Berry, Bertice 1960–

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Berry, Bertice 1960–

PERSONAL: Born 1960, in Wilmington, DE; daughter of Beatrice Berry; children: three. Ethnicity: "African American.r" Education: Jacksonville University, B.A. (magna cum laude), 1982; Kent State University, M.A., 1986, Ph.D., 1988. Religion: "Non-denominational."

ADDRESSES: Home—Savannah, GA. Office—Bertice Berry Productions, 31 Abercorn St., Savannah, GA 31401. Agent—Keppler Speakers, 4350 N. Fairfax Dr., Ste. 700, Arlington, VA 22203. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Author, comedian, lecturer, inspirational speaker. Social worker, 1980–82; Kent State University, Kent, OH, began as teaching assistant, 1982; co-producer and host of The Bertice Berry Show, 1993–94; host, USA Live, USA Cable Network; host of four-part series Video Tapes in Education, Films for the Humanities and Sciences; co-owner, Iona's Gallery & Great Finds.

AWARDS, HONORS: Campus Comedian of the Year award, National Association of Campus Activities, 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994; D.H.L., Jacksonville University, 1994; Campus Lecturer of the Year and Campus Entertainer of the Year awards.

WRITINGS:

(With Joan Coker) Sckraight from the Ghetto: You Know You're Ghetto If—, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1996.

Bertice: The World According to Me, Scribner (New York, NY), 1996.

I'm on My Way but Your Foot Is on My Head: A Black Woman's Story of Getting over Life's Hurdles, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1997.

You Still Ghetto: You Know You're Still Ghetto If—, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1998.

Redemption Song (novel), Doubleday (New York, NY), 2000.

The Haunting of Hip-Hop (novel), Doubleday (New York, NY), 2001.

Jim and Louella's Homemade Heart-Fix Remedy (novel), Doubleday (New York, NY), 2002.

When Love Calls, You Better Answer (novel), Broadway Books (New York, NY), 2005.

ADAPTATIONS: The Haunting of Hip-Hop was adapted for audiobook, Recorded Books, 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Bertice Berry is a successful black comedian, author, and motivational speaker who grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, one of seven children of a single mother. Berry, the first in her family to graduate from college, found her way out of poverty through education, first at Florida State University with the help of a wealthy benefactor, then earning her Ph.D. at Kent State University while doing social work. As a sociology instructor at Kent State, she used comedy in her popular lectures, and her classes overflowed with students. A colleague suggested that she consider a career in comedy, and she was soon appearing in clubs and as a speaker on campuses, where she combined her academic and comedic talent in order to address issues of concern to her. Ebony contributor Douglas C. Lyons wrote: "Doing stand-up may be a different world from teaching, but Berry isn't moved by the distinctions. 'Sociology looks at the everyday mundane and points out the obvious,' she says. 'Comedians do the same thing, only they make light of it.'"

Berry injected her comedy into a series of four educational video tapes that explore video technology in the classroom. Segments include "Broadcast," "Disc," "Videocassette," and "Satellite." Booklist reviewer Nancy McCray called the tapes "humorously delivered, concise resources for teachers and administrators."

In the early 1990s Berry hosted a Chicago-based talk show on the Twentieth Domestic Television network. According to Mike Freeman in Broadcasting, Peter Marino, executive vice president of program development at Twentieth, stated that Berry "brings to television her own unique presence, a tremendous charisma and a well-versed understanding of societal issues." When Freeman asked Berry to describe her show, she explained: "What sets it apart from other shows—the same thing that sets them all apart—is the personality. So I bring my personality and my life experience to the issues. We take something that you would think of one way and we kick in another perspective that brings in my personality and my ability to use humor to get issues across."

Essence contributor Deborah Gregory pointed out that Berry "had already wowed audiences while touring the country as a stand-up comic. That explains why the sister leaves you in stitches on every episode." Gregory added that Berry "considers being able to give back to her family her greatest success." When Berry and a sibling took custody of the three children of another sister who was having difficulties, Berry said: "I want them to grow up in a world of choices so they can become whoever they want to be."

Booklist reviewer Ilene Cooper called Berry's memoir, Bertice: The World According to Me, "eminently readable." In the book Berry reveals what it was like to finally learn her father's identity: he was Otis Redding (1941–1967), the singer/songwriter known for dozens of hit records, including "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay," prior to his death in a plane crash. Berry also recalls other aspects of her life, including her childhood, education, male role models, career, and failed marriage, and talks about life in general, discussing issues such as the effects of poverty and racism. Library Journal contributor Janice E. Braun wrote: "Berry's achievements, [her] pride, and the strength of her voice are certainly commendable," and deemed the biography both instructional and inspirational for readers.

Library Journal reviewers Ann Burns and Emily J. Jones called Berry's first novel, Redemption Song, a "simple love story." Fina Chambers, an advertising executive, and Ross Buchanan, an anthropology professor who studies urban myths, both want to buy a journal that is for sale at Miss Cozy's bookstore, which celebrates the work of black authors. Each has a reason for wanting the journal. Fina, who is grieving her father's death, has thrown herself into her work and is unsuccessful with personal relationships. Ross, whose past is troubled, is seeking a story about lasting love. Rather than sell Children of Grace to one or the other, Miss Cozy convinces them to read it aloud together in the shop. The journal is written by a woman named Iona, a literate slave who suffered torture and rape and who was also in love with another slave named Joe. As the reading progresses, Fina and Ross become close. A Publishers Weekly reviewer felt that their "rapid intimacy … strains credulity, as do the frequent coincidences that advance the plot. Readers of inspirational fiction many enjoy this combination of sentimental love story and black history, however." The novel was characterized as a "smooth-as-silk paean to black love," by Library Journal reviewer Michele Leber.

Berry's next three novels—The Haunting of Hip-Hop, Jim and Louella's Homemade Heart-Fix Remedy, and When Love Calls, You Better Answer,—all involve the spirit world, in one way or another, as well as the power of love. In the first title, a hip-hop artist named Harry "Freedom" Hudson becomes interested in a house that is haunted by various black people from the past, dating all the way back to Ngozi, a slave who was captured in Africa before being allowed to celebrate his son's birth by making a new drum to play. Ngozi wants to pass along his musical beat to Freedom, especially as it is filled with the kind of love the author implies is missing from modern-day music. Other spirits inhabit the house, too, including those who were brutally murdered and can pose a danger to Freedom. Although Black Issues Book Review critic Samiya A. Bashir felt that the last third of the book seemed rushed, the reviewer nevertheless wrote that the novel is "one of the most beautifully begun books I've read in recent memory" and is "a shrewd take on our ties with our ancestors." A Publishers Weekly reviewer similarly observed that "Berry's writing is infused with an aching nostalgia for an earlier time."

Jim and Louella's Homemade Heart-Fix Remedy features an aging couple who are told by spirits how to dramatically improve their sex life. They share the secret with their friends, and the novel consequently features some very erotic scenes. Interestingly, Jim and Louella also gain psychic abilities that allow them to communicate mentally with each other, as well as give helpful advice to people. A Publishers Weekly writer concluded that the story is not about the obvious sex, but rather is "about how cultivating a spiritual life improves … all aspects of human existence." The reviewer added: "Berry's lack of pretension and focus on the humorous side of redemption make her daring premise work."

Another love story, When Love Calls, You Better Answer, has Bernita Brown suffering from repeated problems with men. Her memories of her cruel grandfather and her many failed romantic relationships, including marriage to a man who turned out to be gay, send Bernita looking for help at a church, which turns out to be corrupt. She gets a helping hand from the spirit of her dead Aunt Babe, who is trying to make up for a misspent life by helping her niece. Meanwhile, Douglas Ford is likewise being helped by his dead father, who did not know about his illegitimate son until after he died. The spirits manage to get these two troubled souls together, and Bernita and Douglas prove perfect for each other in what Nicole Sealey described in Black Issues Book Review as a "funny, heady and inspiring novel." Similarly calling the book a "feel-good little novel," a Publishers Weekly contributor commented: "This episodic story can feel … didactic. But Babe is a winning narrator."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Berry, Bertice, Bertice: The World According to Me, Scribner, 1996.

Berry, Bertice, I'm on My Way but Your Foot Is on My Head: A Black Woman's Story of Getting over Life's Hurdles, Simon & Schuster, 1997.

PERIODICALS

Black Issues Book Review, July, 2000, Debbie A. Officer, review of Redemption Song, p. 23; March, 2001, Samiya A. Bashir, review of The Haunting of Hip-Hop, p. 24; July-August, 2005, Nicole Sealey, review of When Love Calls, You Better Answer, p. 44.

Booklist, January 1, 1994, Nancy McCray, "Touch That Dial: Using Video in the Classroom," p. 840; February 15, 1996, Ilene Cooper, review of Bertice, p. 978; June 1, 2005, Vanessa Bush, review of When Love Calls, You Better Answer, p. 1749.

Broadcasting, October 12, 1992, Mike Freeman, "Twentieth Selling 'Berry,'" p. 22; January 25, 1993, Mike Freeman, "Doing It Her Way," p. 50.

Ebony, April, 1992, Douglas C. Lyons, "Dr. Comic," p. 70.

Essence, April, 1994, Deborah Gregory, "Bertice Berry," p. 51; August, 2003, review of Jim and Louella's Homemade Heart-Fix Remedy, p. 114.

Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2002, review of Jim and Louella's Homemade Heart-Fix Remedy, p. 971; April 1, 2005, review of When Love Calls, You Better Answer, p. 367.

Library Journal, November 1, 1995, review of Bertice, p. 78; March 15, 1996, Janice E. Braun, review of Bertice, p. 76; November 1, 1999, Ann Burns and Emily J. Jones, "55 Books for Black History Month and Beyond: African Americans into the Millennium," review of Redemption Song, p. 102; February 15, 2000, Michele Leber, review of Redemption Song, p. 194; November 1, 2000, Ann Burns and Emily Joy Jones, review of The Haunting of Hip-Hop, p. 101.

Publishers Weekly, January 15, 1996, review of Bertice, p. 456; January 3, 2000, review of Redemption Song, p. 58; January 22, 2001, review of The Haunting of Hip-Hop, p. 304; August 5, 2002, review of Jim and Louella's Homemade Heart-Fix Remedy, p. 54; May 2, 2005, review of When Love Calls, You Better Answer, p. 177.

Variety, September 28, 1992, "Berry Ready," p. 26.

Vegetarian Times, February, 1995, Roz Warren, "A Seriously Funny Vegetarian: Bertice Berry Inspires Others Using the Lighter Side of a Meatless Diet," p. 120.