Has anyone heard of an old opera singer named Hawkshaw Hawkins?

Question

Supposedly this is a distant relative of mine on my paternal grandmother's (? i think) side. He was an opera singer for the New York Orchestra, I believe, at one time according to my father. When I try looking him up I keep finding a Harold Floyd "Hawkshaw" Hawkins that was a country singer and according to my father, that isn't him.

Answer 1

Hawkshaw Hawkins was a member of Grand Ole Opry from Virginia. Perhaps your family history became distorted and opry was confused with opera.

Answer 2

Hawkshaw Hawkins is such an unusual name that it would be an extreme coincidence if there were an opera singer by the same name.  Also, opera singers might perform with an orchestra on occasion, eg. the "New York Orchestra", but they typically perform with opera companies (by the way, there is no "New York Orchestra", only the New York Symphony and the New York Philharmonic).  Lastly, the country singer Hawkshaw Hawkins *did* perform with an opera of sorts -- the Grand Ole 'Opry' in Nashville, TN.  Perhaps you are related to this Hawkshaw Hawkins but the story has been distorted as it's been passed down?

Answer 3

Harold Franklin "Hawkshaw" Hawkins (BORN: December 22, 1921--DIED: March 5, 1963) was  one of the men killed in the plane crash that took the life of Patsy Cline in March, 1963, along with her manager, and fellow country star Cowboy Copas. Hawkshaw was blessed with a technically perfect singing voice, and  his music drew on the blues, boogie, tradional country, and above all else, honky-tonk. His rich smooth voice was considered one of the best in country music at the time.

    He was with the WWVA Jamboree from 1946 to 1954, and joined the WSM Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee  in 1955. An avid horseriding fan, he used horses in his western shows, in which he did rope tricks, and stand-up comedy as well as singing.

    At age 19 married Reva Barbour, a 16 year old beauty from Huntington. Both being so young, the marriage was stormy and ended in divorce in 1958.

     He entered the army in 1943 and served as an engineer, stationed near Paris, Texas where he and friends would sneak out on Friday and Saturday nights to perform at local clubs. As a Staff Sergeant, he was stationed in France and participated in the Battle of the Bulge, winning four battle stars during his fifteen months of combat duty.

     Hawkshaw joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry in 1955, where he became good friends with Marty Robbins and Don Gibson, and renewed his friendship with his Wheeling neighbors Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper, when they joined the Opry in 1957.

More about him:

Harold Franklin Hawkins (an early Christmas present) was born to Icie Hawkins and her husband Alex in Huntington, West Virginia on December 22, 1921and his sister Lena was born 22 months later in Lawrence County, Ohio.  The family soon returned to Huntington where his dad worked as a foreman for the Kerr Glass Company. His sister Leona was born there about ten years after Lena, and another sister, Betty was born five years after that.

     Hawkshaw Hawkins was an outdoorsman, to be sure. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and horseback riding. Friends and Grand Ole Opry stars like Grandpa Jones, Charlie Louvin, and Stoney Cooper often joined him on these hunting and fishing trips.

     He married Reva Barbour of Huntington in 1940. They were both very young (he was barely twenty, she was only sixteen). The marriage was stormy, and after a number of separations and reconciliations ended in divorce in 1958. Their daughter was Marlene. He later married Grand Ole Opry performer Jean Shepard and they had two sons, Don Robin, and Harold Franklin Hawkins II, who was born on April 8, 1963 about a month after the plane crash that took Hawkshaw's life.

     The universal recollection is that Hawkins was a gentleman who treated ladies properly, who did not smoke for most of his life and never drank alcohol. He had a great sense of humor, and onstage was a performer who could easily steal the show with his personality. He often ended his shows with the phrase "May the Lord take a likin' to you."

     He died in the same plane crash as Patsy Cline. His family members, the country music family, the nation and the world suffered a great personal loss on March 5, 1963, "the day the music died."

(As you  can see, his middle name was FRANKLIN, not Floyd. If any of the family members I mentioned from these 2 articles sound familiar, then he could be related to your grandmother. "Opry" and opera are 2 different things--I've seen the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville twice at the old Ryman Auditorium--where it was sponsored by radio station WSM--so I know what I'm speaking of.  :)

    PS--There are several pictures of him on the sites mentioned in my source list. Maybe he'd look familiar to your Dad.