Digger
10-23-2003, 11:50 AM
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Fred "Rerun" Berry, a star of the 1970s sitcom "What's Happening!," has died. He was 52.
Berry died in his sleep Tuesday (Oct. 21) at his Los Angeles home, a representative for his agency, Arlene Thornton and Associates, tells Zap2it.
Although "What's Happening!" went off the air in 1979 -- a version of the show called "What's Happening Now!" aired in syndication in the mid-1980s -- Berry remained synonymous with the character of Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs for much of the rest of his life. He almost always wore Rerun's trademark red beret and suspenders in public.
Berry battled a drug problem in the '80s and didn't work in Hollywood for a number of years. Recently, though, he'd begun to mount something of a comeback.
He appeared as himself on an episode of NBC's "Scrubs" last season and had a cameo in the feature film "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star." Other recent credits included E!'s "Star Dates" and VH1's "I Love the '70s."
The Los Angeles coroner's office will investigate the cause of Berry's death, but it doesn't appear to involve foul play, his agent says.
Berry died in his sleep Tuesday (Oct. 21) at his Los Angeles home, a representative for his agency, Arlene Thornton and Associates, tells Zap2it.
Although "What's Happening!" went off the air in 1979 -- a version of the show called "What's Happening Now!" aired in syndication in the mid-1980s -- Berry remained synonymous with the character of Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs for much of the rest of his life. He almost always wore Rerun's trademark red beret and suspenders in public.
Berry battled a drug problem in the '80s and didn't work in Hollywood for a number of years. Recently, though, he'd begun to mount something of a comeback.
He appeared as himself on an episode of NBC's "Scrubs" last season and had a cameo in the feature film "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star." Other recent credits included E!'s "Star Dates" and VH1's "I Love the '70s."
The Los Angeles coroner's office will investigate the cause of Berry's death, but it doesn't appear to involve foul play, his agent says.