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The Duke of Paducah

Benjamin Francis “Whitey” Ford was a leading country comedian from the late 1930s to the mid-1950s.

Duke of Paducah
  • Inducted
    1986
  • Born
    May 12, 1901
  • Died
    June 20, 1986
  • Birthplace
    DeSoto, Missouri

Benjamin Francis “Whitey” Ford was a leading country comedian from the late 1930s to the mid-1950s.

From Dixieland to Duke

Ford had only a third-grade education and was fond of calling himself a graduate of the “University of Hard Knocks.” Following four years in the Navy (1918–1922), he joined a Dixieland jazz group as a banjoist, working in Arkansas and Missouri. Based in Chicago, beginning in about 1929, Ford performed on WLS and eventually toured with Gene Autry.

In the mid-1930s, while based at St. Louis radio station KWK, Ford acquired his Duke of Paducah stage moniker, earlier invented by humorist Irvin S. Cobb. (Ford’s nickname “Whitey” came from his blonde hair.) By then he had developed his comic rube character, begun to compile an enormous library of jokes, and adopted his famous tag line, “I’m goin’ back to the wagon, boys, these shoes are killin’ me!” In 1937, Ford teamed with Red Foley and John Lair to organize the Renfro Valley Barn Dance.

Photos

  • Early portrait of Benjamin Ford, later known by the stage name The Duke of Paducah, early 1900s. Photo by Hays Studio.

  • Benny Ford's Arkansas Travelers, Desota Gardens, Hot Springs, Arkansas, 1925. Pictured in the center holding a banjo is Ben Ford, later known by his stage name, The Duke of Paducah.

  • The Duke of Paducah, aka Whitey Ford, speaking into NBC microphone, 1945. Photo by Maurice Seymour.

  • The Duke of Paducah and unidentified others performing on stage in front of a large "Duke of Paducah" sign, 1940s.

  • The Duke of Paducah performing on stage at the Grand Ole Opry, 1950s.

  • Portrait of Whitey Ford, known professionally as the Duke of Paducah, 1966. Photo by Walden S. Fabry.

  • Portrait of Whitey Ford, known professionally as the Duke of Paducah, 1966. Photo by Walden S. Fabry.

  • Studio portrait of Whitey Ford, known professionally as the Duke of Paducah, playing a banjo, 1966. Photo by Walden S. Fabry.

  • Portrait of Whitey Ford, known professionally as the Duke of Paducah, 1966. Photo by Walden S. Fabry.

  • Black-and-white print of Charlie Monroe (left) and Whitey Ford (right), aka The Duke of Paducah, standing behind a WSJS microphone, 1940s.

Radio and television career

During the late thirties and early 1940s, Ford starred with Louise Massey & the Westerners on the NBC network radio show Plantation Party out of Cincinnati and Chicago before moving in 1942 to star on the Grand Ole Opry’s NBC network segment, a role he would maintain until replaced in 1947 by Rod Brasfield, whom he helped to recruit. Subsequently, Ford made several series of popular radio shows, some of them recorded and syndicated widely throughout the United States and others fed live to CBS from various locations while on tour with Eddy Arnold.

By the mid-1930s, The Duke of Paducah had developed his comic rube character, begun to compile an enormous library of jokes, and adopted his famous tag line, “I’m goin’ back to the wagon, boys, these shoes are killin’ me!”

Ford kept working at the Opry and touring, even heading a troupe billed as the Rock and Roll Revue during the mid-1950s. Beginning in 1958, he hosted Country Junction, a Nashville television show that aired on WLAC-TV for a number of years. Eventually many of his jokes found their way to Hee Haw, whose producers bought his joke library. Ford donated numerous radio scripts and extensive scrapbooks to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The remainder of his substantial collection of American humor was acquired by Emory University shortly before his death. Four months after his passing, he was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

– John Rumble

– Adapted from the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s Encyclopedia of Country Music, published by Oxford University Press.

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