Jimmy Ray Dean (August 10, 1928 – June 13, 2010) was an American country music singer, television host, actor, and businessman. He was the creator of the Jimmy Dean sausage brand as well as the spokesman for its TV commercials. He is a distant cousin of actor James Dean He became a national television personality starting on CBS in 1957. He rose to fame for his 1961 country music crossover hit into rock and roll with "Big Bad John" and his 1963 television series The Jimmy Dean Show, which gave puppeteer Jim Henson his first national media exposure.