Crusade friend Sleepy Marlin dies
He was a longtime WHAS-TV Hayloft Hoedown performer
Marlin, Morris Wayne “Sleepy,” 95, of Jeffersonville, IN
died January 20, 2011.
Born on August 7, 1915 in Carmi , IL, he took up the fiddle at age 12 and won his first fiddlers’ contest at age 18. He entered radio broadcasting in 1936 at WGBF in Evansville , IN. In 1937, he started working at WLW radio in Cincinnati . During World War II, he was a flight instructor at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio .
He was an international champion fiddler, winning 17 championships in the US and Canada during his 52 year career. He performed on WHAS radio and the TV show “Hayloft Hoedown” from 1950-1962. He also appeared on national network television shows including, The Arthur Godfrey Show, Renfro Valley Barndance, Your Town with Faye Emerson, The Dave Garroway Show, WLS National Barndance, and Garry Moore’s To Tell the Truth show.
He continued performing with his six sons and daughter until he retired in 1988. He was a Kentucky Colonel, and a recipient of the Sagamore of the Wabash Indiana state award, a 4th Degree member of Knights of Columbus, and a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
He was predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Ruth, his brother John, and sister, Geraldine Jensen.
Survivors include daughters, Beverly Burgess and Cindy Grant (Jerry); sons, Jack (Sandy), James, Gary (Maureen), Robert, Rick and Pat; 18 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and a sister, Madge Wilson.
Visitation will be February 1, 2011 at E.M. Coots Funeral Home, 2-8 p.m. with funeral Mass at 10 a.m. on February 2, 2011 at Sacred Heart Church.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to Vista Care Hospice or Catholic Charities.
No Comments