musicNEWS:
Fred 'Rerun' Berry Dead at 52
10-23-03
Keavin
.
Fred Berry, best known for his role as Rerun
in the 70s sitcom Whats Happening! passed away at the age of 52 on
Tuesday.
Berry died in his Los Angeles home of what
appears to be natural causes, according to police. The exact cause of death
will not be known until the coroner completes an investigation. However,
Berry was said to be in poor health following a recent stroke.
Berrys rise to fame came in 1976 when
he was cast as the goofball and dimwitted Rerun in the hit sitcom Whats
Happening!, which centered on three young black teens in Los Angeles.
Legend has it that the name Rerun was
based on the character having to rerun his classes in the summer since
he failed them during the school year.
The show ran for 3 years but Berry reportedly
took to a life of stardom and excess while the show was in full swing,
often abusing cocaine and marijuana. Berry claimed to have run through
over a million dollars on cars, drugs, homes and not to mention several
failed marriages.
He had a hard time finding work after the
show was cancelled and took to appearing in shopping malls. He did get
a second chance when the show was reprised in 1985 with Whats Happening
Now! but he became embroiled in a contract dispute and quit the show after
one season.
Berry managed to pull his life back together
in 1986 when he found religion. He ultimately gave up his drug lifestyle
and began working as a minister in Alabama for a short time.
He has made sporadic tv appearances over
the years, the most recent were on MTVs "Doggy Fizzle Televizzle" with
Snoop Dogg, E!s Star Dates, VH1s retrospect on the 70s and also a
cameo in Dave Spades "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star."
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