Is The Jimmy Dean Brand Based On An Actual Person?

Jimmy Dean breakfast products have long been a staple at most grocery stores. Many enjoy the brand's breakfast meats and pre-cooked meals for easy eats in the morning, when whipping something up from scratch simply isn't in the cards. Jimmy Dean was one of our top picks when we ranked sausage brands, and its breakfast sandwich options make great alternatives to some popular fast food breakfast sandwiches. But what's in a name? Is Jimmy Dean an actual person? Yes, he certainly was.

Jimmy Dean was an American country music singer, television host, and actor before he founded his now-famous brand of breakfast meat products. Born in 1928, Dean grew up on a farm in Texas and served in the Air Force before breaking into the entertainment business in the early '50s. He started his own band and recorded a few hits songs, with the biggest being "Big Bad John." It hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 1961 and won him a Grammy Award. Dean also hosted his own variety show, "The Jimmy Dean Show," which featured musical guests — including Johnny Cash — throughout the '60s. He was even inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010, the year of his death.

Growing up on a farm, Jimmy Dean was no stranger to making fresh sausage at home. As a youngster, he and his brother, Don, would grind the meat of hogs they butchered while their mother would season it. It wasn't until the late '60s, though, that it occurred to him to start his own meat company. The story goes that Dean got the idea to make breakfast sausage after biting into a gristly piece at a local diner in Plainview, his hometown. According to the company's website, Dean reportedly told his brother, "There has got to be room in this country for a good quality sausage!" He started the Jimmy Dean Meat Company with Don in 1969, opening a plant right in Plainview.

Dean serving as the brand's charismatic spokesman, and starring in its advertisements, certainly helped sell the product, and they quickly saw success. Fun fact: Jimmy Dean's breakfast sausage, which is different from other sausages, was initially promoted as "pure pork sausage." The company even opened several restaurants in Oklahoma, Ohio, and Indiana in the early '80s. It was eventually acquired by the Sara Lee Corporation for a whopping $15 million in 1984. 

Dean remained the face of the brand until 2003, when he was dropped due to Sara Lee executives feeling he was too old. He notoriously revealed why he was let go in a statement entitled, "Somebody doesn't like Sara Lee," which played on the company's slogan, "everybody doesn't like something, but nobody doesn't like Sara Lee." The company apparently wanted to appeal to young housewives and didn't think he was a fit. While Sara Lee edged Dean out, he still made millions — it's safe to say he came out on top.