Fred Berry on AllMovie

His role as the fun loving Rerun on television's popular comedy What's Happening! made actor Fred Berry one of the most beloved small-screen characters of the 1970s. Though Berry continued to act as he battled severe drug and alcohol addictions throughout the '80s, his popularity never again reached the heights it did in the '70s, save for a role in the 1985 What's Happening! revival, What's Happening Now! A St. Louis, MO, native who danced with the Los Angeles-based dance troupe The Lockers, Berry, who was 25 at the time, burst onto the scene in 1976 as the scatterbrained Rerun. His other '70s roles included a guest appearance on the popular sitcom Alice and hosting a 1976 episode of Saturday Night Live. In addition to What's Happening Now! in the '80s, Berry also turned up as the Sugar Pimp in the 1982 thriller Vice Squad. By the mid-'80s Berry had overcome his drug addiction, dropped his weight by 100 pounds after being diagnosed as a diabetic, and found his calling as a Baptist minister in Atlanta. After returning to the screen in 1998 with In the Hood, Berry joined Rudy Ray Moore and Mick Foley for the Insane Clown Posse comedy Big Money Hustla$. Berry's final onscreen appearance came with a cameo in the 2003 David Spade comedy Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. Married six times to four women, the popular actor could usually be recognized by fans on the street with his trademark beret and suspenders. Berry died of natural causes October 21, 2003, in Los Angeles. He was 52.