Ken Berry
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Kenneth Ronald "Ken" Berry (born November 3, 1933, in Moline, Illinois) is an American dancer, actor and comedian. Berry, along with Dan Dailey ("The Governor and JJ"), and Buddy Ebsen ("The Beverly Hillbillies") began their careers as dancers and went on to star in 1960s sitcoms.
While in the Army, Berry made his television debut on Arlene Francis' "Soldier Parade". Winning the all-army talent contest led to a spot on Ed Sullivan's "Toast of the Town" (which later evolved into "The Ed Sullivan Show"). After leaving the service, Berry got a career boost performing with the Billy Barnes Revues in the 1950s and early 1960s, where he met his future wife, Jackie Joseph. In the late 1950s, Berry appeared as a hotel bellhop named "Woody" in CBS's Ann Sothern series.
Being cast as a semi-regular doctor on NBC's "Dr. Kildare" and as a choreographer on an episode of "The Dick Van Dyke Show," (Ann Morgan Guilbert, who played Millie Helper was also a Billy Barnes Revue alum), gave him the visibility he needed with Hollywood producers. Berry then went on to portray the television characters of Captain Wilton Parmenter on F Troop, Sam Jones on Mayberry R.F.D. and Vinton Harper on Mama's Family.
Berry's grace and agility allowed him to do choreographed pratfalls over hitching posts, swords and trash cans while playing the accident-prone Captain Parmenter. From 1968 to 1971, he was the head resident of "Mayberry RFD", having taken over for Andy Griffith. In 1972, Berry had his own summer replacement series, The Ken Berry 'Wow' Show. That same year, Sherwood Schwartz had written a Brady Bunch spin-off ("Kelly's Kids"), featuring Berry as the adoptive dad of three diverse boys (white, black and Asian). While the pilot failed to excite ABC network brass, the concept was revisited years later in "Different Strokes" and "Webster". As a favorite guest on The Carol Burnett Show in the 1970s, Berry was chosen to star in the series spin-off of "Mama's Family", featuring the dysfunctional Harper family.
Series writers would showcase his "trouper" talents in storylines that involved church revues and community talent shows. On a 1970 "Mayberry RFD" installment, he and RFD co-star Paul Hartman shared the stage in a soft shoe dance routine. Not unlike Andy Griffith, Berry would sometimes end an epilogue on the porch at dusk, serenading others with tunes such as "Carolina Moon". He was also center stage at the Bigger Jigger Pub's amateur night on "Mama's Family". In an episode of The Golden Girls, he appeared as Rose Nylund's (Betty White's) old high school sweetheart, Thor Anderson.
His film credits include 1969's "Hello Down There" and the Disney motion pictures Herbie Rides Again and The Cat from Outer Space.
After "Mama's Family" ended, Berry continued to perform/tour for a few more years in stage shows such as George M! and The Music Man. He was married to actress Jackie Joseph from May 29, 1960 until 1977, with whom he adopted two children.
[edit] Trivia
- Berry's army sergeant was Leonard Nimoy, who urged the performer to return to California for television auditions.
- Berry called his stint on "F-Troop" "two years of recess", and has referred to the idyllic Mayberry as "America's 'Brigadoon'".
[edit] External links
- Ken Berry at the Internet Movie Database
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