On the anniversary of the death of Patsy Cline I thought it would be nice to do a review dedicated to her. I recently read a book about her and it mentioned two television specials that had been made about her life. I checked with the library and was able to get both specials that were mentioned. The first one was The Real Patsy Cline. It shows for a mere 48 minutes, but it is cram packed with stuff about the one and only Patsy Cline.

March 5, 1963

It begins by showing a small plane taking off and a car driving on the ground. The person in the car is listening to the radio. The plane is headed into a storm. The radio announcer says that all plane carrying Patsy Cline has crashed. Sadly, there are no survivors.

There is a clip of Loretta Lynn singing “Walkin’ After Midnight” and then it begins to tell Patsy’s life store. She was born Virginia Hensley on September 8, 1932 in Winchester, Virginia. Jim McCoy and Phil Whitney talk of when Patsy first came to the radio station they worked at and wanted to sing. At age 15 she had to quit school to help support her family. Her father had left the family. She worked in a drug store during the day and sang at night. In 1953 she had put together a demo tape and in 1954 she was offered a recording contract from Four Star Records.

Dale Turner-Westbury shares what Patsy’s debut on The Jimmy Dean show was like. Charlie Dick, who was Patsy’s second husband, shares his first meeting with her. Arthur Godfrey heard Patsy on The Jimmy Dean show and wanted her to come on his show. There is a clip from January 21, 1957 of Patsy singing “Walkin’ After Midnight”. Being on his show helped her break into show business. In February 1957, Patsy obtained her goal of playing at the Grand Ole Opry. Charlie and Patsy were married on September 15, 1957. Then August 25, 1968 their daughter Julie was born.

Charlie shares how they kept getting checks after he had left the Army. They were a mistake, but they cashed them and headed to Nashville. Randy Hughes soon became Patsy’s manager and also player guitar for her. In January 1960 Patsy became a regular member of the Grand Ole Opry. Harlan Howard talks about how he co-wrote “I Fall to Pieces”. There is a clip of Patsy singing that song. Dottie West shares what it was like to sit in on Patsy’s recording session.

Patsy’s son, Randy, was born January 22, 1961. Her old neighbor, Joyce Blair, shares about taking Patsy to the hospital when she went into labor. Two months later tragedy struck and Patsy was in a horrible car crash. Dr. Hillis Evans was the doctor at the hospital at the time. He talked of how serious her injuries were and how terrible it all looked. There is a picture shown of Patsy with her face black and blue from the crash. Two people in the other car were killed.

Loretta Lynn shares the story of how she met Patsy. There is a clip of Willie Nelson singing “Crazy”. In 1962 Patsy became one of the first country acts to headline in Las Vegas. Patsy went to Kansas City to do a benefit concert for Cactus Jack’s family, who was a DJ that had passed away. The weather was too bad to return on March 4 so they waited until a day later. On March 5, 1963 they made it to the Dyersburg airport. The airport owners shared their thoughts from that night and how they advised them not to go forward. Randy Hughes was flying the plane and he could not read instruments. They flew into a storm and he lost control of the plane. About 90 miles outside of Nashville, TN the plane crashed. There were no survivors. Those aboard were Patsy Cline, Randy Hughes, Cowboy Copas and Hawshaw Hawkins. Patsy is buried in Shenandoah Memorial Park in Winchester, Virginia.

Interviews for this film:

There were various people that were interviewed for the making of this television special. There are scenes throughout the tape of people sharing their thoughts of Patsy’s career and life.

You will hear from:

Charlie Dick (Patsy’s husband), Julie Dick-Fudge (Patsy’s Daughter), Loretta Lynn, Mel Tillis, Dottie West, Carl Perkins, Sylvia, George Hamilton IV, Ferlin Husky, Roy Drusky, Billy Walker, The Jordanaires, Del Wood, Owen Bradley, Bill & Evelyn Braese and others

Additional Information:

There are many still pictures included on this tape. There is also some footage of Patsy. The picture is not that great because much it is so old. Some of the older clippings and such appears grainy. All of the older stuff is in black and white. The sound is average.

48 Minutes
Made by Hallway Productions in 1986

Produced By: Gregory Hall & Larry Gregson

Directed By: Mark Hall

Narrated By: Johnny K. Koval

Related Patsy Cline Reviews:

The Real Patsy Cline ~ Biography

The Real Patsy Cline ~ CD

Patsy Cline Crash Site Memorial

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8