Life of Theater Patriarch A.W. CHAFFIN To Be Celebrated

Members of the Nashville theater community will gather today to lay to rest - and celebrate the thriving legacy - of A.W. "Big John" Chaffin, the founder of Music City's first professional theater company and the patriarch of one of the first families of Tennessee theater.

Asberry Warden Chaffin, founder of Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, the venerable production company that has provided work and inspiration for thousands of theater artists all over the country since its opening in 1967, died last Wednesday, March 18, at the age of 95. He was preceded in death by his wife, Edna Lou Neblett Chaffin, better known as "Puny," who passed away December 10, 2012.

Chaffin was born in Manchester and grew up in Nashville, later attending Vanderbilt University and Austin Peay State College in Clarksville. It was in Clarksville that Chaffin met his bride-to-be while they were both students. Subsequently, he joined the Army Air Corps, serving during World War II.

"He came out of the Air Force in WWII as a captain, and started a construction company and built houses and commercial buildings all over Nashville. He did that for 20 years," his son, John Chaffin, told The Tennessean. "Then, in 1966, the construction business was down, and this opportunity came up to open a dinner theater."

Chaffin's efforts to broaden his dinner theater brand resulted in the 1968 opening of the Plantation Dinner Theatre in Hendersonville. That property was later sold to Johnny Cash and became the iconic House of Cash.

"Big John" Chaffin retired in 1976, when his son - 2013 First Night Honoree John Chaffin - bought the theater that continues to delight Nashville theater audiences. Now onstage at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre is Good Ol' Girls, produced by Janie and John Chaffin, who continue the family tradition of providing sumptuous buffets groaning with delectable Southern foods, accompanied by top-flight theater offerings featuring some of the region's finest actors. Good Ol' Girls opens Thursday at the Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, 8204 Highway 100, Nashville.

The Barn Dinner Theatre, a nationwide concern based in Virginia, approached Chaffin about locating a theater on property belonging to the Chaffin family and the rest is Nashville theater history: The Chaffins bought the franchise and went into the theater business. Since opening in 1967, Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre (which it became known as in the 1980s) has provided employment for a wide range of actors, including Tony Award winner Cherry Jones (as she accepted her award, the Tony spokesperson lauded her first professional job at the Barn), 2013 First Night Honoree Michael Edwards, one of the best-known names in Tennessee theater who has made his presence felt on stages all over the country, and local favorites like nine-time First Night Award winning actress Martha Wilkinson (who is current artistic director for the theater).

"A loss of an Icon of my early career in Nashville," is how Michael Edwards described the impact of Chaffin's passing on him.

"Big John Chaffin, the builder and founder of Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre, passed away. His wife Edna Lou 'Puny'passed in 2012. He was unique and gruff; tight fisted and generous, stubborn and giving," Edwards recalls. "He was one of a kind and the patriarch of the dynasty. I enjoyed his company. He was straightforward and bombastic. He was Big John! A good life is the best reward. Thanks A.W. for being you!"

Kim Thornton Nygren, the actress and director whose work at Chaffin's Barn continues this season, said that while she worked as box office manager at the theater (the job first filled by Puny Chaffin in the theater's early days) she quickly became accustomed to visits from the elder Chaffin, who liked to keep abreast of theatrical happenings and sharing memories of "the good old days."

"During my years as the box office manager at Chaffin's Barn, A.W. would often come in the theatre for a chat. He would tell me stories about the 'good old days' of The Barn," Nygren remembers. "He was incredibly proud of the indelible mark he knew he would leave on the theatre community in Nashville and he was incredibly proud of his son, John, for continuing the tradition for so many years. I'll sure miss him."

"I learned of the passing of A.W. Chaffin, patriarch of the Chaffin clan in Nashville and first owner of my place of employment for 35 years, Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre," says Nashville acting icon Brian Russell, a Kentucky native who first relocated to Music City at the behest of Edwards for a show at the Barn. "AW was pure character - brassy, brash, blunt, but honest and with a huge heart. He was the first reason many of us got to Nashville from somewhere else, and his son remains a huge reason many of us stay."

Actress/director Joy Tilley Perryman, reflecting on her own memories at the Barn, says: "Mr. A.W. Chaffin was truly one of a kind. He never greeted me without a giant bear hug, a wide smile and twinkle in his eye. His laugh was the kind of thing that makes the walls of a theatre ring with glee. He truly enjoyed life with his whole being. I will admit to being a bit intimidated when I first met him, after all here was the man who founded and built (literally) the oldest professional theatre in Nashville. I should have had no worries, the minute you rode that magic stage at the Barn you were part of his family. After my first show, he gave me the name 'Little Joy,' he never saw me without exclaiming (did I mention he was LOUD) 'well there you are, Little Joy.' The man gave a great, honest-to-God hug and was just a pleasure to be around.

"Ninety-five years is a hell of a run, may we all be so lucky. So A.W., thank you so much for giving Nashville this legacy, now go find Puny, we will try and keep things on schedule down here."

After weekend visitation at Harpeth Hills Funeral Home, a celebration of A.W. Chaffin's life will be held today at 2 p.m., with visitation prior to the start of the service.

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