NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's one of the most beloved Nashville traditions, and this weekend, a milestone moment is coming to the Grand Ole Opry. It's something that hasn't happened at the Opry in 50 years.
To many, $1.98 is just a price. To others, $1.98 is a price so connected with a legend of the Grand Ole Opry. It's the price on Minnie Pearl's hat price tag.
Respect for those classic comedians of the Opry is carried today by stand-up Henry Cho.
"I was born in Knoxville, raised there," he said. "The Opry was the Opry. Everybody knew about the Opry. Minnie Pearl was just a pioneer. Groundbreaker."
"All these photographs are arranged in a smile, which is not by accident," said Dan Rogers, vice president and executive producer of the Grand Ole Opry. He spoke while showing the Opry's comedy dressing room with classic Opry comedians framed on the wall.
Rogers said comedians were always a good fit for an Opry broadcast, and earlier days brought a whole lot of characters.
"They all made audiences laugh," he said. "They were all beloved. There's something really special about Grandpa Jones and Minnie Pearl."
"Her signature, 'HOWDY!'" Cho smiled.
"They're larger than life," Rogers continued. "Comedy really helps cement a great show night after night after night."
Yet, it has been 50 years since the last time a comedian was inducted as a Grand Ole Opry cast member — it was Jerry Clower in 1973. The wait ends now.
"Amy Grant told me, 'humor's always been a part of the Opry,'" Cho remembered. "'You need to keep doing it.'"
After playing the Grand Ole Opry stage more than a hundred times over the past decade, Cho is about to be inducted.
"I'm Opry member 229," he said. "They've only had 228 others. I'm 229 out of the thousands of performers who've performed on the Opry stage, and I'm the first Asian American."
This moment is part of Cho's continued mission to break barriers for Asian Americans in comedy.
"I was doing it back when I wasn't supposed to be doing it," he said. "I was supposed to be playing the cello or be a doctor or something classy, and I was telling jokes in bars. I've turned down broken English roles. I won't do anything that's derogatory toward the Asian community."
As a kid growing up in Tennessee, Cho never thought he'd be a comedian. An open mic night at 24 years old changed his life. To unite crowds of fans and now be part of the Opry story, he said his is a life full of the unexpected.
"Lo and behold, I get to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry," Cho said. "This honor I've been bestowed is amazing. The common thread through 97 years of the Opry is: it's funny."
Cho will be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry this weekend. Another comedian, Gary Mule Deer, is being inducted next month. NewsChannel 5 will also be talking to Gary Mule Deer ahead of his induction. Stay with us for that story.
