David "Stringbean" Akeman; Opry and Hee Haw Star

 

Let me start by saying I promise this one will not be nearly as long as the last one I posted. In fact, while I wanted that story to be my first on this re-launch, I also wanted to do smaller stories to get some out at a quicker rate but Sylvia's story cannot be short and when you add my passion about it it often becomes a “novel.”

David “Stringbean” Akeman was a figure in country music back in the 1950s. He was a well known and very talented banjo player that had kind of fallen into comedy also. He had obtained his nickname Stringbean early on due to his height (although to be fair I do not know what that was) and his very slim build, which could have made him look taller also. At some point in his career he took to wearing a night shirt to which he would then place a pair of jean only up to just under his knees and secured with a belt. This made him appear to have a very, very long torso and short stubby legs, but that became his signature and people loved it. He was a major fixture at the Grand Ole Opry and in 1969 when the show Hee Haw was launch he was one of the original stars and involved in many skits that were done.

By the early 70s Stringbean, who was in his fifties lived in a small cabin with his wife, Estell on property connected to his good friend “Grandpa” Jones in Goodlettsville Tennessee, about twenty miles north of Nashville. Like many of that generation who had lived through the Depression Stringbean did not trust banks. It was a well known “secret” that he carried a large sum of cash on him at all time and rumored the rest was hidden in the small cabin. He and his wife had two luxuries, a Cadillac and a color television. It was said aside from those two things the couple lived very frugally.

Stringbean never learned to drive and on Saturday November 10, 1973 Estell drove him home late in the evening after he had performed at The Opry. It was said that when they arrived Stringbean saw something suspicious and drew his gun that he carried for protection while Estell waited outside. Once inside Stringbean was met by cousins, John and Marvin Douglas Brown. Apparently the two twenty-three year olds had been waiting for their return and had rummaged through the small home. Stringbean was immediately shot and killed. Estell, hearing the sounds screamed and began to run. She was chased, shot in the back and left to die.

There is a dispute as to which of the two cousins fired the shots. Upon their arrests they each blamed the other. Upon research you will find that it seemed to be widely believed that it was John Brown who committed the killings although I admit that at least one source said it was Marvin. In the end it does not matter because they were both there and when they left two people were dead.

The two cousins checked the bodies for money. I found a report that claimed they found $5,700 on the bodies but I have discounted this as being true. That was an EXTREME amount of money in 1973. That was nearly twice the amount of a new car at that time. There is a difference in carrying enough money to have what you may need while your out without worry and carrying pretty much everything you owned on your body. Most reports however say that the cousins got away with about $250 in cash which seems much more reasonable. There were claims that both Stringbean and Estell had special pockets sewn into their clothes to carry money and that the killers had missed those but I am not ready to stand up and claim that is completely true. In the end we can say the cousins got away with at least some money, a few firearms, a chainsaw and the Akeman's car.

The following morning Grandpa Jones came down to the hill to the property to grab Stringbean for a pre-planned hunting day. He immediately found Estell, still outside and went back to his home to call the police. It is not completely clear when the cousins were found or the circumstances but all indications were that it was a short time. They were put on trial and Grandpa Jones identified one of the firearms found in the vehicle as one he had given to Stringbean. The two cousins were convicted and each were sentenced. My sources here are a bit shady. Some say both men were given two life sentences, without being specific on how many years that meant at that time and without mentioning any other charges such as burglary they may have also been convicted. Another source said that John (Marvin had died by then) had been sentenced to 198 years when he was convicted so one could argue that if that was the case Marvin likely received the same amount. It appears that only Marvin appealed his case but was unsuccessful.

Marvin died in 2003 while still in prison. In 2014 John was up for parole. It appears it was possibly not the first time he had faced the parole board, but it was the important one. Opry Stars started a campaign to prevent his release and many made statements either to the board or to the public against his release. The parole board did not agree and after serving forty-one years he was released. I found nothing indicating what may have become of him and lets be fair, searching “John Brown” even with the word “murder” and maybe a few others is likely not going to help me much.

I first remember hearing about this case in the mid 1990's. There was a report made in 1996 that allegedly more than $20,000 had been found behind a brick in the chimney of the little cabin once shared by Stringbean and Estell. Some reports said that some of the money burnt when a fire was started in the fireplace but all reported the money was deteriorated to the point that it was not usable. Most reports today say that while yes, this was reported it has never been verified to be true. True or not, it was a good story. As stated earlier, it was well known that his money was not in a bank and while it was reported that he was not “rolling in the dough” and one of the highest paying stars, the fact the couple was so frugal added to that meant there was likely quite a bit of money available to them.

Back in 2021 I was living in Southern Indiana and my oldest son and I decided to do a “cemetery trip.” We left my home and headed towards Nashville. The plan was to stop along the way to see graves of famous people, most of which unsurprisingly were related to country music. I had asked to stop in Goodlettsville knowing that Stringbean was buried there. I knew his story, my son did not. He is buried at Forrest Lawn Memorial Gardens in an area if I am not mistaken known as Music Row. There are others there famous for their roles in country music including Lefty Frazelle and the pilot and others who were on the plane with Patsy Cline when her plane crashed. A few miles down the road sits another cemetery with a church (technically because of the church it is known as a graveyard and not cemetery) where up on a hill sits the stone of Grandpa Jones who lived well into his nineties. We talked about maybe looking to see if we could find the area in which the crime was committed but we had a very long day ahead of us and decided not to look further. In the end I believe we hit at least five on the way to Nashville (some just had one to see) and then hit two very large ones in Nashville with dozens and dozens of memorials to see plus another smaller one. If that is your thing and you are into country music that is definitely the place to go.