The tall, thin banjo player whose stage persona hid a tragic reality

Countries & Cities · Published 12 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Known for his comical nightshirt and clawhammer banjo style, Stringbean was a beloved fixture of the Grand Ole Opry and Hee Haw. But behind the laughter of his 'letter from home' routine lay a life shaped by the Great Depression and a violent end that shocked rural Tennessee.

David Akeman, famously known as Stringbean, rose to fame through a combination of musical skill and physical comedy. His nickname, bestowed by bandleader Asa Martin, was a direct reference to his tall, thin build. On stage, he often wore a distinctive costume—a long nightshirt tucked into short blue jeans belted at the knees—designed to make his legs appear stubby and accentuate his height.

A master of the 'clawhammer' or 'frailing' style, Akeman was ranked alongside legends like Uncle Dave Macon and Ralph Stanley as one of the greatest old-time banjo pickers. His career spanned from playing with bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe between 1943 and 1945 to becoming a television star on Hee Haw alongside Grandpa Jones. Despite his fame, Akeman lived a frugal life in a small Tennessee cabin, a habit born from the economic instability of the Depression era.

This frugality led to a fatal vulnerability. Distrustful of banks following the era's financial failures, Akeman kept significant amounts of cash in his home near Ridgetorb, Tennessee. On November 10, 1973, burglars who had been monitoring the Grand Ole Opry broadcast to track his return, murdered Akeman and his wife, Estell. While the killers fled with only a chainsaw and firearms, leaving behind a combined $5,700 in cash, they never found the larger sum Akeman had hidden. In 1996, a homeowner discovered approximately $20,000 stashed behind a loose brick in the cabin's chimney, though much of it had been ruined by rodents.

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