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NY Times, AP

Ken Berry, Star of ‘F Troop,’ ‘Mayberry R.F.D.’ and ‘Mama’s Family,’ Dies at 85

Dec 3, 2018  •  Post A Comment

“Ken Berry, the boyish television actor who played nice guys with affable attitudes and a wide range of I.Q.s on three popular sitcoms between 1965 and 1990, died on Saturday in Burbank, Calif. He was 85,” reports The New York Times.

Berry’s first starring role was on “F Troop.” Writes the Associated Press, “‘F Troop’ was only on from 1965 to 1967 but the show lived on in syndication and the accident-prone Capt. Parmenter became one of Berry’s most well-known roles. After ‘F Troop,’ Berry went to on to star in ‘Mayberry R.F.D.,’ a spin-off of ‘The Andy Griffith Show,’ where Berry appeared during the show’s final year.

“Berry’s co-star in ‘F Troop,’ Larry Storch, said in a Facebook post that his friend’s passing was ’devastating.’ ‘We are at a true loss for words,’ the post read. ‘Ken, we hope you know how much you were loved. Goodnight Captain. We miss you already.’”

The New York Times says that Berry played “a hapless Southern husband and son in ‘Mama’s Family’ (1983-84, 1986-90), the successful spinoff from ‘The Carol Burnett Show.’”

The Times adds, “He had considered focusing on a stage career and opened for the Old Hollywood comedy stars Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in their Las Vegas act in the mid-1950s. He made his Broadway debut in ‘Billy Barnes Revue’ (1959). He attributed the considerable help he received from Lucille Ball and from Ms. Burnett with each having seen him in one of the numerous Barnes productions he did over the years.

“He appeared in half a dozen feature films, including the Disney comedy ‘Herbie Rides Again’ (1974) and ‘The Cat From Outer Space’ (1978).”

To read more details about Berry’s life, please click here to connect to The New York Times obituary, and here to connect to the story from the AP.

Ken Berry with Frances Bavier (Aunt Bee) on ‘Mayberry R.F.D.’

One Comment

  1. One of the last highly successful “white trash” focused shows…But enough about “Roseanne” already.….And, where is the “METOO” (Bowel) Movement?

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