‘F Troop’s Ken Berry Wanted to Be the Next Gene Kelly Before TV Made Him a Sitcom Star
What To Know
- Ken Berry began his career serving in the U.S. military, where Leonard Nimoy mentored him.
- Berry became well known for his comedic roles in TV shows, often portraying affable, likable characters.
- Despite his aspirations to be a song-and-dance man, Berry’s talent for comedy led to a prolific television career.
When news of Ken Berry‘s death broke in 2018, tributes poured in from across the entertainment world, celebrating a career that spanned some of television’s most beloved shows. But before he became a familiar face on TV screens, Berry was charting a very different path, one that helped shape the performer audiences would come to know and love.
You see, prior to breaking into television, Berry served in the U.S. military, first as an artilleryman and later as an entertainer. It was there that he served under Sergeant Leonard Nimoy; yep, Mr. Spock himself. Later on, when they were both out of the service and Nimoy was already an established star, he pulled strings to help Ken get work.
First up was Dr. Kildare, where Berry played Dr. John Kapish for 25 episodes. From there, Berry went on to bigger and better things as one of the stars of F Troop. While Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch were the goofballs on the show, Berry’s Captain Wilton Parmenter was tons of fun to watch as well.
In a 2024 article in Woman’s World magazine, journalist Ed Gross reported that Berry once said this about working on F Troop, “We laughed all day long. It was such a joy to work with people trying to make you laugh for a living.”
The role that stands out as one of Ken’s most memorable is that of Sam Jones, first on The Andy Griffith Show and then as the central character on that show’s spin-off, Mayberry R.F.D. Even though he wasn’t Andy, Sam was a wonderful character. He was, quite frankly, more affable than Andy. In those later seasons of The Andy Griffith Show, Sheriff Taylor had kind of an edge to him. Sam Jones was definitely not as edgy; he was just a really nice guy.
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Something that was not as nice was the rural purge that CBS enacted right around the time the network had to decide about a fourth season for Mayberry R.F.D., as well as the survival of other long-running shows like Petticoat Junction and Green Acres. In the end, they decided to cancel them all in favor of hip, urban comedies like Maude and All in the Family.
After Mayberry R.F.D.‘s untimely cancellation, Berry made a guest appearance on The Brady Bunch in an episode titled “Kelly’s Kids,” which clearly looked like a backdoor pilot for another Sherwood Schwartz heartwarming family comedy. However, for whatever reason, the networks passed on this show that would have featured Berry’s character adopting a multiracial family. Maybe it was just a little ahead of its time.
From time to time, Berry did show up on movie screens, most notably in Disney flicks like Herbie Rides Again and The Cat From Outer Space; for whatever reason, television seemed to be where he found the most work.
During the late ’70s, Berry appeared on shows like The Love Boat and Fantasy Island. During these guest appearances, he could play against type, not always being the nice guy, and surprise the audience. The Love Boat and Fantasy Island were a great way for future stars, as well as icons of yesteryear, to continue to find work and, just as importantly, to continue to get paid. Sure, these shows were not high art, but they served their purpose and kept viewers entertained.
It’s also worth noting that Berry’s original aspirations, post-military service, were to be a song-and-dance man much like Gene Kelly or Donald O’ Connor. While those talents served him well in numerous appearances on television variety shows, he never quite established himself in that role. Instead, his exceptional comedic timing made him a natural fit for sitcoms, and the television offers just kept coming.
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Berry’s next big hit was Mama’s Family. This show was a spin-off of an ongoing sketch on The Carol Burnett Show, where he had been a frequent guest star. In Mama’s Family, Berry played Mama’s son, Vinton Harper. Back to type, he was kind and ever so patient with his crazy family, especially that wacky mama of his.
Mama’s Family ran from 1983 to 1990, seven solid seasons, starting on NBC and eventually ending in syndication. After that, work really did seem to dry up. Berry guest-starred in The Golden Girls in 1991 and then, in what would turn out to be his final on-screen appearance, in the short-lived Maggie Winters in 1999.
According to The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watcher’s Club newsletter, The eBullet, Berry said this about his final on-screen appearance, “I had a really nice week, but I don’t care if I ever do it again or not.”
In honor of Berry’s aspirations to be a musical leading man, let’s end this article with a link to a classic TV commercial on YouTube where he gets to sing and dance his heart out.
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