Grady Nutt

Grady Lee Nutt (September 2, 1934 – November 23, 1982) was a Southern Baptist minister, humorist, television personality, and author. His humor revolved around rural Southern Protestantism and earned him the title of "The Prime Minister of Humor".

Childhood and early career Grady Lee Nutt was born in Amarillo, Texas, the oldest of four children (three sons and a daughter) born to Grady C. and Doris (née Rickman) Nutt. Reared in a family of devout Baptists, Nutt was a licensed minister by the age of 13. He was an uncle to actress, director Joey Lauren Adams.

Nutt briefly attended Wayland Baptist College in Plainview, Texas, before transferring to Baylor University.

Entertainment career While serving as a minister and seminary administrator, Nutt began accepting speaking engagements. His speeches were blended with humor, and he came to the attention of Ralph Edwards, the producer of the popular TV series Truth or Consequences and This Is Your Life.

In 1979, he was added to the regular cast of Hee Haw, a position he held until his death. On Hee Haw, he was given 90 – 120 seconds in which he would do an improvised routine.

In 1981, he was cast as Rev. Grady Williams in a pilot for an NBC sitcom called The Grady Nutt Show. The 30-minute pilot was broadcast on NBC, but had not been put into production as a series at the time of his death.

During his career, he published several books, including The Gospel According to Norton and an autobiography entitled So Good, So Far; he also released several comedic records and one Southern Gospel album, Give the World A Smile.

Death and legacy On November 23, 1982, following a speaking engagement in Cullman, Alabama, Nutt boarded a chartered flight (a Beechcraft Baron 55, aircraft registration number N18411). The plane crashed immediately after takeoff, killing Nutt, the pilot and the co-pilot.

His widow has established the Grady Nutt Endowment Fund at the University of Louisville, which offers an annual prize of $400 to the most creative fine arts project and a Grady Nutt memorial collection was established in the student center at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville.

Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes, Kentucky, named the Grady Nutt Athletic Center in his honor.