---
name: "Jimmy Dean"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/jimmy-dean"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "10 August 1928"
died: "13 June 2010"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-18T11:19:31.460328+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Jimmy Dean

Actor. Born 10 August 1928 in Plainview, Texas, USA. Died 13 June 2010.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 10 August 1928, Plainview, Texas, USA
- **Died:** 13 June 2010
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Dean, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1689346, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0212818/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10192

## Biography

Jimmy Dean was an American country music singer, songwriter, television host, actor and businessman. Born Jimmy Ray Dean on 10 August 1928 in Texas, he rose to fame with his 1961 hit "Big Bad John" and hosted The Jimmy Dean Show from 1963, which gave puppeteer Jim Henson early national exposure with the character Rowlf.

Dean appeared in supporting roles on television, including multiple episodes of Daniel Boone in the late 1960s. His best-known film role was as the reclusive billionaire Willard Whyte in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever (1971). He also founded the Jimmy Dean sausage brand in 1969 and served as its spokesman.

Dean died on 13 June 2010 at his home in Virginia, aged 81.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Diamonds Are Forever* (1971), Fi1m 58, as Willard Whyte — [page](https://film.one/film/diamonds-are-forever.md)

## Complete filmography (9)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Statler Brothers Farewell Concert* (2003), as Guest
- *Big Bad John* (1990), as Cletus Morgan
- *J.J. Starbuck* (1987), series, as Charlie Bullets
- *Murder, She Wrote* (1984), series, as Bobby Diamond
- *The City* (1977), as Wes Collins
- *Rolling Man* (1972), as Lyman Hawkes
- *Diamonds Are Forever* (1971), as Willard Whyte — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/diamonds-are-forever.md)
- *The Ballad of Andy Crocker* (1969), as Mack
- *Daniel Boone* (1964), series, as Delo Jones, Jeremiah, Josh Clements

## Gallery

- ![Photo of Jimmy Dean from his 1958 television program.](https://film.one/media/person/1026052/gallery-77ef803a7242.jpg) Photo of Jimmy Dean from his 1958 television program. — CBS Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Jimmy_Dean_1958.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Jimmy Dean](https://film.one/media/person/1026052/gallery-a0616856fc6f.jpg) Jimmy Dean — William Morris Agency (management), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Jimmy_Dean_1966.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Jimmy Dean Museum building in Plainview, TX](https://film.one/media/person/1026052/gallery-9534da0ed0fe.jpg) Jimmy Dean Museum building in Plainview, TX — Billy Hathorn, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Jimmy_Dean_Museum_building%2C_Plainview%2C_TX_IMG_1945.JPG/1280px-Jimmy_Dean_Museum_building%2C_Plainview%2C_TX_IMG_1945.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jimmy Dean](https://film.one/media/person/1026052/gallery-de7383fa970a.jpg) Jimmy Dean — Image via TMDB
- ![Jimmy Dean](https://film.one/media/person/1026052/gallery-548370bfdc16.jpg) Jimmy Dean — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/jimmy-dean