| Name |
Jimmy Dean |
| Height |
|
| Naionality |
American |
| Date of Birth |
10-August-1928 |
| Place of Birth |
Plainview, Texas, U.S. |
| Famous for |
Singing |
Jimmy Dean was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. Although he may be best known today as the creator of the Jimmy Dean sausage brand, he became a national television personality starting in 1957, rising to fame for his 1961 country crossover hit "Big Bad John" and his television series, The Jimmy Dean Show, which also gave puppeteer Jim Henson his first national media exposure. His acting career included a supporting role as Willard Whyte in the 1971 James Bond movie, Diamonds Are Forever. He lived near Richmond, Virginia, and was nominated for the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010, although he was formally inducted posthumously.
Dean had his first hit, "Bummin' Around", in 1953 on the 4 Star labels, He signed with Columbia Records in 1957. He had minor pop hits, such as "Little Sandy Sleigh foot" (a Christmas novelty song) and "Sing Along", later used as the theme for TV's "Sing Along With Mitch". 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 eventually fired by the singer for what was explained as his chronic tardiness. Dean replaced Clark with Billy Grammar. In 1955, Town and Country Time moved to WMAL-TV on weekday afternoons. Dean and the Texas Wildcats also appeared during 1957 on Town and Country Jamboree on WMAL-TV on Saturdays from 10:30 pm–1:30 am ET, which was also carried by TV stations in Maryland and Virginia on a regional network. Also during 1957, Dean hosted Country Style on WTOP-TV on weekday mornings. CBS picked up the show nationally from Washington for eight months in 1957 under the name, The Morning Show. Then from September 14, 1958, to June 1959, CBS carried The Jimmy Dean Show on weekday and Saturday afternoons. Dean appeared on several TV talk shows and game shows in the 1960s and performed on variety programs including The Ed Sullivan Show, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, and The Hollywood Palace.
Dean turned to acting after his TV show ended in 1966. His best-known role was as reclusive Las Vegas billionaire Willard Whyte in the 1971 James Bond movie, Diamonds Are Forever. He also appeared in fourteen episodes of Daniel Boone (1967–70) in three different roles (one episode as "Delo Jones", two as "Jeremiah" and eleven as "Josh Clements") and as Charlie Row lands in two Fantasy Island episodes (1981–82), as well as on other TV shows including a semi-regular role as Charlie Bullets on J.J. Starbuck starring Dale Robertson (1987–88).
Dean's singing career remained strong into the mid-1960s; in 1965, he achieved a second number one country hit with the ballad "The First Thing Ev'ry Morning (And the Last Thing Ev'ry Night)", and he had a Top 40 hit that year with "Harvest Of Sunshine". In 1966, Dean signed with RCA Records and immediately had a Top 10 hit with "Stand Beside Me". His other major hits during this time included "Sweet Misery" (1967) and "A Thing Called Love" (1968). He continued charting into the early 1970s with his major hits including a duet with Dottie West, "Slowly" (1971); and a solo hit with "The One You Say Good Morning To" (1972).
