I guess it's a good thing that Jimmy Dean decided to get into the meat-packing business in the late sixties. He apparently decided his career as a TV host and country-western singer wouldn't sustain and he wanted something else to fall back on. Still, it's sad in a way that so many people probably know him only as a name on packages of pure pork sausage. He was a fine entertainer — warm, funny and either a genuinely nice guy or a damn good actor to make everyone think so. I used to tune in his 1963-1966 TV series mainly to see Rowlf the Muppet (that's him in the photo above with Jimmy) but I also enjoyed the host's easy-going smile and manner.
There was a brief period around '67 or '68 when he was "next in line" to take over The Tonight Show if Johnny Carson quit…and actually, Carson did quit during this period over a contract dispute. But before it was resolved, we had a couple of weeks of Jimmy Dean guest-hosting and I recall him doing a decent job in a tough situation. Sorry to hear he's not around anymore but boy, he had a great career.