PoliticalGraveyard.com

Entertainment Industry Politicians in Tennessee

Roy Claxton Acuff (1903-1992) — also known as Roy Acuff; "The King of Country Music" — of Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tenn. Born in Maynardville, Union County, Tenn., September 15, 1903. Republican. Country musician; co-founder of Acuff-Rose Publication Company, the first country music publishing house; appeared in seven Hollywood movies in the 1940s; owner and operator of Dunbar Cave Hotel near Nashville; candidate for Governor of Tennessee, 1948; delegate to Republican National Convention from Tennessee, 1960. Elected to Country Music Hall of Fame, 1962. Died, of congestive heart failure, in Nashville, Davidson County, Tenn., November 23, 1992 (age 89 years, 69 days). Interment at Spring Hill Cemetery, Nashville, Tenn.   Relatives: Son of Simon E. Neill Acuff and Ida (Carr) Acuff; grandson of Coram Acuff; second cousin once removed of Juddson Thomas Acuff.   Political family: Acuff family of Maynardville, Tennessee.   See also Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Internet Movie Database profile — Find-A-Grave memorial   Books about Roy Acuff: Elizabeth Schlappi, Roy Acuff: The Smoky Mountain Boy   Michael Curb (b. 1944) — also known as Mike Curb — of California; Nashville, Davidson County, Tenn. Born in Savannah, Chatham County, Ga., December 24, 1944. Republican. Musician; record company executive; race car owner; member of Republican National Committee from California, 1977; Lieutenant Governor of California, 1979-83; defeated, 1986; candidate for Governor of California, 1982. In 2003, he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Still living as of 2014.   Relatives: Married to Linda Dunphy.   The Curb Event Center arena, at Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee, is named for him.   See also Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Internet Movie Database profile   Willie Gathrel Hefner (1930-2009) — also known as W. G. 'Bill' Hefner — of Concord, Cabarrus County, N.C. Born in Elora, Lincoln County, Tenn., April 11, 1930. Democrat. Owner and president, radio station WRKB, Kannapolis, N.C.; Gospel music singer with Harvester's Quartet, 1954-67; television performer; U.S. Representative from North Carolina 8th District, 1975-99; delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Carolina, 1996. Baptist. Died September 2, 2009 (age 79 years, 144 days). Burial location unknown.   See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — NNDB dossier   Karl de Giers MacVitty (1883-1959) — also known as Karl MacVitty — of Chicago, Cook County, Ill.; Nashville, Davidson County, Tenn. Born in Nashville, Davidson County, Tenn., February 27, 1883. Newspaper reporter; theatrical manager; U.S. Vice Consul in Genoa, 1917-19; Belfast, 1919; Nassau, 1919-20; U.S. Consul in Saigon, 1920; Sydney, 1921; Auckland, 1921-22; Teheran, 1925; Stockholm, 1926-27; Leghorn, 1928-29, 1929; Malta, 1929; Nairobi, as of 1932; Sofia, as of 1938; Nouméa, 1942; U.S. Consul General in Nouméa, 1942; Alexandria, as of 1943. Episcopalian. Died in 1959 (age about 76 years). Burial location unknown.   Relatives: Son of Frank Dow MacVitty and Kateryn (de Giers) MacVitty.   Fred Dalton Thompson (b. 1942) — also known as Fred Thompson — of Tennessee. Born in Sheffield, Colbert County, Ala., August 19, 1942. Republican. Lawyer; U.S. Senator from Tennessee, 1994-; candidate for Republican nomination for President, 2008. Member, Screen Actors Guild. Became an actor when he played himself in the 1985 film Marie, and went on to appear in other films in 1985-94, including No Way Out, The Hunt for Red October, Cape Fear, and In the Line of Fire, as well as the television series Law and Order. Still living as of 2014.   Relatives: Son of Fletcher Thompson and Ruth Thompson; married, September 12, 1959, to Sarah Elizabeth Lindsey; married, June 29, 2002, to Jeri Kehn.   The Fred Thompson U.S. Courthouse (under construction 2019), in Nashville, Tennessee, is named for him.   See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Internet Movie Database profile

"Enjoy the hospitable entertainment of a political graveyard." Henry L. Clinton, Apollo Hall, New York City, February 3, 1872

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