Bill Oberst Jr. never met Lewis Grizzard, but he knows him extremely well. Oberst has portrayed Grizzard, a famed Southern author and humorist who died at the peak of his popularity in 1994, more than 5,000 times.
Oberst is slated to reprise his familiar role at Springfield's Mars Theater on Saturday at 7 p.m.
He said he is looking to performing the latest installment of "Lewis Grizzard, In His Own Words" — a one-man show that started in 1999 — in an area he knows well.
"I'm from South Carolina — Pawleys Island," Oberst said during a telephone interview from his California residence.
"The people down there are my home people. They are good people."
Oberst appreciates Southern style, especially Grizzard's.
See the Aug. 23 edition of the Effingham Herald for more details.