Opie Cates (10 October 1909 – 6 November 1987) was an influential American clarinet player and band leader known for his work during the swing era of the 1930s and 1940s. Born Opal Taft Cates, he grew up in Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri. Cates gained prominence in the radio industry with his own band by 1931 and later served as the musical director on the Judy Canova Show in the 1940s. He also starred in his own radio sitcom, The Opie Cates Show, on ABC, where he portrayed a naive character adjusting to city life. Despite a short run, Cates' unique Arkansas drawl and storytelling charm left a mark on audiences. Additionally, he was involved in radio shows like Lum and Abner and Granby's Green Acres, and his influence extended to television, with Andy Griffith naming his character's son "Opie Taylor" on The Andy Griffith Show after Cates. Opie Cates' legacy as a talented musician and charismatic radio personality continues to be celebrated in the entertainment industry.

Opie Percival Read, born on December 22, 1852, in Nashville, Tennessee, and passing away on November 2, 1939, in Chicago, Illinois, was an influential American journalist and humorist. Read's career was marked by prolificacy, with a bibliography boasting 60 published books. Before 1887, he edited multiple newspapers in the southern United States, including the Arkansas Traveler, a humor magazine he founded in 1882. Upon relocating to Chicago in 1887, Read immersed himself in novel writing, publishing an impressive 54 books in his first 20 years in the city, which included novels, compilations of short fiction, and non-fiction works. Notably, he is credited with popularizing the phrase "There's a sucker born every minute" in his 1898 novel "A Yankee from the West." However, Read's literary standing was marred by criticisms of perpetuating white Southern stereotypes. Despite this, his works, such as "The Jucklins" and "A Kentucky Colonel," left a lasting impact. Additionally, several of his novels were adapted into films, contributing to his enduring legacy in American literature.