Howard Gerald "Jerry" Clower - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

Jerry Clower was born on September 28, 1926 at Route 4, Liberty, Mississippi. He was a graduated of East Fork Consolidated High School, and went on to play football at and graduate from Mississippi State University with a degree in agriculture. Upon Graduation from Mississippi State he took a job as a fertilizer salesman for the Mississippi Chemical Company in 1954. In order to sell his product, Jerry would oftern turn to telling funny stories about his beloved Route 4, Liberty, Mississippi. Many of his stories we about a family he called “The Ledbetters,”, and his best friend “Marcel Ledbetter.” Jerry’s most famous story “The Coon Huntin’ Story” launched a comedy career that was take him all the way to the stage of The Grand Ole Opry. After a number of guest appearences on the Opry, Jerry became a member in1973. For more than 20-years and 27-albums, Jerry Clower entertained millions the world over with his down home clean wholesome humor. Jerry was fond of saying, “I don’t tell funny story’s, I tell story’s funny,” and he was telling story’s funny right up until he died from complications of heart surgery on August 24, 1998. Jerry Clower is buried in the East Fork Cemetery in Liberty Mississippi.

Description: Howard Gerald "Jerry" Clower was a popular country comedian best known for his stories of the rural South. He was born on September 28, 1926 in Liberty, Mississippi. He graduated from East Fork Consolidated High School and after a stint in the Navy he enrolled to study agriculture at Mississippi State University, where he played college football and was a member of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity. After finishing school, Clower worked as a county agent and later as a seed salesman. He became a fertilizer salesman for Mississippi Chemical in 1954. By this time, he had developed a reputation for telling funny stories to boost his sales. It was while speaking to the Alabama Dairy Convention in Point Cedar, Alabama in 1970 that an attendee enthusiastically told Clower he might have a future in comedy. Thinking there might be some potential in that area, Clower taped his next few speaking engagements. The "Coon Huntin' Story" that would launch his career was first taped in Corpus Christi, Texas at the state Farmer's Cooperative Convention. Eventually, Clower's tapes wound up in the hands of "Big Ed" Wilkes in Lubbock, Texas, who had Clower make a better quality recording and began promoting it. At first, Clower was just taking orders at his speaking engagements. He sold 8000 copies this way on the Lemon record label. In time, Wilkes sent a copy to Grant Turner at WSM radio in Nashville, Tennessee, and when Turner played it on the air, Clower said "that thing busted loose." MCA was soon knocking on Clower's door offering him a contract. Once MCA began distribution in 1971, Jerry Clower from Yazoo City, Mississippi Talkin’ retailed more than a million dollars over ten months and stayed in the Top 20 on the country charts for 30 weeks. Clower was 45 when MCA came calling and he began his professional career as a comedian. He often said, "I backed into show business." Many of his comedic stories revolved around the fictional Ledbetter family, especially his "best friend" Marcel Ledbetter. Those stories are considered to be informal chronicles of early 20th century rural Southern life and according to Clower, were usually based on actual events. Clower recorded 27 full length albums in his 27 year career as a professional entertainer and in 1973, Clower became a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and remained with that organization until his death. He also co-hosted a radio show called Country Crossroads with Bill Mack and Leroy Van Dyke for a number of years. This show was produced and distributed by the Southern Baptist Convention. Clower's last album was Peaches and Possums released in October 1998, after his death. Jerry Clower died at Baptist Hospital in Jackson at the age 71 after complications from heart bypass surgery. (Source: www.wikipedia.com) Date of birth: 09/28/1926 Date of death: 08/24/1998 Area of notoriety: Entertainment Marker Type: Headstone Setting: Outdoor Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link] Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Not listed

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