Truett S. Beasley Jr. (born 1953), better known by his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Killer Beaz, is an American

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

.Walter de Gruyter & Co. (1999). '' Humor: International Journal of Humor Research'', Volume 12. Mouton de Gruyter, ISSN 0933-1719 He has a strong southern accent and a strong following in the southern United States.Staff report (October 6, 1993)
Killer Beaz hits the road with jokes, family.
''

Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. It is owned by Chatham Asset ...

Life and career

Beasley was born to Truett S. Beasley and Gwen Norman Beasley in

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

in 1953. Beasley's father was a

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

veteran and captain with the Jackson, Mississippi Police Department, as well as a licensed funeral director and embalmer. His mother was a public school teacher. He graduated from Wingfield High School in 1972, where he was voted the "wittiest" of the class. During his adolescence, he worked as an ambulance technician and at a funeral home. He began his career as a musician, playing guitar in a blues band. He received his stage name from an audience member who declared a guitar lick to be, "Killer, Beaz!" He first performed in 1982 when a bar owner requested a comedian perform. With no real outlets for comedy in his home state, he spent time opening for musical groups and at pool halls. After seeing comedian

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno ( ; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 until 200 ...

perform in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in the early 1980s, he had an "epiphany" and relocated to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, where he was embraced for his strong accent. As his career developed, he made hundreds of appearances on

The Nashville Network The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, game shows, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows. On September ...

and CMT. He appeared on over 100 television programs and is known for the

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

"save up."Watts, Cindy (Apr 16, 2007)
Killer Beaz invades Zanies with clean comedy.
/ref> On the 1996 album '' NASCAR: Hotter Than Asphalt'', Killer Beaz recorded a song called "Save Up" backed up by

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

. His parents were both killed in 2005 by a drunk driver driving a semi-trailer truck.Staff report (July 5, 2005)
Mr. Truett S. Beasley and Mrs. Gwen Norman Beasley.
''McDuffie Mirror'' The incident left him unwilling to perform for over a year,Maron, Marc (May 23, 2012)
Episode 282: Killer Beaz.
''

WTF with Marc Maron ''WTF with Marc Maron'' is a weekly podcast and radio show hosted by stand-up comedian Marc Maron. The show was launched in September 2009. The show is produced by Maron's former Air America co-worker Brendan McDonald. Background The show's ...

'' and he went into a period of "semi-retirement." He was briefly a part of the WQYK Morning Show in

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in 2009. His first major-label comedy album, ''Don’t Ever Touch Anybody You Don’t Know'', was released in 2013 on Jack Records, an imprint of

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

. Beasley has also appeared on numerous episodes of the television series Moonshiners, alongside friends Mark and Digger.

Personal life

Beasley and his wife relocated to Mobile,

when they had children.

Discography

*''Save Up!'' (2000) *''Shaken, Not Stirred'' (2002) *''Original Artist Hit List'' (2003) *''Don’t Ever Touch Anybody You Don’t Know'' (2013)

References

External links

Killer Beaz official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Killer Beaz Living people 1953 births American male comedians 21st-century American comedians People from Andalusia, Alabama Comedians from Alabama