Ronnie Van Zandt

Not Ronnie. OK, if THIS doesn’t get it solved, I will reveal the personality:

The song in question featured me whistling at the end.

The only other plane crash victims I can think of (other than the day the music died) are Ricky Nelson and Jim Croche and I think the years are wrong for both.

"Sittin' in the mornin' sun, I'll be sittin' when the evenin' comes." (The lead singer of: "The Bar-Kays")

I'll turn the floor over.

Sixten’s got the song right, but not the singer. It’s Otis Redding. I thought for sure the mention of church & gospel singing, touring the Chitlin Circuit, soul and r&b music, Monterey Pop, and the plane crash, would all combine to give it away.

"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" was released in January 1968, becoming Redding's only single to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the first posthumous number-one single in U.S. chart history, selling approximately four million copies worldwide and receiving more than eight million airplays.

Redding’s first single was his own composition, “These Arms Of Mine”, and the tune that became his signature song (previously recorded by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra) was “Try A Little Tenderness.”

Other notable original Redding songs include “Pain In My Heart”, “I Can’t Turn You Loose”, “I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)”, "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)", and “Sweet Soul Music.”

When asked whether he intended to cover Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman", Otis responded that the lyrics contained "too much text.”

Whoever wants to jump in next, you're up!

1. I was born in 1951
2. I come from Brooklyn, New York.
3. I have been married twice. The first lasted only a year, and the second is still going strong many years later.

4. When I was young, most people thought I was retarded (developmentally disabled) Later it would come out that I was hard of hearing due to a series of ear infections.

Lou ferrigno, who I actually met when I was a kid.

Fedora picks up the win with Lou Ferrigno!

5. Due to my "retardation" I was bullied badly as a kid. I made my mind up not to be bullied anymore.
6. I turned to weight training to get strong enough to defend myself
7. Genetics were good to me too as I grew to be very tall.
8. Some people would say I was famous as I had won 10 awards in my field between the '70s and '90s.
9. I have appeared on many magazine covers.
10. I managed to turn my body-building experiences into a TV career.
11. I once raced against Valerie Bertinelli on TV.
12. In later years I found myself voicing the character I had played on TV.
13. I never met Cliff. I don't even know that he exists. Through little more than dumb luck, Cliff found out he had spent ten years as a teaching partner with my first wife.

Your turn Fedora.

I was born in 1952 in Michigan.

When I was 5 I moved to California, at the time I was frail and had asthma.

I moved to japan in the early 70s, there I became the first foreigner to
operate an aikido dojo.

I have black belts in aikido, judo, kendo, and karate.

I think this could be Steven Seagal.

Gotta be.

Arthur is correct, it is Steven seagal.

I was born in 1936, but sources differ as to the specific town.

When asked about my own heritage, I said I was "Scottish, Irish, English, possibly partly French, and ... a dose of German.”

Although my maternal grandfather (who originated from Wales) was a Baptist minister, I myself am a self-described agnostic.

In the eighth grade, I directed a live Saturday-morning radio show. I was elected president of the student council in high school, and was a gold medalist at the state gymnastics championship.

While attending Yale University, I directed dramas on the campus radio station, and appeared in Yale Drama productions.

I took many odd jobs, ranging from store detective to label typist for a Wall Street firm.

1956 found me in Ashland, Oregon, for my first Festival Season, appearing in several Shakespearean productions.

In 1960, aged 23, I was living in a three-room, fifth-floor apartment in Manhattan.

I was an extra on The Phil Silvers Show in 1959. The same year, I also appeared in a TV remake of the film Body and Soul for the DuPont Show of the Month. And in 1960 I appeared in Playhouse 90.