Sheb Wooley

[NMcGuitar]

Another. :( - - - - - - - By JOE EDWARDS, Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Sheb Wooley, a veteran actor in westerns like "High Noon" who also recorded the No. 1 pop ditty "Purple People Eater," has died, his wife said. He was 82. Wooley suffered from leukemia beginning in 1996 and was hospitalized Monday at Skyline Medical Center in Nashville. He had just paid respects to American music legend Johnny Cash on Sunday, said his wife Linda. "It was just his time to go," she said. Wooley, who died Tuesday, appeared in more than 60 movies, acted in some 50 television shows and recorded pop and country songs. On the big screen, Wooley appeared in mostly westerns beginning in 1950. His credits included "High Noon" (as a whiskey-drinking killer), "The Outlaw Josey Wales," "The War Wagon," "Distant Drums," "Man Without a Star," "Giant" and "Hoosiers." "The Purple People Eater," about an unidentified flying object, sold 3 million copies in 1958 as a No. 1 pop record. The song had people across the country singing: "It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater." In a 1982 Associated Press interview, Wooley recalled the era. "The space age was upon us. Everyone was thinking about rockets and wondering if maybe we would find people up there. I still wonder if we will. People (heard the song) and imagined some kind of beings." He also was in a movie of that name released in 1988, starring Ned Beatty and Shelley Winters. On TV, Wooley starred as scout Pete Nolan on "Rawhide," a western that helped launch the career of Clint Eastwood. "We called him 'mumbles,'" Wooley once said about Eastwood. "He didn't speak his words very loud. The sound man was always saying, 'Kid, speak up!' But he mumbled his way to a fortune." As recently as 1990, Wooley made a guest appearance on "Murder She Wrote." Other TV credits included "The Lone Ranger" and "Death Valley Days." He recorded a string of hit records from 1958 through the 1960s, mostly country humor songs, including "Don't Go Near the Eskimos" and "Talk Back Blubbering Lips." Some were recorded under his alter ego, Ben Colder. He was voted comedian of the year by the Country Music Association in 1968. He also wrote the theme song of the long-running TV show "Hee Haw." Born Shelby F. Wooley in Erick, Okla., he spent his early years on his father's farm. As a teenager, he did some rodeo riding that helped him find jobs later in movie westerns. A genuine cowboy, he participated in a six-day cattle drive in Montana in 1989. In high school, he formed a band and later had a network radio show for three years. He signed with MGM Records before making his way into movies. Funeral services will be at "high noon" Monday, at his request, at First Baptist Church in nearby Hendersonville.

[Ouizel]

Damn, this stuff is getting old. Godspeed, Sheb. :(

[Dak Lander]

Ain't Ben no Colder here than anyplace else.... So long Sheb.

[Jeff Klopmeyer]

Yeah, I was wondering if someone was going to bring up Sheb. Pardon me for sounding callous, but the passing of a man at age 82 seems like a pretty natural thing. In fact, that's beyond average life expectancy, I believe. Beyond the "Purple People Eater", I think I remember Sheb better from the bit parts he had in all those great westerns ("High Noon" being the most noteworthy). In any case, RIP Sheb! - Jeff

[Dak Lander]

Jeff, Yer probably too young to have heard much of his stuff, aside from "Purple People Eater". He was the first guy I can think of that came out with great parodies. His parody of "Almost Persuaded" is really something & you gotta hear "Sunday Morning Falling Down" by "Ben Colder", his alias.

[Tedster]

Just a bad year for this kind of thing.

[Jeff Klopmeyer]

[quote]Originally posted by daklander: [b]Jeff, Yer probably too young to have heard much of his stuff, aside from "Purple People Eater".[/b][/quote]You're right, I only know that one tune. From what I understand, he was a pioneer of the country-comedy genre. - Jeff

[Chuck Surack]

I indirectly bought a car from Sheb. Back in the late 80s, on a Sunday afternoon I was driving just north of Nashville and I spotted my "dream car". I had always wanted to own a Porsche, but I thought I'd never get one..anyway, this ugly puke green Porsche 914 is sitting with 2 flat tires in front of a music store. Being a Sunday, the store was closed, but with the help of the local police we figured out who the owner was. I got him to come in and he was so happy to sell it to me. His business was down and he was desperate for cash and he had a 16 year old son who was wanting to drive it..and he didn't want to buy the insurance. Anyway, Sheb had given it to him to pay off a music store debt. Because Sheb was on the road most of the time it had ver low miles. Anyway, I bought it, filled the tires and drove it home. I owned it for many years..but what a piece of junk it was... Thanks for fulfilling the dream and rip Sheb! Chuck