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IMDbPro

Ken Berry(1933-2018)

  • Actor
  • Additional Crew
  • Soundtrack
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Ken Berry
Mama's Family: Bye Bye Baby
Play trailer1:40
Bye Bye Baby (1990)
99+ Videos
44 Photos
Dancing and the military were a large part of Ken Berry's life. When he was 13 he attended a carnival at his grade school; the dancers impressed him so much that he decided that's what he wanted to do with his life. His parents were supportive, and his dad even booked Ken into variety type shows. At 16 Ken got to join the Horace Heidt Youth Opportunity Program. Ken toured towns all across the nation, and through the Air Force the troupe entertained in Germany, Ireland, England, UK and several other countries. Later, while serving in the army, Ken won a spot in Arlene Francis' Talent Patrol (1953) show. Ken also got into the All-Army talent contest and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) (aka "The Ed Sullivan Show"). When Ken's army hitch was up in 1955, he took the advice of his sergeant in Atlanta, Leonard Nimoy, to move to California. In 1957 Ken enrolled in a school, Falcon Studios, on the GI Bill to study acting. He got a job at the Cabaret Theater for $11 a week (that is not a typo). From 1958 to 1964 he was with the "Billy Barnes Revue." Lucille Ball came to see the revue, and offered Ken a job at Desilu Studios for $50 a week. It was also through the Barnes Revue that Ken met dancer Jackie Joseph; they were married on May 29, 1960. Ken made the transition to TV, and the couple adopted a son, John Kenneth, in 1964, and a daughter, Jennifer Kate, in 1965. A successful screen test led to his breakout role in the classic sitcom F Troop (1965). Ken was the bashful, bumbling but good-hearted captain who was always resisting Wrangler Jane's advances (but why?). Though the show was only on for two seasons, it seems like a lot longer because of reruns. After "F Troop", toward the very end of the next TV season, Ken landed the role of a lifetime--taking over for Andy Griffith in the retooled Mayberry R.F.D. (1968). The show was a hit with Ken in the lead and was still popular when it was canceled in the spring of 1971, when CBS axed all rural-oriented programming, a devastating blow personally and professionally to Ken. After "Mayberry"'s end, he appeared in an unsold The Brady Bunch (1969) spin-off pilot.

When work in TV got slow, Ken went on the road again, doing summer and winter stock. He kept hoping for a new series, and he got his wish with Mama's Family (1983). Since he played a married man in this series, he did not resist the advances of on-screen wife Dorothy Lyman (in fact, he seemed to be making up for lost time). The series aired for two seasons, then was canceled. Ken went back to doing theater productions. However, when "Mama's Family" was sold into syndication, more new episodes were going to be needed. From 1986 to 1990 it was a top-rated sitcom. Ken was about ready to retire - almost. He continued to get occasional TV roles, and tried theater again for a while (in 1993 he starred with Carol Burnett in the stage production of "From the Top"). Early in 1999 Ken ventured back into television with a guest spot. He enjoyed it. Old soldiers and entertainers never die - they just go into syndication.
BornNovember 3, 1933
DiedDecember 1, 2018(85)
BornNovember 3, 1933
DiedDecember 1, 2018(85)
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Photos44

Ken Berry and Georgia Brown in The Engelbert Humperdinck Show (1969)
Ken Berry and Engelbert Humperdinck in The Engelbert Humperdinck Show (1969)
Ken Berry and Engelbert Humperdinck in The Engelbert Humperdinck Show (1969)
Ken Berry and Engelbert Humperdinck in The Engelbert Humperdinck Show (1969)
Ken Berry, Larry Storch, and Forrest Tucker in F Troop (1965)
Ken Berry
Frances Bavier, Ken Berry, Buddy Foster, Arlene Golonka, and George Lindsey in Mayberry R.F.D. (1968)
Ken Berry and Letícia Román in The Andy Griffith Show (1960)
Ken Berry and Melody Patterson in F Troop (1965)
Ken Berry in F Troop (1965)
Ken Berry in F Troop (1965)
Ken Berry and Larry Storch in F Troop (1965)

Known for

Vicki Lawrence in Mama's Family (1983)
Mama's Family
7.3
TV Series
  • Vinton Harper
  • Carl Harper
Eunice (1982)
Eunice
8.1
TV Movie
  • Phillip
  • 1982
The Cat from Outer Space (1978)
The Cat from Outer Space
6.0
  • Frank
  • 1978
Herbie Rides Again (1974)
Herbie Rides Again
5.7
  • Willoughby Whitfield
  • 1974

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Carol Burnett in A Carol Burnett Christmas (2012)
    A Carol Burnett Christmas
  • Maggie Winters (1998)
    Maggie Winters
  • Tara Strong, Kevin Conroy, Loren Lester, and Mathew Valencia in The New Batman Adventures (1997)
    The New Batman Adventures
    • (voice)
  • Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, and Betty White in The Golden Girls (1985)
    The Golden Girls
  • Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1990)
    Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures
    • (voice)
  • Vicki Lawrence in Mama's Family (1983)
    Mama's Family
  • Tiffany Brissette, Richard Christie, Marla Pennington, Emily Schulman, and Jerry Supiran in Small Wonder (1985)
    Small Wonder
  • Gimme a Break! (1981)
    Gimme a Break!
  • Ricardo Montalban and Hervé Villechaize in Fantasy Island (1977)
    Fantasy Island
    • ...
  • Eunice (1982)
    Eunice
  • Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox in CHiPs (1977)
    CHiPs
  • Melissa Sue Anderson, Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Richard Bull, Sidney Greenbush, Jonathan Gilbert, Rachel Lindsay Greenbush, and Katherine MacGregor in Little House on the Prairie (1974)
    Little House on the Prairie
  • Featherstone's Nest (1979)
    Featherstone's Nest
  • Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange, Gavin MacLeod, and Lauren Tewes in The Love Boat (1977)
    The Love Boat
  • Apple Pie (1978)
    Apple Pie

Additional Crew

  • Vicki Lawrence in Mama's Family (1983)
    Mama's Family

Soundtrack

  • Julie Chen Moonves in Big Brother (2000)
    Big Brother
    • ("Big Brother theme", uncredited)
  • Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle! The Special Years (2008)
    Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle! The Special Years
  • The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1971)
    The Sonny and Cher Show
  • Ed Sullivan in The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)
    The Ed Sullivan Show
    • (uncredited)

Videos139

Trailer
Trailer 3:00
Trailer
MeTV Promo Trailer
Trailer 0:31
MeTV Promo Trailer
Mama's Family: Complete Collection
Trailer 1:52
Mama's Family: Complete Collection
Mama's Family: Family Fued
Trailer 1:58
Mama's Family: Family Fued
Mama's Family: There Is Nothing Like The Dames
Trailer 1:47
Mama's Family: There Is Nothing Like The Dames
Mama's Family: Pinup Mama
Trailer 2:03
Mama's Family: Pinup Mama
Mama's Family: Mama Sees Red
Trailer 1:58
Mama's Family: Mama Sees Red
Mama's Family: Tri-State's Most Wanted
Trailer 1:49
Mama's Family: Tri-State's Most Wanted
Mama's Family: A Blast From The Past
Trailer 1:51
Mama's Family: A Blast From The Past
Mama's Family: Pomp And Circumstance
Trailer 1:45
Mama's Family: Pomp And Circumstance
Mama's Family: Naomi's New Position
Trailer 1:12
Mama's Family: Naomi's New Position
Mama's Family: War Of The Roses
Trailer 1:30
Mama's Family: War Of The Roses

Personal details

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    • November 3, 1933
    • Moline, Illinois, USA
    • December 1, 2018
    • Burbank, California, USA(heart complications)
    • Jackie JosephMay 29, 1960 - June 1976 (divorced, 3 children)
  • Other works
    (1970s) TV commercials/print ads: Kinney shoe stores.

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Was discovered by comedian Lucille Ball.
  • Quotes
    Fred Astaire was my big hero. As Gene Kelly articulated it, 'He's a phenomenon.' No human body has ever been able to move like that. I don't think people now really appreciate that fact -- that there has never been a human being who moved like that. I've never seen anything like it in my life and I don't think any of us ever will. I know just enough about dance to know how impossible it is to do what he did. It's a really 'sweat' job, the hard work. When it comes to dance, nobody has ever touched him before or since.
    • Pratfalls and other physical comedy

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