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Show planned for April 20

Iconic southern comedian Killer Beaz will be returning to McMinnville’s Park Theater for an evening of family-friendly comedy Saturday, April 20.

With 42-years of stand-up comedy under his belt, Truett “Killer Beaz” Beasley said he is looking forward to returning to McMinnville following his performance there last year.

“I think I have been either two or three times already,” Beasley said. “I love it, McMinnville is a pretty little town, gorgeous scenery all the way around it and good people that run that theater.”

In addition to being a touring stand-up comedian, Beasley is also known for his appearances on the Moonshiner’s television show and numerous appearances on the Grand Ole Opry.

A native of Mississippi, Beasley credits his comedic ability as a natural gift from God that has been with him from his earliest days.

“I have been funny since I was a little baby,” he said.

The son of a funeral director, Beasley recalled growing up in an apartment located above a funeral home and trying to cheer up the people that came in for services.

“I would roam the hallways and I saw, everyday…sad people come and go from where I lived,” Beasley said. “I had no concept of live and death or that kind of stuff, but I learned literally when I was a toddler that I could do silly little cute stuff and the crying people would stop crying and come over and smile and talk to me.”

While he had a natural ability for comedy, Beasley said he did not believe being a comedian was a viable career option when he graduated high school in 1972.

“I grew up in Jackson Mississippi and way back then in the deep south there really wasn’t much of an opportunity to even think that being a comedian would be a real thing that was within my grasp,” he said. “I was one of these guys that never knew what I wanted to be….I had no idea… because the options they gave me, none of that really touched me.”

Beasley said he was fortunate to have always been a skilled communicator, and he began playing blues guitar while he was still living in Mississippi. It was while playing guitar that he earned his “Killer Beaz” stage name.

A Born Again Christian, Beasley is known for his clean comedy shows appropriate for the whole family.

“Number one, on the business end of it, you cut half your audience off if you are a blue act,” he said. “I am in my 42 year of doing standup and I went through several years of working blue and especially when you are starting out, man you have no material, you haven’t learned how to wordsmith your jokes and to get any kind of response pretty much the default is to go to shock value and so it is kind of a self-defense thing right at first.”

Beasley said he came to realize he didn’t have to depend on dirty comedy for laughs.

“No one ever complains that a stand up set wasn’t dirty enough,” he said. “If your standup set is funny enough and you are strong enough on stage that is all that matters.”

For Beasley, making the switch to family-friendly comedy also had a lot to do with his faith.

“My career has flourished even more since I have changed my life,” he said. “I give that to God, I will say that right up front. He put me here to do this and so I feel an obligation to be bone crushing funny on stage and professional and this day and age to dos it without resorting to the lesser art form of being dirty.”

Killer Beaz will perform at the McMinnville Park Theater 7-9 p.m. Saturday April 20. Tickets are still available and cost between $30-$55. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://www.mcminnvilleparktheater.com.