Comedians Henry Cho, Gary Mule Deer To Become Grand Ole Opry Members

Connie Smith, Henry Cho, Gary Mule Deer and Marty Stuart. Photo by Chris Hollo

Comedians Henry Cho and Gary Mule Deer were each invited over the weekend to become members of the Grand Ole Opry by longtime friend Marty Stuart.

Cho and Mule Deer were surprised backstage during a Facebook Live interview with Stuart discussing the storied history of comedy on the Opry. The two comedians have each played the Opry more than 100 times, and will be the first comedians inducted as members of the Opry since Jerry Clower became an Opry member 49 years ago.

Cho’s TV credits include appearances on NBC’s The Tonight Show, CBS’s The Late, Late, Show, and NBC’s Young Comedians Special. He served two years as host of NBC’s Friday Night Videos and guested on various network sitcoms and was co-creator, co- producer and co-writer of The Henry Cho Show on GAC. Cho’s one-hour Comedy Central Special, What’s That Clickin’ Noise? is currently running and is also on Netflix. He can also be heard daily on SiriusXM, Blue Collar Radio and Pandora.

Mule Deer has made over 350 TV appearances, including many on both The Tonight Show and The Late Show With David Letterman and has entertained everywhere from the Grand Ole Opry to Royal Albert Hall in London. He was one of six comedians, along with Jay Leno, to star on the very first HBO comedy special, and was the comedy host of Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert on NBC.

“Marty, Henry, and Gary said it best themselves when they were talking before tonight’s invitation,” said Opry Executive Producer Dan Rogers. “Comedy has been an integral—and more importantly, FUN—part of the Opry for decades. It’s going to be fabulous to have both Henry and Gary as Opry members and for many of their fellow comedians on Opry shows to keep ratcheting up the fun factor every night.”

Cho and Mule Deer’s induction dates will be announced soon.