Fred "Rerun" Berry

Fred Allen Berry, aka Rerun, was born in St. Louis on March 19, 1951.  Although he grew up in a housing project, fame and success came at a relatively young age.  Berry was a born entertainer known for his humor and for his dancing, which were not always mutually exclusive.

In 1971, he joined the Los Angeles-based dance troup The Lockers, one of the early pioneers of breakdancing.  The group made several appearances on television, including the third episode of Saturday Night Live.  Berry was also a guest on the dance variety series Soul Train, where he performed the 70's dance step "the slow-mo."  Here he is in 1973 and again in 1984.

His dancing caught the attention of television executives who were planning a new series featuring an African-American family.  In 1976, with no professional acting experience whatsoever, Berry was cast in the role of Rerun on the ABC sit-com What's Happening!!.  It would define his life.  Watch the iconic intro here.

The cast of "What's Happening!!"

The series was an overnight success and made stars of its young cast.  It ran successfully for three seasons before running out of gas in 1979.  But this would not be the end of the series.

In 1985, after five years of successful syndication (notice how I didn't say reruns), the series returned as What's Happening Now!!.  Nearly all of the cast reunited for the new series, which like the original, ran for three seasons, this time in first-run syndication.  Berry would only appear in the first season however, when contract negotiations could not be settled.  Watch the series intro here.

Following his departure from the series, Berry returned to the world of dance and began a musical career as well. In 1991, he released a gospel album entitled "Always on Time."

Berry relocated to the east coast in the late 90s and was a resident of Prince George's County, Maryland.  He turned to other avenues of employment, including real estate.  He was a pitchman for Hollywood Comes to Hampton Road, a housing community in Virginia Beach.  He was also a Baptist minister.

Berry also joined the circus.  The Univer-Soul Circus to be exact, an African-American owned and operated traveling show.  In 2001, he signed a one-year contract to appear as a performer in the show.  Things went south rather quickly however, after Berry became upset that he was being asked to perform as his character Rerun.  He brought a lawsuit against the company, Berry v. Soul Circus, Inc., which you can read in its entirety here.

By 2003, Berry had returned to Los Angeles, where he suffered a stroke. On October 21st, he died in his home.

He was interred at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills.  For years, the grave remained unmarked, and it was quite a challenge to actually locate it.  But now a marker reveals the location.

Inscription: Beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather, Friend, Dancer, Actor, Singer & Comedian.
Hey Hey Hey!
Location: Tribute Section, Lot 1015, Grave 4

Rest in peace, Rerun.

Trivia

• Rerun and the rest of the cast appeared together on another ABC series, The Brady Bunch Hour.  Watch the episode in its entirety here.
  
  
• Rerun was very fond of weddings, having walked down the aisle himself no less than six times.
  
  

• Rerun showed off his dance moves in Snoop Doggy Dogg's music video "Doggy Dogg World."  Watch it here.
  
  
• VH1 did a "Where Are They Now Segment" on Rerun in 2002.  Watch it here.
  
  
• Five years after Rerun passed, his final film, Rerun's in the Hood Comedy Jam, was released on DVD.  Rerun plays Uncle Paul, an arms dealer and drug kingpin who also owns "Hooterville," the hottest strip club in town.  Pick up a copy here.