Beloved ’70s sitcom actor Fred Berry played one of TV’s most comedic characters. Freddie “Rerun” Stubbs was not so bright but funny and lovable. Stubbs was Raj and Dwayne’s smart-mouthed friend who always cracked jokes at their expense.

Fred Berry played a TV character that made many people laugh with his antics without prior experience. Before his small screen breakthrough, Berry reached new heights in dancing after graduating from the Bourbon Day Catholic Boys School in Los Angeles.

He was discovered by Don Campbell while dancing in nightclubs, and he began dancing with the Lockers. They made their first TV appearance in 1973 when Dick Clark hired them to dance for Roberta Flack.

Word got around that NBC’s Sanford and Son offices sought actors for a new show, What’s Happening!!. So, Berry went in to read for the character and was told the next day that he had gotten the part.

How Fred Berry got the role of Rerun

“No agent, no appointment, no acting experience — a real Hollywood story.”

With no acting experience, Berry had to think quickly, as the producers had initially told him he wasn’t what they were looking for. “After I read, though the producers thanked me and told me I’d done well, they were looking for a tall white guy for the Rerun character,” Berry told the Cincinnati Enquirer in 1977.

When he realized they were serious, the 30-year-old was on a mission to make the producers believe he was the character. “Arrogant with a smart mouth and always telling jokes and laughing — smart-alecky. Partly like me”.

The actor quickly discovered that acting was unlike dancing. He described dancing as tiring him out physically while acting tired him mentally; luckily, the other actors on set helped him get used to the tiresome world of show business.

“I’ve learned a lot about TV and acting from everybody on the show. Especially when they found out I’d never acted before. They’ve been so helpful.”