Fred Rerun Berry was born on March 19, 1951, in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in the inner-city projects. He had aspirations of becoming a successful dancer and actor as a child. Early in his career, Berry was a member of the Los Angeles–based dance troupe The Lockers, with whom he appeared on the third episode of Saturday Night Live in 1975. He additionally appeared on the dance music show Soul Train, and was featured in the program's signature line dance segment doing the memorable early 1970s dance step