With his immensely popular television shows on CBS and ABC during the 60's he became one of America's most beloved personalities.

Jimmy gave many entertainers their big breaks on his TV shows, including Patsy Cline, Roger Miller and Roy Clark. He went on to write and record many hit songs and won a Grammy for his hit "Big Bad John". As an actor he had a starring role in the James Bond movie "Diamonds are Forever", and during the 1960's he was Fess Parker's sidekick on TV's "The Daniel Boone Show". Jimmy also holds the distinction of being Johnny Carson's first guest host on "The Tonight show".

After headlining and performing in Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada theaters in the late 60's, Jimmy diversified his interests and bought a hog farm in his native Texas. When the market fell out he remembered his grandfather's talent of making sausage and began the most successful sausage company in America. In 1985 he merged his Jimmy Dean Foods with the Sara Lee Corporation, with annual sales exceeding a half billion dollars.

In 1990 Jimmy married fellow performer and songwriter Donna Meade and moved from his home in New Jersey to a tranquil area on the banks of the James River just outside Richmond, Virginia. He and Donna have become some of the communities most civic-minded citizens, sponsoring incentive programs in the areas high school and elementary schools. In 1999 Governor Jim Gilmore honored Jimmy by appointing him to Virginia's Board of Game and Inland Fisheries, and in June of 1997 he was inducted into Virginia's Country Music Hall of Fame.

Since retiring from the entertainment and food businesses, Jimmy enjoys life at home, fishing in his fresh water ponds and boating on the James River. An exhibit of his life is on display at the Texas Country Music Museum in Carthage, Texas, and in 2005 Jimmy was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.

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