Rod Brasfield
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rodney Leon Brasfield was an American comedian who was featured at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee between 1947 and 1958.
Brasfield was born in Smithville, Mississippi on August 22, 1910. He began his career traveling with Bisbee’s Dramatic Shows, serving as a straight man for his brother, Lawrence, who was known as “Boob.”
In 1944, he was recruited by George D. Hay for the Grand Ole Opry. With his trademark baggy suit, battered hat and rubbery face, he could make audiences laugh before he ever spoke a word. He soon became the primary comic on the Opry’s NBC network broadcasts, playing off that show’s host, Red Foley. Assuming the role of a hapless hayseed, he often poked fun at country life—always with good humor.
In 1948, he began teaming with Minnie Pearl, playing what she referred to as “double comedy” in which each of them delivered alternating punch lines and neither played the straight man. Many of these routines were broadcast on ABC television network shows made by Opry acts in 1955 and 1956. He lived in Hohenwald, Tennessee and often mentioned the local restaurant the Snip-Snap-and-Bite in his routines.
Brasfield might have gone on to a career in the movies. In 1957, he played Andy Griffith’s sidekick in A Face in the Crowd. However, heart failure combined with an ongoing problem with alcohol led to his untimely death on September 12, 1958. In 1987, he was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
