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Back to Dearly Departed Country Stars
Stringbean
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Banjo picker/comedian David "Stringbean" Akeman was one of the Grand Ole Opry's biggest stars of the 1950s. He gained greater recognition as a "Hee Haw" cast member in 1969. In November 1973, as he and his wife Estelle returned from the Opry to their tiny, rustic cabin in Ridgetop, Tenn., the couple were shot and killed by cousins John and Marvin Brown. Their neighbor, fellow Opry legend Grandpa Jones, discovered the bodies the following morning.
