Jimmy Dean

Jimmy Ray Dean (August 10, 1928 – June 13, 2010) was an American country music singer, songwriter, television host, actor and businessman. He was the creator of the Jimmy Dean sausage brand as well as the spokesman for its TV commercials, and his likeness and voice continue to be used in advertisements after his death.

Dean became a national television personality starting on CBS in 1957. He rose to fame for his 1961 country music crossover hit into rock and roll with "Big Bad John", and his 1963 television series The Jimmy Dean Show gave puppeteer Jim Henson his first national exposure with his character, Rowlf.

His acting career included appearing in the early seasons in the Daniel Boone television series as the sidekick of the famous frontiersman played by star Fess Parker. Later, he played a supporting role as billionaire Willard Whyte in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever (1971), starring Sean Connery.

He lived near Richmond, Virginia, and was nominated for the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010, but died before his induction that year at the age of 81.

Dean was born on August 10, 1928, in Seth Ward, Texas, and raised in nearby Plainview, the son of George Otto Dean and his second wife, the former Ruth Taylor. Ruth taught Jimmy how to play piano at the age of 10. He attributed his interest in music to the Seth Ward Baptist Church. He dropped out of high school and became a professional entertainer after serving in the U.S. Air Force in the late 1940s. Dean was 22 and just starting in show business when he married his first wife, Mary Sue, in 1950.

Dean had his first hit, "Bumming Around", in 1953 on the 4 Star label (written by Pete Graves, credited to "C. Graves" on the Quality label). Dean signed with Columbia Records in 1957.

He had minor pop hits, such as "Little Sandy Sleighfoot" (a Christmas novelty song) and "Sing Along", later used as the theme for TV's Sing Along with Mitch, hosted by chorus leader Mitch Miller.

In 1954, Dean hosted the popular Washington, D.C., radio program Town and Country Time on WARL-AM, and with his Texas Wildcats became popular in the Mid-Atlantic region. Patsy Cline and Roy Clark got their starts on the show. Although Cline and Dean became good friends, Clark (Dean's lead guitarist) was fired by the singer for what was explained as his chronic tardiness. Dean replaced Clark with Billy Grammer. In 1955, Town and Country Time moved to WMAL-TV (now WJLA-TV) on weekday afternoons. Dean and the Texas Wildcats also appeared during 1957 on Town and Country Jamboree on WMAL-TV on Saturdays, which was also carried by TV stations in neighboring Maryland and Virginia on a regional network.

Also during 1957, while he lived in Arlington County, Virginia, Dean hosted Country Style on WTOP-TV (now WUSA-TV). CBS picked up the show nationally from Washington from April 8 to December 13, 1957 under the name The Morning Show. In addition, Dean hosted his first prime time show, a half-hour summer series The Jimmy Dean Show that aired from Washington, DC, on CBS from June 22 to September 14, 1957 from 10:30 to 11 p.m. on Saturday nights. Then from September 14, 1958 to June 1959, CBS carried The Jimmy Dean Show on weekday and Saturday afternoons.

Dean, Jimmy and Donna Meade Dean (2004). Thirty Years of Sausage...Fifty Years of Ham. New York: Berkley Book. ISBN 978-0425201060