Fred “Rerun” Berry passed away Tuesday. “What’s Happening”, although not the most brilliant or flattering show, was a favorite of mine as a child. I identified with Rog because he was skinny and was always getting a butt-whuppin’. I thought Dwayne was a total hottie. And Rerun just made it all worth it in the end. When I was in elementary school, I had a triumverate similar to theirs, but I was more like the Dwayne of the group because I was the best-looking. (Sorry I had to say that but if you were to look at it on a curve, nOva wins.)
Two years ago when I got my new TV (needed a new one because for some reason the old one didn’t work with my VCR) I was going through old tapes and I found one with 12 episodes of “What’s Happening”! I was too excited. The quality of the tape was horrible but I was dying laughing the whole way through, it brought back some memories for me. Even nowadays if I am in the club and drunk and feeling silly, I do the “Rog” or at least try to poplock like Minister Rerun, but never on the dancefloor. I’m never that drunk.
I’d been semi-keeping up with him via those late-night weekend airings of Entertainment Tonight when they do “Where Are They Now?” and learned that he’d been married multiple times and had addiction problems. I can only imagine how it feels to be forever tied to the persona you created as a youth. But in typical Rerun fashion, Fred Berry didn’t mind it. He wanted to always be remembered as “Rerun”. I know that despite his hardships, he had a wonderful spirit that has now advanced into an even greater one. We will always remember him fondly.
Read the obit here.
i loved seeing him in videos as well, doing the thing he knew the most – dancing. i still remember him (on What’s Happening) going to a Doobie Brothers concert and being caught trying to tape the show. hilarious.
he will be missed.
i have been looking for “what’s happening” shows on vhs or dvd’s but no luck. i really loved that show i especially loved rog and dee, but fred berry will be missed may he r.i.p.
I remember when the show debuted, I was out in Inglewood, California visiting my cousins. They were all into the show cuz it was very much about their lives. As an “easterner” I couldn’t quite relate to all that west coast silliness, but it was cute. And Dwayne was the cutest.