Fred Berry

Actor

March 19, 1951

Biography

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". He reprised his role as Rerun in the series What's Happening Now!! but was only on the 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.