"Clean As a Whistle"

Category:  News


Charlie Louvin hosted the November 27 taping of the Midnight Jamboree at the Ernest Tubb Record Shop's Texas Troubadour Theater.  During the show he presented his fans with an early Christmas present:  his most recent medical report in his battle against pancreatic cancer pronounced him "clean as a whistle" from the disease.  Louvin was diagnosed earlier this year and spent his 83rd birthday preparing for surgery and treatment.


Louvin said he had lost 40 pounds and his appetite in the ordeal; however, the turning point came recently when he asked wife Betty to fix him some cornbread and onion and milk to drink.  This signaled a return in his appetite.  He looked far less frail than two months ago, when he and Betty celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary on the Midnight Jamboree.  He was also stronger physically, standing during most of the show and able to sing.  This, too, is in contrast to the September performance where he lacked the energy or the wind to sing or even rise from his seat.


Louvin is not fully recovered:  he was unable to attend the post-show autograph signing because he was tired and weak, but store owner David McCormick assured the fans it was because Louvin had failed to eat earlier, not a side-effect from his disease.


This is good news; however, continue to pray for this Hall of Fame great.  Cancer is a terrible disease that likes to come back on its victims.