A Deep Southern Throwback Thursday: The Death of Jerry Clower, 1998
It has been twenty-five years since the death of Southern comedy legend Jerry Clower. He died on this day in 1998, at age 71.
Jerry Clower’s rise to fame began earlier in the 1950s, and he was a bona fide Southern superstar by the 1970s and ’80s. Clower was born in 1926 in Liberty, Mississippi, then he had served in the Navy in World War II before becoming a salesman back home. Biographical sources report generally that the storytelling he developed in his sales job became so well-known that he was catapulted into comedy because he was just that good. The clip below is probably his most famous story, “Coon Hunting,” as it was recorded on his first album.
With his big hair and cheesy clothes and big personality, Jerry Clower was a performer, a hard worker, and a character. His Los Angeles Times‘ obituary called him a “hulking 275-pounder who wore stunning red or yellow suits,” then continued:
Clower pronounced his first name JAY-ree and was known for spinning truth-based tales about rural Southern culture and the fictional Ledbetter clan. His stories often involved church revivals, country fairs, cotton farming or crappie fishing.
The Mississippi Country Music trail historical marker dedicated to his memory recalls him this way:
A Liberty native, Jerry Clower (1926-1998) brought his colorful, observant, comic stories of southern life — developed as a sales tool as he worked as a fertilizer salesman — to live shows, recordings, television, bestselling books, and, for over twenty-five years beginning in 1973, Grand Ole Opry broadcasts. He became one of the most successful and acclaimed country comedians of all time.
It is no wonder that he was so successful. In addition to performing live, the comedian published several books and put out an album every year of the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s— some years more than one.
By all accounts, Jerry Clower is remembered fondly because he was just a good guy. Neither during his life nor since his death has news come out to say he was another kind of person behind the scenes. He was a family man who was married to one woman, Homerline, from August 1947 until his death in August 1998; they had four children, a son and three daughters. Those who knew him described him as a Christian man who lived his faith and whose comedy performances could be played in the church and the club alike. His Mississippi persona was not a put-on or a marketing gimmick— he was the real deal. One of the more endearing testimonials that appeared after his death was this unsigned editorial, which ran in several Mississippi newspapers. (You can click on it to enlarge it and read.) The world – the South, in particular – certainly misses him.
Other Tributes:
The Grave of Jerry Clower, from the Back Roads channel on YouTube
“The Mouth of Mississippi, Jerry Clower” (October 2022) from The Southern Voice website
