Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Fred "Rerun" Berry

Fred "Rerun" Berry (1951 – 2003) was an American actor best known for the role of Fred "Rerun" Stubbs on the popular 1970s television show What's Happening!!.


Berry was born in St. louis, Missouri. Before starring on What's Happening!!, he was a member of the Los Angeles based dance troupe "The Lockers". During that time Berry's nickname was “The Penguin”.

What's Happening!! lasted from 1976 to 1979. He was a millionaire by age 29. After the show ended, Berry had trouble finding work because he was permanently identified with the Rerun character.
Eventually however, he came to embrace his being typecast, and made his peace with it as the best means to maintain his celebrity. In public, he was often seen wearing the red beret and red suspenders that are part of the Rerun character, and even went so far as to have his middle name legally changed to "Rerun".

During the 1980s, Berry battled drug addiction and alcoholism. He revived the character of Rerun in the series What's Happening Now!!, but he was only on that show for a year.
During the 1990s, Berry became a Baptist minister and lost 100 pounds (45 kg) after being diagnosed with diabetes. He made a living during this time mostly through making public appearances as Rerun.
Berry was married six times to four different women.

Berry died on October 21, 2003, at his Los Angeles home where he was recovering from a stroke.

1 comment:

  1. Hi! This is Rerun's Daughter! Lady Rerun is my name! Check out my online talk show The Lady Rerun Show at www.blogtalkradio.com/reruns-daughter
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