Comedian Leanne Morgan's Clayton Connection

You likely know Leanne Morgan as the acerbic Southern blonde whose 2023 Netflix comedy special propelled her to fame. But before she hit it big with stand-up, she was a busy mom of three and devoted wife to Chuck Morgan, a Clayton team member who has worked at the company since 1999. Here, she shares all about finding success in her 50s, her can’t-miss hometown spots and a few favorite Clayton memories.

Q. Your family has a long connection with Clayton. Can you tell us a little about that? A. My husband, Chuck Morgan, has worked for Clayton for 25 years. My son works there and my daughter-in-law did too until she had her second baby. First, Chuck was in the Hamblen County area of East Tennessee. We were up there in the Morristown/Greeneville area when I was having my babies. And then he was transferred to San Antonio, Texas, and we had a ball for the few years we were there. That’s when I really started trying stand-up at the comedy clubs around town. In 2004, Chuck was transferred to the corporate offices in Maryville and we’ve been here ever since.

It was a lot of moving for our family, and Chuck has worked in all aspects of the business—he started out in retail, ran a home center, and then was a regional manager, and then he was in manufacturing and now he’s over the HouseSmart initiative. But for him it has always been about the pride in helping people find good, wonderful, affordable homes for their families. As for me, Lord, I was just happy to go where he was. I was raising a bunch of kids and trying to make it in comedy. But I always loved the relationships that I had with the people I met through Clayton. I still do.

Q. Did you always dream of a career in the entertainment business? A. Growing up I always said I was going to be a movie star. Sometimes life kicks you in the teeth. I went to UT Knoxville, and I tried a theater course. At the start of the first class the professor stands up and says “If you’re not majoring in theater, get out.” I’m a rule follower, so I got out. And I do think that was a God thing, because I’m not really a theater person.

I had always loved stand-up. Chuck and I went out to LA to visit my sister before we got married. We went to The Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard, and I had a physical response. I was in there and I thought, “Oh, my gosh. This is what I’m supposed to be doing. I can do it. This is what I’m supposed to be doing.”

Q. You got your break in comedy later in life. What advice do you have for someone who has a dream but feels like their time to pursue it has passed? A. I’ve done comedy now for over 25 years, and it was a slow build, honey. It just boomed in 2019 in my mid-50s. I think that I’m wiser, smarter than I’ve ever been. I’m better at comedy than I’ve ever been. It took me that long to learn that craft. I would tell people to never give up, whether you want to go back to school or you’ve always wanted to be a yoga teacher or whatever it is. I just feel like people in their midlife have so much more experience and so much more to give.

It’s just crazy that people in our society have always made people feel like after 40 it’s over. And it’s just not. It’s just never too late. You’ll hear a grandma has gone back to college in their 70s. I mean, it’s just never too late. If you’ve got a burning desire in your heart for something and you know that’s your purpose, you have to do it. You get one life, why not?"

Q. It sounds like you’d say life only gets better with age? A. Yes. Really, just wait until you turn 50. You will feel like you’ve been let out of a cave, like you’ve been in prison and all of a sudden everything that’s ever worried you and you’ve been concerned about and all the stupid people that you were worried about, they won’t matter. You won’t care, honey.

Q. Comedy is heavily associated with life on the road. Do you have anything you take with you to keep you connected with home? A. I take old pajamas. And I know that sounds crazy, but I just take my good comfy pajamas that I wear at home, too. And then I have these slippers that my daughter-in-law got for me one Christmas. They are like socks, almost, with grips on the bottom. And I just smile every time I see them. And then, let me tell you, that I sit and look at pictures of my grandbabies on the phone all day long and on the plane.

Q. What are the some of the first things you do when you get home? A. I usually fly home on Sunday or Monday. I start calling the kids as soon as I get off that plane. Chuck usually picks me up and I say, “What do y’all want to eat? And do I need to pick up something?” And I take it to one of their houses. Everybody comes over and I’m with the babies. That’s probably the No. 1 thing. When I get to my house, I get in the bed with our beagle, Gigi, and watch a Netflix show. But don’t get me wrong, I do leave the house. I love to go and walk in my neighborhood and take little Gigi along.

Q. For someone who has never been to Knoxville—what do you consider some of the can’t-miss destinations or experiences? A. I would say, you’ve got to get to a UT football game. You’ve got to get yourself to Neyland Stadium! You also need to visit Market Square with all its great shops and restaurants and our beautiful Tennessee Theater. Most of all, go out on our beautiful lakes—Fort Loudon, Cherokee, Melton Hill, Norris; there are so many—and look at those mountains. We also love going to Duncan Boat Dock on the [Tennessee] river. It’s owned by Clayton team member Mike Duncan and his wife, Pam, and it looks like something straight out of the 1950s. It’s the cutest! We had a little house near there for a while with two other Clayton families. But we sold it when everybody started having grandbabies--it just got too small. Now we're looking for a pontoon boat because you can’t change diapers in a big scary speed boat.

Q. You’re a Southern woman many look up to these days. Who is a Southern woman you look up to and what lessons have you learned from her? A. Thank you for saying that. Truly, it’s got to be my mama. I just think about the things she’s taught me and what has helped me in my career. We’re from farming people. There was just a pride in that. I went to the University of Tennessee, and I was with all these girls that went to private school, everybody’s driving BMWs. I’d never even seen a BMW. But I was never ashamed of where I came from. My mama is authentic, and she is who she is. She doesn’t put on. I would say that’s the most important thing that has happened in me doing comedy all these years: being who I am and being authentic.

Q. Did your mom encourage your humor? A. Honey, yes. She would say “You can do it. You can do it. You can do it.” And I remember she just always cheered me on. We’d watch all the funny shows together. We loved Saturday Night Live, Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, all these things. And she herself is so funny. It would make my dad so mad and now it makes Chuck Morgan mad. We laugh through everything. We can’t be serious. I think that’s how we cope. Even with hard times, if you can find the humor in something, you can make it.

Q. Do you have a hidden talent? A. I can dance. I’ve always had rhythm. I never got to take any tap or anything when I was growing up, because we were in the country too far out. But I can bust a move to anything R&B—Earth, Wind and Fire, Prince, Janet Jackson, George Michael, Whitney Houston. That was my jam, honey. That’s my age. And I really think I could learn drums. I’ve thought about taking that up. I want to be Sheila E.

Q. What’s your favorite Southern expression? A. “Take to the bed.” I just think that is a wonderful way to explain. You’re upset over something, you’re exhausted, you just finished Easter lunch and did all this for all these people—“I’ve got to take to the bed.” It’s the only way to describe when you just got to get away from people or rest.

Q. How do you take your tea: sweet or unsweet? A. I like a half-and-half. Maybe it’s because everybody makes you feel like sugar’s going to kill you. So, I do most of it unsweet and do a squirt of sweet on top with a lemon. And then I don’t feel so bad.

Q. Grits or biscuits and gravy? A. Biscuits and gravy. But I’d have to take to the bed after I ate those biscuits and gravy.

The Man Behind the Star: Chuck Morgan Since the late 1990s, Chuck Morgan has held numerous titles at Clayton, including his current President of HouseSmart Construction®. (This relatively new division oversees on-site installation at the final home site, something that was previously outsourced.)

Though it’s been nearly 25 years, Chuck can point to the exact moment he became “hooked” on the industry. Early in his career he encountered a family living in dire conditions, no running water, no electricity and only a tent over their heads. The situation touched Chuck’s heart and he managed to find an inexpensive used home. “We brought it in, refurbished it and for a few thousand dollars were able to tremendously change someone’s life,” he recalls. “That moment has always stuck with me.”

In addition to the feel-good- factor of helping families with affordable homes, Chuck has found a connection with the company’s values. “Clayton has a strong culture that aligns with my personal values: treating people fairly and doing good throughout all endeavors,” he explains.

As for Leanne’s “surreal” rise in comedy, Chuck feels it’s been perfectly placed. “We’re spiritual people. I think it was God’s timing. When she was not needed in other ways, then this part of her career began to take off.” The best part of her success? For Chuck, it’s how unchanged she is: “It’s very gratifying because I know how authentic it is. That’s not a character that she plays, it’s not a made-up accent. She talks to a crowd of two the way she talks to a crowd of 20,000. Though some of the things she says about me have been ‘slightly’ embellished.”

By Caroline McKenzie, Opening Doors Magazine, Summer 2024