Kenneth Ronald Berry was an American actor, comedian, dancer, and singer.
36 Facts About Ken Berry
2.
Ken Berry was born in Moline in Northwestern Illinois, one of two children of an accountant, Darrell Ken Berry, and his wife, Bernice.
3.
Ken Berry realized he wanted to be a dancer and singer at age 12, as he watched a children's dance performance during a school assembly.
4.
Ken Berry then dreamed of starring in musicals and went to movie theaters to watch Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in some of his favorite films such as Easter Parade, Royal Wedding, On the Town, and Summer Stock.
5.
Ken Berry soon began attending tap dance classes, and by age 15 he won a local talent competition sponsored by radio and television big band leader Horace Heidt.
6.
Ken Berry accepted and toured the United States and Europe for 15 months, dancing and singing for the public and at post-World War II United States Air Force bases overseas.
7.
Ken Berry headed to New York for his television debut.
8.
Ken Berry placed third in the "Specialty Act" category with the song "There'll Be Some Changes Made" and returned to New York City and television.
9.
Ken Berry signed with an agent as soon as he arrived in Hollywood.
10.
Ken Berry accepted Universal's offer and began as a contract player.
11.
The movie musicals Ken Berry admired had already seen their heyday; however, acting, which he once thought of as "something I would do between song and dance routines", became the basis of his career.
12.
Ken Berry earned broader success as a Disney star in the films Herbie Rides Again in 1974, with Helen Hayes and Stefanie Powers, and The Cat from Outer Space in 1978, with Sandy Duncan and McLean Stevenson.
13.
In 1956, after being released from Universal, Ken Berry ventured to Las Vegas where he opened for and joined Abbott and Costello in their stage act, performing sketches and song and dance routines at the Sahara Hotel and Casino.
14.
The Blackouts played to standing-room-only audiences, and Ken Berry was asked to choreograph and perform the opening number for the show when it played the Riviera hotel and casino in Las Vegas.
15.
Ken Berry eventually returned to Las Vegas again in the 1970s at the invitation of Andy Griffith.
16.
Ken Berry performed in several stage shows in Los Angeles; the press dubbed him "another Fred Astaire" and "the next Gene Kelly".
17.
Ken Berry's talent was compared to that of Flamenco Dancer Jose Greco, the legendary hoofer Donald O'Connor, Ray Bolger, and Jack Donahue.
18.
Ken Berry won in 1957, performed his week on the show, and was then asked back for six more weeks.
19.
Ken Berry traveled with Godfrey and performed on remote broadcasts in an Omaha stock yard, in Seattle at a lumber camp, at the Boeing aircraft plant, and at the San Diego Zoo.
20.
Ken Berry came up with a new routine for every show, which aired daily.
21.
Ken Berry was appearing on The Garry Moore Show in New York and convinced the producers to sign Berry as a guest star.
22.
Burnett became a key ally for Ken Berry, using him on her own special, which eventually became CBS's The Carol Burnett Show.
23.
Ken Berry was one of Burnett's most frequent guest stars along with Jim Nabors and Steve Lawrence.
24.
Ken Berry played Phillip, Eunice's brother, in the special; however he went on to play Vinton, a different brother, on Mama's Family.
25.
Ken Berry was under contract with Desilu for six months, performing for both Ball and Barnes at the same time.
26.
Ken Berry performed a tribute to the Fred Astaire number "Steppin' Out with My Baby" and a duet with Ball for a rendition of "Lucy's Back in Town".
27.
Ken Berry called his time on F-Troop "two years of recess" as the entire cast spent time between takes trying to make each other laugh.
28.
The next year, Ken Berry was cast in the featured role of Sam Jones, a widowed farmer, on the last few episodes of The Andy Griffith Show.
29.
Ken Berry sometimes ended a show on the porch at dusk, serenading others with such songs as "Carolina Moon".
30.
In 1983, Ken Berry was cast as Vinton Harper in Mama's Family, a spin-off from The Carol Burnett Show with comic actors including Vicki Lawrence, Dorothy Lyman, and Rue McClanahan.
31.
Kelly, who was Ken Berry's idol, was set to direct the production, but fell ill.
32.
Years later, after signing with a commercial agent, Ken Berry was a spokesman in commercials for Kinney Shoes from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, singing and dancing to the "Great American Shoe Store" jingle.
33.
Ken Berry married Jackie Joseph, a Billy Barnes castmate, on May 29,1960.
34.
On November 29,1962, their son Joseph Larson Ken Berry was born but died 6 days later on December 5,1962.
35.
Ken Berry "loved cars and anything with wheels" from the time he was a young child, particularly smaller cars, and maintained a 1966 Mini Moke.
36.
Ken Berry died of heart complications in Burbank, California, on December 1,2018, at the age of 85.