Posted in: Movies | Tagged: Cannonball Run, entertainment, Every Which Way but Loose, film, HRL, Mel Tillis, Tupelo County Jail

Country Singer And Actor Mel Tillis Passes Away At Age 85

Country music legend Mel Tillis passed away today in Ocala, FL after a battle with diverticulitis. He was 85 years old. Tillis, known best as a singer/songwriter and for his the fact he had a severe stutter, yet none when he sang. He would also appear in a handful of movies and host a television variety series with Susan Anton called Mel and Susan Together. In 2007 he was inducted into both the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Tillis was born in Tampa, FL and developed a stutter during childhood. He learned to play both the drums and guitar in his youth. While part of the United States Air Force he was stationed in Okinawa, where he and his band, The Westerners, would perform in local nightclubs. After the service, he moved to Nashville and became a songwriter, with some of his early work being I'm Tired, Honky Tonk Song and Tupelo County Jail. He went on to write many hits in the late '50s, which landed him his own contract with Columbia Records and his first Top 40 hit, The Violet and the Rose.

His film career started with W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings, the first of many films along with Burt Reynolds. He would then appear in films like The Villain, Smokey and the Bandit II, Cannonball Run, Cannonball Run II and Uphill All the Way. He would appear in Clint Eastwood's Every Which Way but Loose and have the film include his song Coca Cola Cowboy.

He wrote an autobiography titled Stutterin' Boy and in 1998 formed a group called The Old Dogs with Bobby Bare, Waylon Jennings, and Jerry Reed. The group recorded a double album of songs written by Shel Silverstein.

Source: Deadline

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!