Frances Lee Strong ( Myers; May 29, 1934 – April 24, 2020), better known by her stage name Grandma Lee, was an American

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

who was a talent show contestant on ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...

'' in 2009. She began performing when she was in her 60s and became known for her off-color humor.

Early life

Frances Lee Myers was born in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, Oklahoma, and grew up in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where her father was a college dean. After he died when she was 12, the family fell apart, and she eventually landed in a children's home in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. In 1956, she graduated with a degree in English education from

Otterbein University Otterbein University is a private university in Westerville, Ohio. It offers 74 majors and 44 minors as well as eight graduate programs. The university was founded in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and named for United Bre ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Career

After college in 1958, Myers married a career

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, Ben Strong. The couple moved around the world as he fulfilled his military duties, raising four children. She taught for a semester before realizing the profession was not for her. While living in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

in the late 1950s, she worked as a newspaper reporter at the ''

Cleveland Press The ''Cleveland Press'' was a daily American newspaper published in Cleveland, Ohio from November 2, 1878, through June 17, 1982. From 1928 to 1966, the paper's editor was Louis B. Seltzer. Known for many years as one of the country's most in ...

''. Lee Strong and her husband were living in Homestead, Florida, in 1992 when

Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a very powerful and destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It is the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures damaged ...

destroyed their home. They moved to Jacksonville, where Ben died of cancer in 1995. They had been married for 37 years. Strong later took a buyout from BellSouth, where she was working as a phone operator. Strong began doing

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

in 1997, performing at

open mic An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, usually taking place at night, in which audience members may perform on stage whether the ...

nights at The Comedy Zone in Jacksonville. In

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

in 2004, she reached the final rounds of auditions for ''

Last Comic Standing ''Last Comic Standing'' was an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, then again in 2014 and 2015. The goal of the program was to select a comedian from an initially large group ...

''. In 2009, Strong rose to prominence as a contestant on

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of the reality series ''

'', when she advanced to the final round. She amused audiences with her distinctive raunchy

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humor. She also flirted with judges Piers Morgan and

David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on ''The You ...

. One of ten finalists, Strong was not selected for the final five during the two-hour finale. She told ''

People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...

'', " ymaterial is based on the truth. I go up there and wing it… but I had to clean it up for the show. I won’t say a cuss word or anything to jeopardize yself I can do clean or edgy."

Death

Strong died at age 85 on April 24, 2020, at an assisted living facility in Jacksonville.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grandma Lee 1934 births 2020 deaths America's Got Talent contestants American stand-up comedians People from Cape Girardeau, Missouri People from Jacksonville, Florida People from Oklahoma City American women comedians Comedians from Oklahoma 21st-century American comedians Otterbein University alumni 21st-century American women