The wife of actor Fred "Rerun" Berry, who Oct. 21, 2003 at the age of 52 insists her late husband was murdered and is now demanding his body be exhumed from his unmarked grave at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles for a second autopsy. In an interview withe the Globe, Essie Berry says Fred -- who is best known for playing Fred "Rerun" Stubbs on the popular 1970s television show What's Happening!! -- was murdered to keep him from getting his $5 million share of a $20 million scheme cooked up by business partners. We don't know anything about this, but Essie claims when Fred appeared on the game show the Weakest Link in November 2001, the contestants had to set up corporations for their winnings. She believes her late husband allowed his federal tax number to be used to establish a dummy company that was taking a $20 million loan against his name and likeness. Essie says someone poisoned Fred so they wouldn't have to pay him. At the time of his death, the medical examiner ruled Fred's death as "natural" due to blocked arteries. (At the the time of his death, the actor was 5'6" and weighed 271 pounds. Months prior, he suffered a stroke that impaired his speech and mobility. Two days after he was last seen alive, his naked body was found covered by a blanket inside his friend's house. At one time he confessed to blowing $1 million on drugs and gambling over an 8-month period, but there were no drugs found in his system at the time of death. He also attempted suicide three times.) Knowing all of this, Essie still insists Fred was poisoned and the medical examiner should've performed a thorough toxicology test, but now she's hoping to have his body dug up so a specialized screening for "heavy metal" poisons can be performed on Fred's remains. Hey, hey, hey!
source: Globe, July 22, print edition
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