He then dreamed of starring in musicals and went to movie theaters to watch Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in some of his favorite films such as Easter Parade, Royal Wedding, On the Town, and Summer Stock.

[3] Berry soon began attending tap dance classes, and by age 15 he won a local talent competition sponsored by radio and television big band leader Horace Heidt.

Berry during those months made lasting relationships with several ensemble members, including Heidt's son, Horace Jr., who later launched a big band and radio career.

[3] After high school graduation, Berry volunteered for the United States Army, and was assigned to Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

His first year in the Army was spent in the artillery, where he entered a post talent contest; the winner would go on Arlene Francis's Soldier Parade in New York City.

As a part of Special Services, he toured Army posts and officers' clubs, entertaining the troops as well as visiting colleges for recruiting purposes.

Soon he was being groomed to take over for Donald O'Connor in the Francis the Talking Mule movie series;[citation needed] however, Mickey Rooney became available and got the part.

The movie musicals Berry admired had already seen their heyday; however, acting, which he once thought of as "something I would do between song and dance routines",[3] became the basis of his career.

Berry also earned broader success as a Disney star in the films Herbie Rides Again in 1974, with Helen Hayes and Stefanie Powers, and The Cat from Outer Space in 1978, with Sandy Duncan and McLean Stevenson.

In 1956, after being released from Universal, Berry ventured to Las Vegas, where he opened for and joined Abbott and Costello in their stage act, performing sketches and song and dance routines at the Sahara Hotel and Casino.

Actress Dee Arlen referred Berry for a role in the show In League with Ivy at the Cabaret Concert Theatre, a nightclub in Los Angeles.

While with Barnes, Berry worked with other performers, including his future wife Jackie Joseph and Joyce Jameson, Bert Convy, Patti Regan, Ann Morgan Guilbert, Lennie Weinrib, and sketch writer/director Bob Rodgers.

The cast had missed its flight from Chicago after a promotional appearance on Playboy's Penthouse, and refunds had to be made to the ticket holders.

He traveled with Godfrey and performed on remote broadcasts in an Omaha stockyard, in Seattle at a lumber camp, at the Boeing aircraft plant, and at the San Diego Zoo.

[3] The Billy Barnes Review was popular with Hollywood, and one evening Carol Burnett was in Los Angeles and saw Berry in the show.

[5] A notable dramatic performance by Berry was 1982's television movie Eunice, which was based on The Carol Burnett Show sketch, The Family.

In 1968, Ball asked Berry to guest star on The Lucy Show, where he played a bank client needing a loan to start a dance studio.

He performed a tribute to the Fred Astaire number "Steppin' Out with My Baby" and a duet with Ball for a rendition of "Lucy's Back in Town".

Harrah went for it, and Berry, Larry Storch, Forrest Tucker, and James Hampton put together a show, hiring writers and a choreographer to assist.

While performing the Reno show they received word that F Troop had been canceled due to a financial dispute between the production company and the studio.

The next year, Berry was cast in the featured role of Sam Jones, a widowed farmer, on the last few episodes of The Andy Griffith Show.

In 1973 Sherwood Schwartz wrote a spin-off of The Brady Bunch, titled Kelly's Kids, which featured Berry as the adoptive father of three diverse boys (black, white, and Asian).

In 1983, Berry was cast as Vinton Harper in Mama's Family, a spin-off from The Carol Burnett Show with comic actors including Vicki Lawrence, Dorothy Lyman, and Rue McClanahan.

Beverly Archer and Allan Kayser joined the cast as neighbor Iola Boylen and Mama's grandson (Eunice's son) Bubba Higgins, respectively.

During and after Mama's Family, Berry toured the United States in various theatrical performances, including multiple performances of Sugar with co-stars such as Donald O'Connor, Mickey Rooney, Soupy Sales, and Bobby Morse, The Music Man with Susan Watson (Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi were in the chorus), I Do!