Biography
Trina Vond'ray Jeffrie, a Christian comedienne, originated the meddlesome gossip known as Sister Cantaloupe. Comedy and her innate knack for eliciting laughter helped offset a difficult early life spent moving among her father and stepmother, various aunts and uncles, and an ailing mother. After her mother grew too ill to provide care, a different aunt assumed responsibility and insisted she attend church. Jeffrie merged her recently acquired faith with a flair for performance by singing in the choir and staging skits before the congregation. One such sketch drew loose inspiration from Carol Burnett’s “Bag Lady,” the portrait of a well-meaning yet intrusive elderly woman. Pressed for the character’s name, she glanced at a cantaloupe resting in a nearby fruit bowl, giving birth to Sister Cantaloupe. The figure proved popular throughout the Dallas church community, yet her mother’s passing prompted a suicide attempt. That crisis marked a decisive shift, leaving Jeffrie steadier in both conviction and ability; thereafter she toured in the role of Sister Cantaloupe and appeared at the Rhema Conference and the Bobby Jones Show. Her debut album, Go! Cantaloupe! Go!, arrived in 1996, succeeded by Laffin Out Loud with the Lord three years later.
Albums
