|
 Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon (Minnie Pearl)
N 35° 55.769 W 086° 52.705
16S E 510967 N 3976133
Better Known to Country Music Fans as Cousin Minnie Pearl. A Member of the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50-years and a member of the Country Music Hall Of Fame.
Waymark Code: WMBDE
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 04/27/2006
Views: 173
Minnie Pearl was the Star of the Grand Ole Opry, and The TV Series "Hee Haw." She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1975. She enjoyed an entertainment career that spanned more the 60-years. Her career came to an end when she suffered a stroke in 1991 and died 5-years later on March 4, 1996. Minnie is buried in the Mount Hope Cemetery in Franklin Tennessee.
Description:
Sarah Ophelia Colley was born on October 25, 1912 in Centerville, Tennessee. She attended Belmont College in Nashville, where she majored in theater. He early acting career was cut short when she returned to Centerville to care for her mother who was ill. She later joined a touring theater group that was traveling through the south during the great depression. It was during this tour that a young Sarah would discover the character that would launch her 60-year entertainment career. Minnie Pearl was the product of a small town called Grinder Switch, she grew up with folks like “Uncle Nabob,” “Miss Lizzie Tinkum” and her slow witted “Brother.” Minnie Pearl was always “Trying to Catch a Feller,” and her adventures along with her down home story about the folks of Grinder Switch lead her to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry in 1940 and she never left. Once at the Opry Minnie would greet her audience wearing a dime store hat with a dangling $1.98 price tag and a rousing “HOOOOOWDEEEEEEEE, I’m just so proud to be here!” On February 23, 1947, Sarah married Henry Cannon who was the owner of his own charter service specializing in the country music business, flying a Beechcraft single-engine plane. Clients included Eddy Arnold and his then manager Tom Parker, Hank Williams, Carl Smith, Webb Pierce, and eventually Elvis Presley. Client number one was his wife, who soon became known in Nashville society circles as Sarah Cannon. In addition to transporting his wife, Henry Cannon became her manager as well. In addition to her Opry Appearences Minnie toured with such Stars as Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe and a number of other Opry Stars. Opry founder George D. Hay told Minnie during one of her early Opry appearances “Just to love your audience, and they will love you right back.” Minnie indeed love her audiences and for over 50-year they never stopped loving her right back. Minnie’s entertainment career came to an end in 1991 when she suffered a stroke and died 5-years later on March 4, 1996. Today Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon, the person we have come to know and love as “Cousin Minnie Pearl” rests at the Mount Hope Cemetery in Franklin, Tennessee.
Date of birth: 10/25/1912
Date of death: 03/04/1996
Area of notoriety: Entertainment
Marker Type: Headstone
Setting: Outdoor
Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Daily - Dawn to Dusk
Fee required?: No
Web site: [Web Link]
|
Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log for waymarks in this category, you must have personally visited the waymark location. When logging your visit, please provide a note describing your visit experience, along with any additional information about the waymark or the surrounding area that you think others may find interesting.
We especially encourage you to include any pictures that you took during your visit to the waymark. However, only respectful photographs are allowed. Logs which include photographs representing any form of disrespectful behavior (including those showing personal items placed on or near the grave location) will be subject to deletion.
|