Minnie Pearl

Minnie Pearl (born October 25, 1912, Centerville, Tennessee, U.S.—died March 4, 1996, Nashville, Tennessee) was an American entertainer and comedian who performed at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years and on the television show Hee Haw for 20 years. Announcing her presence with a signature “How-dee! I’m just so proud to be here!” and sporting a trademark flowered hat with a $1.98 price tag dangling from it, she regaled audiences with tales of her search for a “feller” and the goings-on in her fictional hometown of Grinder’s Switch. Pearl’s character was a composite of a number of people she had known in the early days of her career.

Sarah Cannon had planned to be an actress and dancer and, following graduation from what was later Belmont University, Nashville, taught dance before traveling to small southern towns with a theatrical company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Her Minnie Pearl character developed as she appeared before local groups to publicize the shows, and in 1940 she auditioned for The Grand Ole Opry radio show. Her popularity grew rapidly, and she became a permanent member of the company that same year. Pearl recorded a number of albums, but only one of her records, the single “Giddyup—Go Answer” (1966), became a top 10 country hit.

Pearl was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1975. A bout with cancer led her to do volunteer work with the American Cancer Society, and in 1987 she was presented with the society’s courage award. In 1992 Pearl received a National Medal of Arts, but a stroke she had suffered the previous year—which ended her career at the Opry—kept her from attending the White House ceremony. The Sarah Cannon Research Institute, a Nashville-based network of cancer research centers throughout the United States and United Kingdom, is named for her.