David Browning
Improv comedian, Impressionist
"The Mayberry Deputy", "Abe Lincoln", and "Ebenezer Scrooge" are just a few of the aliases of David Browning from Bristol, Virginia. As an impersonator, improvisational master and speaker, Browning uses costuming, gestures, facial expressions, and audience participation to bring out the flavor of the characters and to provide an atmosphere of good, clean fun. He provides a bit of Americana which is worth preserving and celebrating.
"The Mayberry Deputy" is the most noted of his characters and started in 1988 when a friend of Browning hired The Dillards, known to watchers of "The Andy Griffith Show" as the "Darling boys", to play bluegrass music in Bristol, Tennessee. Browning, who started out in community theatre, put together a "Barney Fife" type act based on a sense of recall (since Browning has seen all the Mayberry shows at one time or another) which made that first performance a hit. At that time, he discovered that he could make a statement as David Browning that was not funny at all but the same statement made in uniform as "The Mayberry Deputy" had audiences falling out of their seats.
People are entertained and enlightened by the Mayberry Deputy character because it reminds them of a time gone by. "We live in a world where people are searching for their own Mayberry," Browning says. "I value this character for what it gives people today... a laugh, a lift and memories."
Audio Samples
- The Mayberry Deputy