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Kenneth Ronald Berry is a renaissance man; a tap dancer, Broadway performer, singer, adroit comedian and actor. But today, people associate him mostly with his persona on Mayberry RFD: that of a warm, loving family man who would make a conscientious neighbor or favorite uncle. In 2002, actress Betty White (who played his sister, Ellen, on Mama’s Family) said: "I'm a great Ken Berry booster. He's one of the most versatile, and personable talents I've known."

As a triple threat (dancer/actor/singer), Berry has had a colorful and enduring career. Few have had such success in multiple television shows (one being his friend and mentor Andy Griffith). Berry starred in the successful comedies F-Troop, The Andy Griffith Show spin-off Mayberry RFD, and The Carol Burnett Show spin-off Mama’s Family. He also appeared on Broadway in The Billy Barnes Review, has headlined as George M Cohan in the musical George M and even provided comic relief for the medical drama Dr. Kildare, with Richard Chamberlain in the 1960’s.

EARLY LIFE and CAREER
Berry was born November 3, 1933 in Moline, Illinois, one of two children to accountant Darrell and his wife, Bernice. His older sister, Dona Rae, rounded out the family. He is of Swedish-English decent.

Ken realized he wanted to be a dancer and singer at the age of 12, as he watched a kids’ dance performance during a school assembly. He dreamed of starring in movie musicals and would go to the movie theater to see Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly] in some of his favorite of their films including [[Easter Parade, Royal Wedding, On The Town and Summer Stock.

First Taste of the Big Time
After seeing the school performance Berry immediately started tap dance class and, at age 15, he won a local talent competition sponsored by radio and television big band leader Horace Heidt. Heidt asked Berry to join his traveling performance ensembleThe Horace Heidt Youth Opportunity Program, which was a very popular touring group. Berry’s parents drove him to Los Angeles to live with the rest of the troupe at the Horace Height ranch in the San Fernando Valley. He toured the US and parts of Europe for 15 months with the Program, dancing and singing for the public and at post-WWII Air Force bases overseas. Berry made lasting relationships with several of his co-cast members and Horace’s son, Horace Heidt Jr, who later launched a big band and radio career.

Ken Berry, Dance Teacher
After finishing the tour with Horace Heidt, Berry returned to Moline as one of the most well traveled people in town. Soon, Berry and a friend would convert an old grocery store into a dance studio where he would start teaching dance to other kids. Thinking that teaching dance could be his profession, Berry taught for about a year before deciding to refocus on his own performance career.

This is the Army
A few months after high school graduation Berry’s family drove him back to Los Angeles so that he could pursue stardom. But before he could really get started, his sense of duty for his country came calling. At age 20, Berry ‘volunteered for induction’ into the army and he was assigned to Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

His first year in the army was spent in the Artillery division, and one day, after coming back from maneuvers, his Sergeant announced a talent contest on base. The winner would get to go to New York City to appear on Arlene Francis' Soldier Parade. Corporal Berry, who always carried his tap shoes with him, went to the only place that had a floor he wouldn’t ruin by dancing on it – the latrine. He worked out a routine and a few hours later won the contest. Then it was off to NYC for a week and his television debut.

Berry’s second and final year was as a part of the Special Services Corp, under the command of Sergeant Leonard Nimoy, who would go on to become a legend himself as Star Trek’s Mr. Spock. As a part of Special Services, he toured the country’s Army bases and officers clubs entertaining the troops, as well as colleges for recruiting purposes. Soon another talent competition was held, this time it was the 'All Army Talent Competition', to find service personnel to appear on Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town (which later evolved into The Ed Sullivan Show). Berry placed 3rd in the ‘Specialty Act’ category with the song “They’ll Be Some Changes Made” and was on his way back to NYC and television. (This performance can be see on YouTube).

FILM CAREER
The Sullivan show appearance was to take place shortly before Ken would muster out of the Army, and although Berry thought it presumptuous to write the Hollywood studios asking them to watch his performance on Toast of the Town, Leonard Nimoy didn’t, and sent telegrams to several studios and talent agents asking them to watch Ken on the show. They tuned in, and Ken’s performance led to an offer from Twentieth Century Fox and a screen test at Universal Studios prior to his arrival back in Hollywood. He signed with an agent as soon as he hit town.

Berry accepted Universal’s offer and began as a contract player. Soon he was being groomed to take over for Donald O'Connor in the Francis the Talking Mule movie series; however Mickey Rooney became available and got the part. While at Universal Berry took full advantage of the studio’s talent development program and later, under the GI Bill, he honed his craft taking jazz, ballet, vocal and additional acting classes.

Unfortunately, the movie musicals Berry dreamed of being in had already seen their heyday by the time he reached Hollywood. Little did he know that acting, which he once thought of as “something I would do between song and dance routines,” would become the basis of his career.

Berry went on to star in the 1969 musical comedy Hello Down There (reissued as Sub a Dub Dub) as Mel Cheever, the nemesis to Tony Randall and Janet Leigh, and with Denver Pyle in 1976’s in Guardian of the Wilderness, the story of Galen Clark, the man who created Yosemite National Park. Ken also earned broader success as a Disney star in the films Herbie Rides Again in 1974 with Helen Hayes and Stephanie Powers, and The Cat From Outer Space in 1978 with Sandy Duncan and McLean Stevenson.

LAS VEGAS
In 1956, after being released from Universal, Berry returned to Las Vegas where he opened for and joined Abbott & Costello in their stage act, doing sketches and song & dance routines at the Sahara Hotel and Casino. While working with Abbott & Costello, he met Dee Arlen, an actress whom he credits with getting him his first big break from which almost all of his other opportunities would come. This was Berry’s first performance on the Las Vegas strip.

Then, in 1957, Berry was asked by Ken Murray (entertainer), a well known vaudeville performer, to join his stage variety show called ‘The Ken Murray Blackouts’. The Blackouts played to standing room only audiences, and Berry was asked to choreograph and perform the opening number for the show when it played the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Berry eventually returned to Las Vegas again in the 1970’s at the invitation of Andy Griffith. Andy, along with Ken and Jerry Van Dyke played Caesars Palace, where Berry performed song & dance numbers sandwiched by Andy and Jerry’s stand-up routines.

THE BILLY BARNES REVIEW
Actress Dee Arlen referred Berry for a role in the show “In League with Ivy” at the Cabaret Concert Theatre, a nightclub in Los Angeles. This show was where he met famed composer – impresario Billy Barnes who was the play’s composer. Barnes would bring Ken into The Billy Barnes Review ensemble, his next break, and he would perform in many of Barnes’ shows in the coming years.

While performing with Billy Barnes, Berry had the opportunity to work with many other talented performers that included Berry’s future wife, Jackie Joseph as well as Joyce Jameson, Bert Convy, Patti Regan, Ann Morgan Guilbert, Lennie Weinrib, and sketch writer/director Bob Rodgers. Several cast albums were made, which gave Berry his first taste of the world of vinyl.

Unfortunately, in November 1959, the original cast of the Broadway show was replaced two weeks after a legal dispute with the producers over a canceled performance. The cast had missed their flight from Chicago after a promotional appearance on Playboy's Penthouse and refunds had to be made to the ticket holders. Berry suddenly found himself looking for a new job and heading back to Los Angeles.

He continued to perform in several more stage shows in Los Angeles, singing, dancing and delivering a few lines. The press dubbed him ‘another Fred Astaire’ and ‘the next Gene Kelly’. His talent was also compared to that of Flamenco Dancer José Greco, legend Donald O'Connor, Ray Bolger and Jack Donohue.

Arthur Godfrey
From 1946 to 1958, Arthur Godfrey had an evening television show called Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. The show was a talent contest, and the winner would get a week’s work on Godfrey’s morning TV show, which was simulcast on the radio. In 1957 Berry won, performed his week on the show and was then asked back for six more weeks. He traveled with Godfrey and performed on remote broadcasts in an Omaha stock yard, in Seattle at a lumber camp and at the Boeing aircraft plant and at the San Diego Zoo. Berry was responsible for coming up with a new routine for every show, which were aired daily.

Carol Burnett


The Billy Barnes Review was very popular with the Hollywood crowd, and one evening Carol Burnett was in Los Angeles and saw Berry in the show. She was appearing on The Garry Moore Show in New York and convinced the producers to sign Berry as a guest star. Burnett would become a key alliance for Berry, using him on her own special, which eventually became The Carol Burnett Show. Ken was one of Burnett’s most frequent guest stars along with Jim Nabors and Steve Lawrence.

A notable dramatic performance by Berry that showcased his acting talent was on the 1982 Eunice special, which was based on The Carol Burnett Show sketch, The Family. The Family was somewhat of a pilot for Mama’s Family. Berry played Phillip, Eunice’s brother in the special; however he went on to play Vinton, a different brother on Mama’s Family.

His collaborations with Carol Burnett continued, and they appeared together in the 1972 CBS television special Once Upon A Mattress (twice, once in black and white and once in color), and in the 1993 Long Beach theatrical production of the From the Top.

Lucille Ball
Ken’s tenure with The Billy Barnes Review also led to another important connection in his career when he was spotted by Lucille Ball. Ms. Ball quickly asked him to join her new talent development program she was starting at Desilu, similar to the ‘talent pools’ (known as talent ‘programs’) that the other studios had. He was under contract with Desilu for six months, performing for both Lucy and Billy at the same time. The reviews for The Billy Barnes Review were largely positive, and additional investors contributed the extra money needed to move the show from the York Playhouse to Broadway, which meant he had to take leave from Desilu.

After returning from New York in 1960, Berry was brought back to Desilu to play Woody, a bell hop, on The Ann Sothern Show which was set in a swank New York hotel. The character was the show’s 'Greek chorus of one’, setting up the premise of the hotel guests at the beginning of each episode.

Later, in 1968, Lucy would ask Ken to guest star on The Lucy Show, where he played a bank client needing a loan to start a dance studio. Ken would perform a tribute to the classic Fred Astaire number “One for My Baby” and duet with Lucy for a fun rendition of “Lucy’s Back in Town”.

Additional Television Roles
After numerous smaller roles, Berry was eventually cast as one of three comic relief characters on Dr. Kildare, from 1961-1966. A regular on the series, Berry played Dr. Kapish, but all of his scenes were in a cafeteria or hall setting, not of a medical nature.

F–Troop and Mayberry RFD


Berry would continue doing guest roles and thought that he would at least be able to make a career as a day player, but while doing a small part on the short-lived George Burns - Connie Stevens sitcom Wendy & Me, both George and Connie recommended Ken for the pilot of F-Troop for ABC, a western spoof where he played the accident prone but lovable Captain Parmenter.

His first weekly role starring in a sitcom, Berry “danced around the house for weeks. Rightfully so, as Berry’s co-stars were Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch, both well-known performers. Berry called his time on F-Troop as “2 years of recess” as the entire cast spent time between takes trying to make each other laugh. His grace and agility allowed him to perform choreographed pratfalls over hitching posts, sabers, and trash cans as the accident-prone Captain Parmenter. He is noted for his dancing agility in one particular episode of the western, in which he walks down a boardwalk witlessly avoiding 13 hazards.

In 1967, during the second year of F-Troop, Dick Linke – who was Berry’s Manager (he also managed Andy Griffith and Jim Nabors) – pitched an F-Troop stage show to Bill Harrah, founder of Harrah's Entertainment which included a casino and hotel in Reno, Nevada. Harrah went for it and Berry, Larry Storch, Forrest Tucker and James Hampton put together a show, hiring writers and a choreographer to assist.

It was while performing the Reno show that they received word that F-Troop had been canceled due to a production/studio financial dispute.

The next year Berry was cast in a guest star role on The Andy Griffith Show as Sam Jones, a widowed farmer. The role was his introduction to Mayberry and he would take over the lead role once Griffith left the show. In 1968 Ken led the cast (most of the regulars stayed) of the newly titled Mayberry RFD.

While many thought that the show would die a quick death once Andy Griffith left, Ken’s portrayal of Sam Jones and the continuity with the rest of the cast kept the ratings high. Series writers used his "trouper" talents in stories around church revues and talent contests. On the 1970 Mayberry RFD installment "The Charity", he and co-star Paul Hartman did a soft shoe dance together. Berry would sometimes end a show on the porch at dusk, serenading others with such songs as Carolina Moon.

Unfortunately, in spite of finishing in 15th place for the year, Mayberry RFD was canceled in 1971 in what was called ‘the rural purge’, where shows set in a bucolic locale (The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres and Petticoat Junction) were replaced with the more hip fare of Norman Lear (All In The Family) and other modern shows like the The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

After Mayberry RFD, Berry went on to star in several TV Movies of the Week and his own summer replacement variety show on ABC called The Ken Berry 'Wow' Show in 1972, which ran for 5 episodes. This show was an opportunity for future stars Steve Martin, Cheryl Ladd and Teri Garr to showcase their talents. Unfortunately the show was not picked up, however Berry was still incredibly busy.

Later Television
In 1973 Sherwood Schwartz wrote a Brady Bunch spin-off called Kelly's Kids, which featured Berry as the adoptive father of three diverse boys (black, white and Asian). The pilot failed to interest ABC, but the concept was revived later in Diff'rent Strokes and Webster.

Over the next two decades Berry constantly guest starred on many other shows throughout his career including The Bob Newhart Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, several of Mitzi Gaynor’s specials, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, The Donny & Marie Show, Love Boat, Fantasy Island, CHiPS, and The Golden Girls.

Mama's Family
In 1983 Berry was cast as Vinton Harper in Mama’s Family, a spin-off from The Carol Burnett Show. This was yet another opportunity to work with some very talented actors including the versatile Vicki Lawrence, Dorothy Lyman, Rue McClanahan, Betty White, and Beverly Archer during the 6 seasons of the show. Mama’s Family aired on NBC from 1983 – 1984 and in repeats until 1985. It was then picked up for first-run syndication from 1986 – 1990. The complete run totaled 130 episodes.

LIFE ON THE WICKED STAGE
During and after Mama’s Family, Berry toured the US in various theatrical performances which included multiple performances of Sugar with co-stars such as Donald O'Connor, Mickey Rooney, Soupy Sales and Bobby Morse, The Music Man with Susan Watson (Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi were in the chorus), I Do! I Do! with Loretta Swit, and Gene Kelly's A Salute to Broadway with Howard Keel, and Mimi Hines. Kelly, who was to direct the production, fell ill and Berry would not have the opportunity to work with his idol.

COMMERCIALS
In his younger years, Berry signed with a modeling agency that put him in a variety of spots, including advertisements for tissues, cigarettes, cereal and a car commercial.

Years later, after signing with a commercial agent, Berry was a spokesman in commercials for Kinney Shoes from the mid-1970’s to the early 1980’s, singing and dancing to the "Great American Shoe Store" jingle.

RECORD ALBUMS
Berry’s first recording experience came with the Billy Barnes’ cast albums, one from the Broadway performance of The Billy Barnes Review and the second in Billy Barnes’ L.A.

Then, in after an appearance on The Andy Williams Show, Andy asked Ken to record a solo album on his new Barnaby label. Backed by a full orchestra which included some of the best instrumentalists of the time, ‘Ken Berry RFD’ was released in 1970.

PERSONAL LIFE
Berry married Jackie Joseph, a Billy Barnes cast mate (also famous as Audrey in the original Roger Corman cult hit Little Shop of Horrors), on May 29, 1960. They eventually adopted two children (John and Jennifer), but they divorced in 1977.

Berry has “loved cars and anything with wheels” since he was a young child, particularly smaller cars, and maintains a 1966 Mini Moke to this day. An avid motorcyclist, he would camp and ride the local Los Angeles mountain ranges to relax.

CREDITS
TELEVISION

Series / Regular Performer
 * Dr Kildare   (1961-1966)    Dr. Kapish
 * No Time for Sergeants   (1964-1965)    Joe Dalrymple
 * F Troop   (1965-1967)    Captain Parmenter
 * Mayberry RFD   (1968-1971)    Sam Jones
 * The Carol Burnett Show   (1968-1978)    Himself
 * The Art Linkletter Show (1970)  Himself
 * Ken Berry 'WOW Show' (1972)  Himself
 * Mama’s Family (1983-1990)  Vinton Harper

Guest Star
 * Talent Patrol (1954)  Himself
 * Playboy's Penthouse (1959, with The Billy Barnes Review cast)  Himself
 * Harrigan and Son (1960)  Curtis Decker
 * The Ann Sothern Show (1960)  Woody
 * Hennesey (1961)  Ensign Mayberry
 * The Asphalt Jungle (1961)  Doctor (uncredited)
 * The Garry Moore Show (1961)  Self
 * GE True Theater (1962)  Fiancé
 * The Bob Newhart Show (1962)  various
 * The Gertrude Berg Show (1962)  Oscar
 * Ensign O'Toole (1962-1963)  Lt. Melton / Calucci
 * Burke's Law (1963)  Clyde (fella at party)
 * Calhoun: County Agent (1964)  Otis Sorenson
 * Combat! (1964)  Motor Sergeant
 * The Dick Van Dyke Show (1964)  Tony Daniels
 * Hazel (1964)  Phil Merrick
 * The Rogues (1964)
 * 12 O'Clock High (1964-1965)  Major Bragg / Captain
 * Rawhide (1965)  Lt. Tendall
 * The Hollywood Palace (1965)  Himself
 * Carol & Company (1966)  Himself
 * Dateline: Hollywood (1967)  Himself
 * Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967)  Himself
 * The Danny Thomas Hour (1967)  Skip
 * The Woody Woodbury Show (1967)  Himself
 * You Don't Say (1967, game show)  Himself
 * The Andy Griffith Show (1968)  Sam Jones
 * Allen Ludden's Gallery (1969)  Himself
 * The Ed Sullivan Show (1969)  Himself
 * The Leslie Uggams Show (1969)  Himself
 * Wake Me When the War is Over (1969)  Lt. Roger Carrington
 * The Andy Williams Show (1969-1971)  Himself
 * The First Nine Months are the Hardest (1971)  first husband
 * The Reluctant Heroes (1971)  Lt. Parnell Murphy
 * This Is Your Life: Andy Griffith (1971)  Himself
 * Love American Style (1971-1973)  various
 * Arthur Godfrey's Portable Electric Medicine Show (1972)  Himself
 * Every Man Needs One (1972, with Connie Stevens)  David Chase
 * Once Upon a Mattress (1972, with Carol Burnett)  Dauntless the Drab
 * The Julie Andrews Hour (1972)  Himself
 * Letters from Three Lovers (1973)  Jack
 * Miss Teenage America Pageant (1973 & 19974) Self - Master of Ceremonies
 * Mitzi - The First Time (1973)  Himself
 * The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast of Wilt Chamberlain (1973)  Himself
 * The Mouse Factory (1973)  Himself
 * Kelly's Kids (1974, unsold pilot)  Ken Kelly
 * Stand Up and Cheer (1974)  Himself
 * Tattletales (1974,game show)  Himself
 * The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (1974)  Himself
 * Medical Center (1975)  Allan Ronston
 * Mitzi and a Hundred Guys (1975)  Himself
 * The Jim Stafford Show (1975)  Himself
 * Ellery Queen (1976)  DJ Paul Parker / Buddy
 * Mitzi - Roarin' in the Twenties (1976)  Himself
 * Over and Out (1976)  Capt. Paddy Patterson
 * Dinah! (1977)  Himself
 * The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams (1977)  Will Boker
 * The Love Boat II (1977)  Dr Jim Berkley
 * Valentine's Second Chance (1977)  Jimmy Valentine
 * Apple Pie (1978)
 * CBS: On the Air (1978)  Himself
 * Fantasy Island (1978-1982)  various
 * Featherstone's Nest (1979)  Dr. Charlie Featherstone
 * Little House on the Prairie (1979)	London
 * The Love Boat (1979)  Robert Noble
 * CHiPS (1980)  Kelly
 * The Big Show (1980)  Himself
 * Eunice (1982)  Phil Harper
 * Just Men! (1983, game show hosted by Betty White)  Himself
 * Texaco Star Theatre: Opening Night (1983)  Himself
 * Gimme A Break (1985)  Dave
 * Small Wonder (1986)  Buddy O'Conner
 * The Golden Girls (1992)  Thor Anderson
 * Vicki! Mama's Family Reunion  (1992)  Himself
 * Intimate Portrait: Vicki Lawrence (1993)  Himself
 * The New Adventures of Batman (1997)  Seymour Grey
 * Maggie Winters (1999)  Sheriff Riley
 * E! True Hollywood Story: Andy of Mayberry (2000)  Himself
 * Inside TV Land: The Andy Griffith Show (2000)  Himself
 * CMT: The Greatest Country Comedy Shows (2006)  Himself
 * My First Time: Variety is the Spice of Life (2006)  Himself

FILMOGRAPHY


 * Two for the Seesaw (1962)  Larry (dancing with Shirley MacLaine, uncredited)
 * The Lively Set (1964)  Hotel Room Service Waiter (uncredited)
 * Hello Down There (1969, later re-released as Sub A Dub Dub)  Mel Cheever
 * Herbie Rides Again (1974)  Willoughby Whitfield
 * Guardian of the Wilderness (1976)  Zachary More
 * The Cat From Outer Space (1978)  Frank

THEATER


 * In League with Ivy (1957)	Himself
 * Billy Barnes Review (1958)  Himself
 * Billy Barnes' People (1960)  Himself
 * Vintage '60 (1960)  Himself
 * Billy Barnes' Hollywood (1961)  Himself
 * Little Mary Sunshine (1961)  Captain 'Big Jim' Warington
 * The Billy Barnes Review (1961)  Himself
 * Billy Barnes' LA (1963)  Himself
 * The Best of Billy Barnes (1964)  Himself
 * The Music Man (1974)  Prof. Harold Hill
 * Gene Kelly's Salute to Broadway (1975)  Himself
 * Run for Your Wife (1984)  John Smith
 * From the Top (1993, with Carol Burnett)  various characters
 * George M! (multiple years)  George M. Cohen
 * I Do! I Do! (multiple years)  Michael Snow
 * Sugar (multiple years)  Joe