Jeanne Robertson

Jeanne Swanner Robertson (born September 21, 1943) is an American humorist, motivational speaker,[2] a former Miss North Carolina, and a former physical education teacher.

Jeanne Robertson
Performing onstage in Charlottesville, Virginia, April 2012
Born (1943-09-21) September 21, 1943
OccupationHumorist, speaker, teacher
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
TitleMiss North Carolina 1963
Spouse(s)Jerry Robertson, Ph.D.
Beauty pageant titleholder
Hair colorWhite[1] (formerly blond)[2]
Major
competition(s)		Miss America 1964
Websitehttp://www.jeannerobertson.com/

Early life

Jeanne Swanner was raised in Graham, North Carolina,[3][2] one of three daughters. Not only was she taller than sisters Katherine and Andrea,[4] she was also especially tall as a youth, growing to 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) by age 13 and in seventh grade.[4] She was an avid basketball player.[2]

Pageant participant

In 1963, at age 19, she was named Miss North Carolina[5] and went on to be named Miss Congeniality in that year's Miss America competition.[6][2] Robertson credits her reign as the catalyst for her career.[7][8]

Following her Miss North Carolina reign, Robertson used the scholarship funds to fund her college education at Auburn University, where she majored in physical education, joined Alpha Gamma Delta,[9] and played on its basketball team,[2] graduating in 1967.[10] In 1990 she was inducted as an alumni member of the Omicron Delta Kappa Circle at Auburn University.

Career

Robertson taught physical education for eight years in North Carolina.[11]

Although she began her public speaking career with her pageant title, Robertson has achieved much more national attention as a humorist and speaker. Her anecdotes have been broadcast regularly on satellite radio comedy channels, including XM Radio's Laugh USA, Sirius Radio's Blue Collar Comedy and its Family Comedy Channel,[10][2] and Laugh Break. Her popularity soared, however, in 2009 after a handful of humorous clips from her talks became popular videos.[8][2] Robertson distinguishes between a humorist, which she considers herself, and a comedian, stating, "The humorist weaves the longer stories with a point. We don't go 'after' anybody. I'm telling my life."[6]

In 1980 she was designated a Certified Speaking Professional by the National Speakers Association, and served as the association's president in 1985.[10] She is also an award-winning Toastmaster.[2]

On April 29, 2008, she spoke at the White House for National Volunteer Week to honor the 1,300 volunteers who donate time to work at the White House.[10]

Honors and awards
  • National Speakers Association Speaker Hall of Fame (inducted in 1981)[10]
  • National Speakers Association Cavett Award (1989); first woman to receive the award[10]
  • Omicron Delta Kappa (inducted in 1990 as an alumna at Auburn University)
  • Toastmasters International Golden Gavel Award (1998)[10]
  • North Carolina Press Association North Carolinian of the Year (2001)[10]

Graham Historical Museum in her hometown, Graham, North Carolina, features a permanent exhibit, Jeanne Swanner Robertson.[12]

Personal life

Jeanne is married to Jerry Robertson,[13] a graduate of Duke University (where, at 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) tall[13] and on an athletic scholarship,[14] he played on its basketball team, eventually as its captain).[2] He received his master's degree and doctorate at the University of North Carolina[14] and was an educator and eventually superintendent of the Alamance County School System.[2] In her performances, Jeanne calls him "Left Brain".[13] She has a son from her first marriage, Bailey "Beaver" Bowline,[10] who is 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) tall.[1] Beaver is a 1989 graduate of Elon University, where Jeanne is a trustee.[10] His wife Dayna and he have two sons, Ryder and Gray.[1]

Jeanne and Jerry Robertson are both members of Elon University's Phoenix Club, which supports the athletic program.[10] Jeanne is Methodist.[15]

She has claimed her favorite television series is The Andy Griffith Show.[3] Her Mayberry Humor Across the USA furthers her connection to Griffith's show. The book title refers to the fictitious town of Mayberry, the town which is the setting of Griffith's show. Mayberry is said to be based on Mount Airy, NC, Griffith's home town.

Books

Robertson has authored four books:[2]

  • Humor: The Magic of Genie: Seven Potions for Developing a Sense of Humor (1989) Rich Publishing Company, ISBN 9780960725694
  • Mayberry Humor Across the USA (1995) Rich Publishing Company, ISBN 9780927577021
  • Don't Let the Funny Stuff Get Away (1998) Rich Publishing Company, ISBN 9780927577038
  • Don't Bungee Jump Naked And Other Important Stuff (2020) Jeanne Robertson, ISBN 9780578668611

Audio and video media

Robertson's performances have been recorded on both DVD and CD. She currently has nine titles available.[16] Many outtakes from her performances are also available on YouTube.

  • Rocking Humor
  • Fabulously Funny
  • Looking for Humor
  • Just for Fun
  • Flat Out Funny
  • Southern Style
  • Talkin' Funny
  • Not Just for Laughs
  • Here She Is

References
  1. Robertson, Jeanne. "Don't Mess with Teenage Hussies". YouTube.com. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  2. Overman, Ogi (April 30, 2013). "50 years later, Miss Congeniality more popular than ever before". Jamestown News. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  3. Robertson, Jeanne. "NEW! Jeanne Robertson Left Brain vs Intruder - HILARIOUS!!!". YouTube.com. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  4. Robertson, Jeanne. "Don't Trick or Treat Without the Right Costume". YouTube.com. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  5. "Memory Lane - Where's My Crown?". Southeast Lifestyle. Archived from the original on 2013-08-17.
  6. Gordon, Jean (26 January 2013). "Humorist Robertson coming to Foundation". The Daily Courier. Forest City, North Carolina. p. A1.
  7. "Meet Jeanne Robertson — North Carolina Public Radio WUNC". WUNC.org. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
  8. Courter, Barry (17 February 2012). "Funny and smart - at 68, Jeanne Robertson finds second vocation as comedian". Chattanooga Times Free Press. p. 57.
  9. "Appreciating Sisterhood". Alpha Gamma Delta Quarterly: 26. Summer 2018.
  10. Anderson, Dan (2008-05-01). "Elon trustee Jeanne Robertson is featured speaker at White House event". jeannerobertson.com. Elon University. Archived from the original on 2013-03-23. Retrieved 2013-03-24.
  11. Ellis, Rosemary (4 February 1990). "The value of humor: making life bearable". The Press of Atlantic City. p. G1.
  12. "Graham Historical Museum". VisitNC.com. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  13. Robertson, Jeanne. "Left Brain is in the Building". YouTube.com. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  14. Robertson, Jeanne. "Don't send a man to the grocery store!". YouTube.com. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  15. Crim, Linda "MissDazey" (June 5, 2012). "Evangel University Chapel". Jeanne-fun.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  16. Robertson, Jeanne. "Humor Store". jeannerobertson.com. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.