Cousin Minnie Pearl
by Sam Richardson

Her humor was strictly corn. People who didn’t appreciate her genre might have called her “campy” (look it up), but she was good at what she did, and she was genuine.

During my disc jockey days down on the Texas coast I emceed a big country package show at the Moody Center in Galveston one time. In those days, promoters put together shows with half a dozen-or-so (or more) name artists on them, and we staged them like the Grand Ol’ Opry.

This show had Willie Nelson, Charlie Pride, Del Reeves, Porter Waggoner, some lesser known artists and Cousin Minnie Pearl. This was during Willie Nelson’s coat and tie period. Wearing coats and ties or turtle necks, with short hair, he was an emerging genius who always looked different than everybody else in Nashville. The other stars on that show were wearing glittering rhinestone suits and sequined cowboy boots and all the bling that was the rage in those days. Later Willie abandoned Nashville, moved to Austin and emerged as himself, but you all know that story.

Back to Cousin Minnie. I was impressed with her professionalism. She came in backstage wearing discreet traveling clothes, looking very business-like, and she had a suitcase with her stage costume in it. I showed her to a dressing room, and she came out a few minutes later dressed as Minnie, walked over to the side of the stage where the performers entered, pulled up a folding chair, got out a pocket novel she was reading, and said, “Let me know when I’m on.”

And she sat there reading her book, oblivious to the show that was roaring on the stage just a few feet away. When it was her turn, I looked at her, nodded, she got up, put her book away, looked back at me and smiled, and I gave her a big introduction. Of course the next thing that happened was she took the stage in a flurry, looked out at the audience and gave them a big “howdeee,” and, of course, got a big round of applause.

“Love them and they’ll love you back,” was her motto. And they loved her. Then when her show was finished, she went back to her dressing room, changed, and headed for the airport. Another day at the office for a country legend, and another memory from my peripatetic career … or careers.

Dear Cousin Minnie. She was highly educated, had a theatrical background but hid all that well, and when she landed on the character of Cousin Minnie that’s who she became, and she made a great career of it.