Originally Posted by
Ludigan
Grady Lee Nutt was born on September 2, 1934 in Amarillo, Texas, the oldest of four children (three sons and a daughter) born to Grady C. and Doris (née Rickman) Nutt. Raised in a family of devout Baptists, Nutt was a licensed minister by the age of 13.
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. He was soon a semi-regular on The Mike Douglas Show.
In 1979 he was added to the regular cast of Hee Haw, a position he held until his death. During his stint on Hee Haw he was given 90 – 120 seconds in which he would do an improvisational routine, much like that of David "Stringbean" Akeman, who was killed in 1973.
In 1981, he was cast as Rev. Grady Williams in a pilot for an NBC sitcom called The Grady Nutt Show.The episode dealt with Rev. Williams being called to preach the funeral of man disliked by the entire community and dealing with his teenage daughter's foray into dating. The 30-minute pilot was broadcast on NBC, but had not yet been put into production as a series at the time of his death.
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 co-pilot. The cause of the crash was undetermined, however weather conditions such as fog and rain were cited as contributing factors in the accident. He was buried on the Wilson family farm in Fayette County, Tennessee.