Ken Berry Takes it Easy

Ken Berry, a TV fixture for decades, with starring roles on shows such as F Troop and Mayberry R.F.D., says he was basically forced into retirement following the 1990 cancellation of Mama's Family, the Vicki Lawrence-led spinoff of the Carol Burnett Show.

"It wasn't my idea, but I'm retired," the 66-year-old actor told TV Guide Online at the recent Hollywood Collectors and Celebrities Show in Los Angeles. "The phone stopped ringing in the early '90s, and, finally, I just took my pension and called it a day."

Berry holds many fond memories of his work in series television. But he remains particularly enamored of his role as Capt. Wilton Parmenter on F Troop, the 1960s western spoof that first made him a star. "F Troop was like recess," recalls Berry, who starred opposite funnyman Larry Storch and late actor Forrest Tucker. Any truth to those rumors that Tucker was one of the more, er, well-endowed men in Hollywood? "I can't say one way or another," he says. "We weren't that close."

Berry, who spent many years travelling with theater groups in between his TV gigs, says one of the best things about retirement is no longer having to hit the road. "I loved being onstage, but I hated the travelling," he says. "I wake up now and think, 'Well, I don't have to be anyplace today.'

"It took me 60-something years to learn this — stay in the moment because that may be all you have," he adds. "I've learned that, and it's made me a lot happier. Stay in the moment and think positive things."