Biography
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Born
11 June 1926
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Died
22 September 1983 (aged 57)
David Gardner (June 11, 1926 - September 22, 1983), known as Brother Dave Gardner, was a U.S. comedian and singer.
A Tennessee native, Gardner studied drumming beginning at age 13. After a one-semester term as a Southern Baptist ministerial student at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, he began a musical career as a drummer and occasional vocalist. After a pair of 'demo' singles for Decca Records around 1956, he had a 1958 Top-20 hit on OJ Records with "White Silver Sands."
It was his comedy routines between songs, however, that brought him to the attention of RCA Records artist & producer Chet Atkins. The eventual result was a comedy album with a couple of songs on it, Rejoice Dear Hearts! (1959), which propelled Gardner into the national eye, along with the first of several appearances on national television talk/variety shows such as The Tonight Show.
An arrest for marijuana possession in 1962 ended his visibility on television; then, it seemed, changing public tastes (i.e., 'beatnik'-style comedy falling out of favor), coupled with Gardner's holding onto his same performing style, resulted in a similar fading of his recording career. After 6 albums for RCA Victor Records, he made 2 for Capitol Records, and then others for lesser labels. He had another legal problem over tax-evasion charges in the 1970's, which his son helped clear up.
He had a role as a Southern preacher in the 1978 made-for-TV film Big Bob Johnson's Fantastic Speed Circus. He was cast in a B-level movie, and was just beginning work on it, at the time of his death.
He was twice married; his first wife, Millie, preceded him in death, and he was married to his second wife, Judy, at the time of his death. He had two children from his first marriage–son Dave II (deceased, 1999) and daughter Candace.
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