He was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, he grew up in California and attended San Diego College. He earned a scholarship to Julliard and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he trained as an actor, and soon won a part in the off-Broadway play, Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

After winning a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in the musical "Purlie," he headed for Hollywood, where he got his first role playing Captain Hancock in the soap "Another World" (1964). Other small roles continued, on such television shows as Felony Squad, when he obtained bit roles on movies, including "John and Mary" (1969), "Cotton Comes to Harlem" (1970), and "Vanishing Point" (1971).

He would continue to show up on television on such series as All in the Family, The Mod Squad, and Police Story, but it was his role of Bart, the sheriff in "Blazing Saddles" for which he is best remembered. That role had been tailor made for actor Richard Pryor, but studio executives were nervous over Pryor's reputation for being somewhat racy and controversial, and they thought that Little would be a safer actor. "Blazing Saddles" proved to be his career high point, after which his career moved into a slow decline.

Nashville, TN (February 6, 2005)– The distinctive voice of Merle Kilgore, one of the most significant songwriters and entertainers in American musical history was forever silenced today. He died this evening (6th) from congestive heart failure onset from medical complications related to ongoing treatment for cancer over the last few months.

He is survived by his wife, Judy, sons Steve and Duane Kilgore, daughters, Pam Compton, Kim Pomeroy, and Shane McBee, 8 grandchildren and 1 great granddaughter.

Born Wyatt Merle Kilgore on August 9, 1934, in Chickasha, Oklahoma—Kilgore spent much of his growing up years in Shreveport, Louisiana. As a boy of 14, Merle cut his teeth in the music industry carrying the guitar of Hank Williams Sr. to and from the stage of the historic Louisiana Hayride. Who could have known that as an adult, Merle would devote much of his career to carrying the name, the legacy, and musical heritage of the Williams family to new audiences, new heights, and virtually every great stage in country music and beyond as the manager of Hank Williams Sr.’s pride and joy—”Bocephus” -- Hank Williams Jr.

And never has the word “manager” covered a broader definition. When Buddy Lee and Hank’s Jr.’s mother, the late Audrey Williams, put Merle on the bill and on the road with Jr. in the ‘60’s there was a method to their plan. The teenage Hank Jr. was growing up in a tough industry without the benefit of his legendary father. In stepped Merle Kilgore—a handsome young entertainer, fifteen years older than Hank, who had already written a #1 hit for Webb Pierce, “More And More,” and followed it with monster hits including “Wolverton Mountain,” a 10 million seller for Claude King, and “Ring Of Fire,” written with June Carter Cash, recorded by Johnny Cash and on its way to selling 16 million records for Johnny, June and Merle.

Few artists on the day wanted to share a stage with Merle Kilgore—even fewer wanted to follow him onstage. Merle simply stole the show on whatever stage you placed him. With his off the wall humor, string of hit songs, and glitzy brand of showmanship, rare that an artist of Merle Kilgore’s caliber would take a step back from the spotlight to consider his touring partner—the teenage Hank Jr.—on his way to carving a legendary career of his own. Maybe it was a duty Merle felt to Hank Sr. – and maybe it was just the stuff legend is made of—but to say theirs was to become a friendship and a working relationship built on mutual respect—and yes—love-would be the true definition. Somewhere on some stage, in some forgotten town long ago Merle Kilgore and Hank Jr. crossed the invisible line to form a bond “of the road”—and became the kind of brothers and “family” that only those in the entertainment industry can fully appreciate and understand.

Reached by phone with the news of the passing of his long time friend and manager, Hank Williams Jr. was unable to make a formal statement at this time.

Greg Oswald, Sr. Vice-President at William Morris, and responsible agent for Hank Williams jr. was a long time friend of Merle’s and in constant communication with him throughout his illness. “When my brother called me just a few hours ago with the news, my immediate thought was that only six short weeks ago I lost my mother--and the pain was equally as sharp when that news came across the phone line tonight about Merle. He was family not only to Hank, but to me and to so many in the industry. We have suffered the loss of a truly unique and great man in the country music community of the caliber we’ll never again see in our lifetime within the industry.”

Merle Kilgore’s management of Hank Williams Jr.’s career brought him accolades along the corridors of Music Row—including CMA “Manager Of The Year.” He served on the CMA Board Of Directors, was elected Vice President of CMA, as well as President of both the Nashville Songwriter’s Association International and the Nashville Songwriter’s Foundation. He served two terms as President of ROPE. Merle became an Honorary State Senator in the State of Tennessee, was inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame, and even made the hall of fame in his old high school alma mater—Byrd High-- back in Shreveport. “Senator Kilgore has had an illustrious life—from double dating with pal Elvis Presley to acting roles in seven movie productions.

Through it all, Merle continued not only to be one of the country music industry’s most successful personal managers—but an artist in his own right. His acting roles, accolades as a performer, and songbook as a multi-million selling writer would take volumes to record.

Merle Kilgore was a friend to all within the sound of his voice and he continued throughout life to encourage those within the family of Country Music to love what they did. His legacy will continue with the legions of friends and fans around the world who will insure Merle Kilgore’s legend will forever remain among those of the true giants in the music industry

Visitation will take place February 14 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Hendersonville Memory Gardens and Funeral Home in Hendersonville, TN. The funeral will be at noon on February 15 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, with visitation from 11 a.m. to noon.

Biography

Childhood and early years

Fisher was born in Grady County, Oklahoma near Chickasha into a farming family, the son of a Scots-Irish father and part-Choctaw mother and the youngest of four children. He gained the nickname "Shug," short for sugar, at a young age which he explained, "My mama gave it to me 'cause I was such a sweet baby."  In 1917, the family moved by covered wagon to Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, near Indianola. Soon thereafter, Fisher was drawn to the mandolin and the fiddle. His father refreshed his own fiddling ability and Fisher learned guitar to back him, and at age 16, he was playing with his father at local square dances. He could not afford a fiddle case and instead protected his instrument with a pillow case tied to the saddle horn.

After watching a comedian with a traveling medicine show in 1924, he decided to pursue a career in entertainment. The following year, Fisher, his father, and a friend drove a Ford Model T to California's San Joaquin Valley, where he worked as a fruit-picker and a cable and tool dresser in oil fields. He continued to perform, playing fiddle at social events and square dances. In 1927, he was asked to appear on The Fresno Bee's radio station, KMJ-AM, but only for the publicity. He later said "publicity was fine, but you can’t eat it...My motto was, pay me something, or I don’t play."

 Los Angeles calls

In 1931, Tom Murray, who had recently left the Beverly Hill Billies, offered Fisher a spot with his new group, the Hollywood Hillbillies, based in Los Angeles. Fisher learned to play the bass fiddle with the group and claimed he was one of the first to play the instrument in a country band. The Hillbillies appeared on the Hollywood Breakfast Club radio show and were fairly popular around Los Angeles but had little income to show for it.

In late 1933, Fisher and Ken Carson left the group to join several members of the Beverly Hill Billies who had moved to San Francisco. The original group was the brainchild of the general manager of KPMC-AM, who promoted the members as authentic "hillbilly" musicians who he'd "discovered." As part of the ruse, the members always adopted hillbilly names, so Fisher became Aaron Judd and Carson was Kaleb Winbush. After a short time, Fisher returned to Los Angeles, appearing on Stuart Hamblen's Covered Wagon Jubilee program.

Ohio Valley radio career

In 1935, Fisher took an extended road tour with Roy Faulkner, The Lonesome Cowboy, from XERA-AM in Del Rio, Texas. During an appearance in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Fisher was approached by Hugh Cross to join him, under sponsorship of the Georgie Porgie Breakfast Food Company, as an act for WWVA Jamboree. Fisher agreed and the two went to Wheeling, West Virginia. Under the moniker of Hugh and Shug’s Radio Pals, a reflection of their frequent radio appearances, they performed with Mary Ann Vestes and recorded for Decca for four years, enjoying a faithful radio audience.

In 1939, the two moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where they appeared on WLW-AM's Boone County Jamboree and where Fisher met and married Peggy Summers of Bolivar, Missouri.  At the station, he also became friends with a young Merle Travis.

The Sons of the Pioneers

When the U.S. entered World War II in 1941, Fisher returned to Los Angeles to work in defense jobs, primarily at Lockheed Aircraft in Burbank. Art Rush, head of the Hollywood Victory Committee, requested his help arranging entertainment for defense workers during the war.

In 1943, Fisher and Ken Carson were invited to join the Sons of the Pioneers after the group’s Pat Brady and Lloyd Perryman were drafted into the service. Replacing Brady as bassist and comedian, Fisher eagerly joined Carson, Tim Spencer, Bob Nolan, and Hugh and Karl Farr late that year, having appreciated the band's music and personally known its members prior to the group's inception. During this tenure, the group appeared in a string of Roy Rogers movies, recorded songs for the John Ford movies Wagon Master in 1949 and Rio Grande in 1950, and performed the theme song for The Searchers in 1956.

Fisher wrote a number of songs for the Pioneers, including "Out On The Open Range", "Ridin' Down To Santa Fe", later recorded by Merle Travis, and "Forgive And Forget".  In 1946, Fisher and Travis co-wrote "Cincinnati Lou." Fisher also wrote "That's My Paradise", "I'm Not Foolin' Now", "A Million Memories", "Pooey On You, Little Darlin'", a novelty song later recorded by Ken Curtis; "Lonesome Train Blues"; and recorded "Gooseberry Pie" using his fake stuttering as a comedy device.

Fisher left the group in early 1946 when Brady returned from the war but rejoined the Pioneers in 1949 when Brady left. The highlight of this era came in 1951 when they appeared at Carnegie Hall, making them the first country band to perform there. They would also be the first to play at lavish nightclubs in Las Vegas and starred on Mutual Radio's Lucky U Ranch program. In 1953, Fisher left to join friend Ken Curtis in television and motion pictures but again returned to the Pioneers in 1955, replacing Deuce Spriggens. He left the Pioneers for the last time in 1959, and welcomed the break to "kinda take it easy, and do a lot of hunting and fishing."

Film and television career

A member of the John Ford Stock Company, Fisher had an extensive career as a character actor in Western B-movies and feature films starting in 1943. Many of his early roles were as a performer with the Sons of the Pioneers in Roy Rogers' singing cowboy movies. He was also the voice of Uncle Pecos, an animated mouse, in the 1955 Tom and Jerry short, Pecos Pest, and is credited with the guitar improvisation on the cartoon’s version of "Froggie Went A-Courtin".

Fisher also had many supporting roles during a 27-year television career. From 1956–60, he made a series of appearances on ABC-TV’s country music variety show, Ozark Jubilee, as a comedian and singer. He joined Curtis’s syndicated TV series, Ripcord, from 1962–63, portraying pilot Charlie Kern. He made 22 appearances on Gunsmoke from 1962–74 in various minor roles, and played Shorty Kellums in 19 episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies from 1969–70. Fisher also appeared repeatedly on Bonanza, The Virginian, Daniel Boone and The Dukes of Hazzard.

Death

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher (February 8, 1924 - October 18, 1995) was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma as the daughter of a minister. 

Supreme Court Case

Her brother planned to challenge segregationist policies of the University of Oklahoma, but went to Howard University Law School in Washington, D.C. to not delay his career further by protracted litigation.

Fisher was willing to delay her legal career in order to challenge segregation. In 1946, she applied at the University of Oklahoma and was denied because of race. Two years later, in 1948, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Sipuel v. Board of Regents of Univ. of Okla. that the state of Oklahoma must provide instruction for blacks equal to that of whites. Thurgood Marshall acted as the head NAACP lawyer for this case. The case was also a precursor for Brown v. Board of Education.

Legal Education

In order to comply, the state of Oklahoma created the Langston University School of Law, located at the state capital. Further litigation was necessary to prove that this law school was inferior to the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Finally, in 1949, Sipuel was admitted to the University of Oklahoma's law school, becoming the first African-American woman to attend an all-white law school in the South. By this time, she was married and pregnant with the first of her two children. The law school gave her a chair marked "colored," and roped it off from the rest of the class. Her classmates and teachers welcomed her, shared their notes and studied with her, helping her to catch up on the materials she had missed.

 The Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher Garden located on the north part of the main campus in honor of the first African-American to be admitted to the OU College of Law in 1948.

Sipuel had to dine in a separate chained-off guarded area of the law school cafeteria. She recalled that years later some white students would crawl under the chain and eat with her when the guards were not around. Her lawsuit and tuition were supported by hundreds of small donations, and she believed she owed it to those donors to make it.

Later Career

She graduated in 1951 with a Master of Laws degree and began practicing law in her hometown of Chickasha in 1952.

In 1992, Oklahoma governor David Walters appointed her to the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma, which she noted in an interview, "completes a forty-five year cycle." She further stated, "Having suffered severely from bigotry and racial discrimination as a student, I am sensitive to that kind of thing," and she planned to bring a new dimension to university policies.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Billy Gene "Bill" Chapman (October 11, 1928 - August 26, 2007), known as Bill G. Chapman, was an advocate for visually impaired persons, principally in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. The founder of Vision Loss Technology, Chapman, himself blind, authored in 2001 Coping With Vision Loss: Maximizing What You Can See and Do, with George H. Pollock as the illustrator. Coping with Vision Loss consists of thirty-six chapters, one devoted to macular degeneration. Chapman also wrote various journal articles and supplied aids to enable the blind to function as otherwise sighted individuals.

Chapman was born in Chickasha, the seat of Grady County in south central Oklahoma, to the late Helen and Talford Chapman. He graduated in 1950 from Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee. In 1954, he completed Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Kansas. Thereafter, he entered the United States Air Force and served in Louisiana, Labrador, Baffin Island, California, Oregon, Great Britain, and Texas. He was medically retired from the Air Force in 1969, having attained the rank of lieutenant colonel.

In 1973, then legally blind, Chapman procured his Ed.D. from Texas Tech University in Lubbock in the fields of "Rehabilitation Administration" and "Rehabilitation Counseling". Chapman was a member of Macular Degeneration International, the Council for Citizens with Low Vision, and the Association for Macular Diseases.

In 1951, Chapman married his high school sweetheart, the former Katherine Dutton, in Chickasha. They had three children: David Chapman and wife Jan of Austin, Melody C. Deaver and husband, Ricky, of San Antonio, and Jane C. Stubblefield and husband Michael of Lewisville, Texas. There were also five grandchildren. Chapman was also survived by a sister, Lawana Case, and husband, Charles, of Lincoln, Nebraska, and a brother, Richard Chapman, and wife, Mary, of Yukon, Oklahoma.

A native of Chickasha, Oklahoma, McCracken went to Classen High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He attended Northwest Missouri State Teachers College (now Northwest Missouri State University) in Maryville, Missouri and played for legendary coach Henry Iba, who had also coached him in high school. McCracken never turned pro.