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| Clower, shown here in this undated photograph, regaled audiences with his stories for more than 25 years | |
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- Grand Ole Opry comedian Jerry Clower, who regaled audiences for more than 25 years with stories about rural Southern culture and the Ledbetter family, died Monday. He was 71.
Clower died of cardiorespiratory arrest at Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi, five days after he underwent six heart bypasses, his manager, Tandy Rice, said.
The comedian, whose stories often involved church revivals, country fairs, cotton farming or crappie fishing, canceled his first show in 32 years August 4 after complaining of exhaustion before a performance at the Georgia Mountain Fair in Hiawassee, Georgia.
Most of Clower's stories really happened, but he had a flair for embellishment. "I don't tell funny stories, I tell stories funny," he often said.
Many of his stories involved the fictional Ledbetter clan. In one story, Odell Ledbetter proved he wasn't dumb by working a jigsaw puzzle in two weeks -- even though the box said "4 to 7 years."
Clower recorded his first album in 1970 and his 26th, "Peaches and Possums," was released in 1998.
The Liberty, Mississippi, resident performed regularly on the Grand Ole Opry beginning in 1973 and often played 200 dates a year, mostly in small towns.
He was co-host of the "Country Crossroads" cable TV show on the ACTS channel and co-host of the "Nashville on the Road" syndicated TV program with singer Jim Ed Brown for six years.
A hulking 275-pounder who wore stunning red or yellow suits and pronounced his first name JAY'ree, Clower also wrote four books.
He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Homerline Wells, four children and several grandchildren.
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
