MINNIE PEARL, HOMESPUN COMIC OF GRAND OLD OPRY, 'HEE HAW'.Byline: Joe Edwards Joe Edwards may be:
Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Minnie Pearl Minnie Pearl was the stage name of Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon (October 25, 1912 - March 4, 1996). She was a country comedian who, along with friend Roy Acuff, was an institution at the Grand Ole Opry, and on the television show Hee Haw from 1969 to 1991 . , whose homespun humor and shrill "Howdyyyyy!" made her the first country comedian known worldwide, died Monday. She was 83. Pearl, who was forced to give up performing after suffering a stroke in 1991, was admitted to a hospital in Nashville on Feb. 25 for a brain seizure or stroke. Her boisterous, cheerful "Howdyyyyy! I'm just so proud to be here," her wide-brim straw hat with its dangling $1.98 price tag, her toothy grin and her calico and gingham dresses were her trademarks for more than a half century on the Grand Ole Opry Grand Ole Opry, weekly American radio program featuring live country and western music. The nation's oldest continuous radio show, it was first broadcast in 1925 on Nashville's WSM as an amateur showcase. country music show and 20 years on the syndicated television show "Hee Haw
Hee Haw was a long-running television variety show co-hosted by musicians Buck Owens and Roy Clark and featuring country ." Much of her humor focused on a longstanding search for a "feller." A typical quip quip n. 1. A clever, witty remark often prompted by the occasion. 2. A clever, often sarcastic remark; a gibe. See Synonyms at joke. 3. A petty distinction or objection; a quibble. 4. : "Kissing a feller with a beard is like a picnic. You don't mind going through a little brush to get there." "Minnie Pearl" was a happy, hopeless character created from a composite of several women she had known early in her life. In contrast to her stage role, Pearl, whose real name was Sarah Ophelia Cannon, was gracious, cultured and sensitive. She was married to Henry Cannon, her manager, and the couple lived next door to the Tennessee governor's mansion The Tennessee Governor's Mansion is the official residence of the Governor of Tennessee and his family. This mansion was built for the William Ridley Wills Family in 1929; The state purchased it in 1949 and it has served home of Tennessee's Governors since then. in Nashville. She also sang and played the piano, but she was best known for her humor. Pearl was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1975 and was voted Country Music Woman of the Year in 1966 by the Country Music Association. She was diagnosed with cancer in 1985 and underwent a double mastectomy mastectomy (măstĕk`təmē), surgical removal of breast tissue, usually done as treatment for breast cancer. There are many types of mastectomy. In general, the farther the cancer has spread, the more tissue is taken. . She recovered and continued to perform and do volunteer work with the American Cancer Society American Cancer Society, n.pr established in 1913, this national volunteer-based health organization is committed to the elimination of cancer through prevention and treatment and to diminishing cancer suffering through advocacy, scholarship, research, . In 1987, she received the American Cancer Society's Courage Award; in 1992, she was among 13 recipients of a National Medal of Art. Looking back on her long career, she said in 1989, "It's like wedding anniversaries - it seems forever and it seems like no time at all. It seems that I've always been on the Opry and that I've always been Minnie Pearl." The youngest of five girls, she was born in Centerville, 50 miles southwest of Nashville. She laced her humor with references to "Grinder's Switch," a railroad switching station near her hometown. She once described Grinder's Switch as "a place where there is no cancer, no Watergate, no Vietnam, no murder, no child abuse, none of the ugly and bitter things." She studied drama in college and wanted to be a serious actress, but while touring with an acting company, she created the Minnie Pearl character who became her life's work. "I soon realized that comedy is much more fulfilling and fun," she said in 1989. Pearl made her first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry radio show in 1940, when it was unheard-of for a woman to do stand-up comedy. For 27 years, she toured with the biggest country stars, including her close friend Roy Acuff, the late king of country music. "I have no intention of retiring as long as I have my health," she said in a 1987 interview. "I'd like to go out with my hat on with the price tag." CAPTION(S): PHOTO The hat with dangling price tag was a Minnie Pearl trademark. Associated Press |
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