Biography of cousin minnie pearl

American comedian and country crooner (1912–1996)

Minnie Pearl
Pearl crush 1965
Born	Sarah Ophelia Colley (1912-10-25)October 25, 1912 Centerville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	March 4, 1996(1996-03-04) (aged 83) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Resting place	Mount Hope Charnel house, Franklin, Tennessee, U.S.
Alma mater	Ward-Belmont College
Occupation	Country comedienne
Years active	1939–1991
Television	Hee-Haw
Spouse	Henry R. Cannon ​ (m. 1947)​

Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon (October 25, 1912 – Stride 4, 1996), known professionally significance her stage character Minnie Pearl, was an American comedian who appeared at the Grand Artificial Opry for more than 50 years (1940–1991) and on rectitude television show Hee Haw wean away from 1969 to 1991.^[1][2]

Biography

Early life

Sarah Colley was born in Centerville delight in Hickman County, Tennessee, 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Nashville.

She was the youngest of five spawn born to a prosperous mill owner and timber dealer reclaim Centerville.^[3]

She graduated from Ward-Belmont Faculty (now Belmont University), at loftiness time Nashville's most prestigious grammar for young ladies, where she majored in theater studies coupled with dance. She taught dance emancipation the first few years abaft graduating.^[4]

Professional career

Her first professional artiste work was with the General P.

Sewell Production Company, fastidious touring theater company based reaction Atlanta. She produced and compelled plays and musicals for neighbouring organizations in small towns near here the Southeast.^[3][4]

Part of her ditch involved making brief appearances even civic organizations to promote rank group's shows, and during that time she developed her Minnie Pearl routine.^[4] While producing type amateur musical comedy in Baileyton, Alabama she met a climax woman whose style and sales pitch became the basis for "Cousin Minnie Pearl".^[3] Her first sheet performance as Minnie Pearl was in 1939 in Aiken, Southward Carolina.^[3] Her character's now-famous hallmark hat was purchased downtown discuss Surasky Bros.

Department store beforehand the show. The following twelvemonth, executives from Nashville radio headquarters WSM saw her perform sought-after a bankers' convention in Centerville and gave her an position to appear on the Luxurious Ole Opry on November 30, 1940.^[3][4] The success of become public debut on the show began an association with the Great Ole Opry that continued reserve more than 50 years.^[5]

Pearl's clowning was gentle satire of arcadian Southern culture, often called "hillbilly" culture.

She lived in integrity fictional town of Grinders Scourge. Pearl always dressed in sudsy empty "down home" dresses and wore a hat with a fad tag hanging from it, displaying the $1.98 price. Her sort greeting to her audience was an elongated "Howdy! I'm unprejudiced so proud to be here!" delivered in a hearty holler.^[6] After she became an legitimate star, her greeting became fine call-and-response with audiences everywhere.

Pearl's often self-deprecating humor involved shun unsuccessful attempts to attract "a feller's" attention and, in next years, her age. She too spun stories involving her contemptible "ne'er-do-well" relatives, notably "Uncle Nabob", his wife "Aunt Ambrosia", "Lucifer Hucklehead", "Miss Lizzie Tinkum", "Doc Payne", and, of course, show "Brother", who was simultaneously both slow-witted and wise.

She in the main closed her monologs with character exit line, "I love order around so much it hurts!" She also sang comic novelty songs and often danced with Grandfather Jones.

In 1956, she unchanging a paid appearance – $3,000, plus expenses – at authority kickoff event of the labour Alabama gubernatorial candidacy of bigot George Wallace.

She also comed at an event kicking haul up his 1962 candidacy for instructor.

Pearl drew much of torment comic material from her hometown of Centerville, which she named Grinders Switch. Grinders Switch was a community just outside Centerville that consisted of little explain than a railroad switch. Those who knew her recognized go the characters were largely homespun on actual Centerville residents.

In this fashion much traffic resulted from fans and tourists looking for Grinders Switch that the Hickman Province Highway Department eventually changed depiction designation on the "Grinders Switch" road sign to "Hickman Springs Road".

Cannon portrayed Minnie Gem for many years on multitude, first on ABC's Ozark Jubilee in the late 1950s; substantiate on the long-running television array Hee Haw, both on CBS and the subsequent syndicated alternative.

She made several appearances pain NBC's The Ford Show, Resources Tennessee Ernie Ford. She additionally appeared as a celebrity critic on game shows such tempt Match Game in 1977 captivated 1978, and Hollywood Squares escort 1980. Her last regular affairs on national television were idiosyncrasy Ralph Emery's Nashville Now country-music talk show on the antecedent The Nashville Network (TNN)cable conditional.

With Emery, she performed get the message a weekly feature "Let Minnie Steal Your Joke" in say publicly Minnie Pearl character, and topic jokes submitted by viewers, market prizes for the best jokes.^[3]

Cannon made a cameo appearance confine the film Coal Miner's Daughter, appearing at the Opry whereas Minnie Pearl.

Family life

On Feb 23, 1947, Colley married Chemist R. Cannon, who had archaic an Army Air Corpsfighter initiatory during World War II trip was then a partner break open an air charter service. Back the wedding, Cannon set close his own air charter boldness for country music performers pivotal took over management of rendering Minnie Pearl character.^[3][5] His trade in the charter service facade Eddy Arnold, Colonel Tom Author, Hank Williams, Carl Smith, Writer Pierce, and Elvis Presley.^[3] Nobility couple had no children.^[5] Thwart 1969, they purchased a lax estate home in Nashville effort door to the Tennessee Governor's Mansion.^[7] Cannon attended Brentwood Protestant Church, just to the southmost of Nashville, where she likewise donated the pipe organ.^[8]

Chicken restaurants

See also: List of fast-food cowardly restaurants

In the late 1960s, Nashville entrepreneur John Jay Hooker certain Cannon and gospel singer Mahalia Jackson to lend their take advantage to a chain of cooked chicken restaurants established to fence with Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Leadership chain was known as Minnie Pearl's Fried Chicken. After first reporting good results and enjoying a public stock worth $64 million, the venture collapsed among allegations of accounting irregularities put forward stock price manipulation. The next investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cleared both Cannon and Jackson of involution in financial wrongdoings, but both were embarrassed by the interdict publicity.

Cancer research

After battling boob cancer through aggressive treatments, as well as a double mastectomy and energy therapy, she became a defender for the medical center distort Nashville where she had antique treated. She took on that role as herself, Sarah Ophelia Cannon, not Minnie Pearl, even if a nonprofit group, the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation, was supported in her memory to whiff fund cancer research.

The inside where she was treated was later named the Sarah Big gun Cancer Center, and has back number expanded to at least xx other hospitals in Middle Tennessee; southern Kentucky; Richmond, Virginia; River City, Missouri; Gainesville, Florida; courier the United Kingdom. Her term has also been lent add up the affiliated Sarah Cannon Evaluation Institute.^[9][10]

Final years

Cannon suffered a fatiguing stroke in June 1991,^[3] conveyance her performing career to button end.

After the stroke, she resided in a Nashville nursing home, where she received everyday visits from music industry canvass, including Chely Wright, Vince Agonize, and Amy Grant. Her dying on March 4, 1996, close by the age of 83 was attributed to complications from substitute stroke. She is buried whet Mount Hope Cemetery in Pressman, Tennessee.

Legacy and influence

She was an important influence on erstwhile female country music singers become peaceful rural humorists such as Jerry Clower, Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Carl Hurley, David L Ready, Chonda Pierce, Ron White, roost Larry the Cable Guy. Look 1992, she was awarded authority National Medal of Arts.

Curb 2002, she was ranked by the same token number 14 on CMT's 40 Greatest Women in Country Sound list.^{[citation needed]}

According to Barney Hoskyns, the Band's 1975 song "Ophelia" was based on Pearl.^[11] Curiosity is also mentioned in ethics lyrics of the 1988 ventilate "Punk Rock Girl" by depiction Dead Milkmen.^[12][13]

In 1988, Pearl standard the American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award, presented surpass Johnny Cash, alongside fellow awardee Roy Acuff, at an brownie points ceremony in Nashville.^[14]

She was enterprise with performers outside the territory genre, including Elvis Presley, Holy man Martin (she appeared on plug episode of The Dean Comic Show), and Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman).^[15] In 1992, Reubens compelled what would be his aftermost appearance as Pee-wee Herman schedule 15 years at a Minnie Pearl tribute show.^[16]

Bronze statues go Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff are displayed in the porch of the Ryman Auditorium.

Chely Wright and Dean Sams (of Lonestar) posed for the statues.^{[citation needed]}

A museum dedicated to Minnie Pearl was situated just face the Grand Ole Opry Manor at Opryland USA (next cling on to another museum dedicated to Roy Acuff), but the museum squinched along with the theme estate in 1997. Many of wellfitting artifacts were moved to rank adjacent Grand Ole Opry Museum.

Books

Recordings

Albums

Selected guest appearances on albums

This list includes guest appearances adjoin other stars' albums or ceremony on "various artists" compilation albums.

Singles

Minnie Pearl released a consider of single records for RCA Victor during the 1950s, inclusive of a few duets with Granddaddy Jones.

During this period, she also made guest appearances pull a fast one records by Chet Atkins dispatch Ernest Tubb. In the Sixties, she moved to Starday Registers. At age 54, she verifiable a top-10 hit for Starday, "Giddyup Go – Answer", trig response to Red Sovine's exemplar "Giddyup Go".^[18] She later documented with Sovine and Buddy Starcher in other single releases.

Pearl was back on RCA hurt 1974 when Archie Campbell unthinkable she released a parody top secret of Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty's hit "As Soon Owing to I Hang Up the Phone" which received airplay, but blunt not chart. In 1977, she appeared with a number all but other Opry members on Plaything Parton's New Harvest...First Gathering book, singing on the song "Applejack".

In 1986, she was spick featured guest vocalist, along accommodate Jerry Clower, on the Pull Stevens comedy single entitled "Southern Air". It charted in birth top 70 of Billboard.

Year	Title	US Country
1966	"Giddyup Put in – Answer"	10

Notes

References

External links