fred Berry, Ernest Lee Thomas, and Haywood Nelson (back to camera). Standing: Shirley Hemphill.

Fred Allen 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!!

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.

He reprised his role as Rerun in the series What's Happening Now!! but he was only on that show for one season. Berry asked for more money than the rest of the cast (believing he was the reason people tuned in). Berry's widow, Essie Berry, told Urbanite magazine at Georgia State University that their unwillingness to pay Fred Berry his due in both shows led to their early cancellations. During the 1990s, Berry became a Baptist minister and lost 100 lbs after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Berry was married five times to four different women, the first of whom he married twice.

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.

Filmography

Hammer (1972)

What's Happening!! as Fred "Rerun" Stubbs (1976-1979)

Battle of the Network Stars III as Himself (1977)

Vice Squad as Sugar Pimp Dorsey (1982)

A Stroke of Genius (1984)

Alice, one episode (1984)

What's Happening Now!! as Fred "Rerun" Stubbs (1985-1986)

"I Wonder Who She's Seeing Now" by The Temptations, music video (1988)

The Howard Stern Show (1992)

In Living Color as Himself (1993)

Martin (1993), one episode, as Himself (1993)

Murder Was the Case: The Movie (1995)

In the Hood (1998)

Big Money Hustlas as Bootleg Greg (2000)

The Freshest Kids: A History of the B-Boy as Himself (2001)

Bum Runner (2002)

Scrubs, one episode, as Fred "Rerun" Stubbs (2003)

I Love the '70s as Himself (2003)

Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star as Himself (2003)

In the Land of Merry Misfits (2005)