Thank You Ken Berry

A very talented and famous person died a week or so ago.

And it wasn’t George Bush Senior, who admittedly was both talented and famous.

No, it was actor Ken Berry.

Ken was unquestionably talented, and to me he was famous because he was hilarious on the TV shows “F-Troop” and “Momma’s Place.” His forte was playing self-deprecating characters who never quite seemed to get things done properly. He was an every-man type of character whose body language and facial expressions doubled the comedic value of his performances. You always felt warm and fuzzy when Ken was on the screen because you knew a hearty laugh was right around the corner.

Ken appeared in movies and on TV. He is best known as accident-prone Captain Wilton Parmeter on the 1960s sitcom “F-Troop” about a calvary unit stationed at a fort in Indian country, and as Vinton Harper on “Mama’s Family” from 1983 to 1990. He appeared numerous times on “The Andy Griffith Show,”“Mayberry R.F.D.” and “The Carol Burnett Show.”

Ken died quietly and with his dignity intact at the age of 85 at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California.

I say with dignity because here’s what Ken Berry did.

He made us laugh every week.

Here’s what—as an accomplished and well known actor—Ken Berry didn’t do.

He didn’t speak at the Republican or Democratic National Convention.

He didn’t get into a Twitter war with another celebrity about Trump.

He didn’t bare his soul in a reality TV series.

He didn’t take a knee during the national anthem.

He didn’t beat up a motorist over a parking spot.

He didn’t run for political office.

He didn’t appear on TMZ after picking up a Hollywood hooker.

He didn’t hug the President in the Oval Office.

What he did was entertain us.

Which is really all we ask—or need— from actors.

Thank you Ken Berry.

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