Knowing Dean, this is more than an aside. The 75-year-old multimillionaire, who has made repeated public jabs at Sara Lee, is suing the company for allegedly ruining his image — a claim Sara Lee strongly disputes.

"I want to believe in people, and I will continue to believe in people," Dean has said. "But they lied to me."

The lawsuit is the latest twist in the colorful life of the entrepreneur and country music legend, who today is semiretired and lives on a 200-acre estate outside Richmond with his wife, Donna, also a singer.

On a recent visit, he seemed almost grandfatherly, lounging in a jogging suit, cooing at his two poodles and sing-talking his big hit, "Big Bad John." Then he paused. "You know, I might have been the first rapper," he cracked.

Tough character

Don't be fooled by the charm. Dean developed thick skin as an impoverished youth in Plainview, Texas, and grew an even tougher hide in the entertainment and food industries. He has tangled with record and television executives, Sara Lee and his own brother — earning him a reputation as a sharp and sometimes unyielding businessman.

His holdings now include a piece of a New York bank and a chunk of prime property near Washington Dulles International Airport worth millions. Over the years, Dean has invested in a lime grove, winery, oil wells, residential developments and nursing homes. In the early '90s, his fortune was estimated at $75 million.

A draft of his autobiography due out this fall reveals a savvy and sometimes unbending personality that helped him navigate three careers: country music singer, television host and sausage entrepreneur.

Growing up in a poor but musical household, Dean learned to play the piano, accordion and harmonica. His father was abusive and later abandoned the family.

While stationed at Washington, D.C.'s Bolling Air Force Base in the 1940s, Dean played the accordion at a tavern with the house band.

But Dean had bigger ambitions. In 1952, he negotiated a deal for his band, the Texas Wildcats, to play on the radio for free in exchange for the right to plug the band's appearances.

Roy Clark, a young member of the band who went on to "Hee Haw" fame, recalled that "from day one, you knew it was Dean's way or the highway." Indeed, after Clark showed up late one too many times, Dean fired him.

By the early '50s, the band had its first national hit in "Bummin' Around," and the rising star made his first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry. Dean said he made only about $35 on the record deal.

More than a decade later, though, Dean had a lucrative hit with "Big Bad John," which topped the country music and pop charts. His contract with Columbia Records had expired, and Columbia, Dean recalls with glee, was forced to offer "an exceptionally good contract" to re-sign him.

Dean's popularity also made him a TV star, culminating in "The Jimmy Dean Show," which ran on ABC from 1963 to 1966.

By the late 60s, though, Dean's attention has shifted to an entirely new business — sausages. Hog prices were plummeting and Dean thought sausages would provide a ready market for the hogs.

In 1969, Jimmy and his brother Don opened the Jimmy Dean Meat Co., capitalizing on childhood experiences of helping the family butcher hogs and make sausage. After six months, the company was profitable. But in the 1970s, tensions flared between the two brothers. Jimmy seized control, and Don sold his interest back to the company.

Don, who is now deceased, sued his brother for libel and slander after Jimmy allegedly badmouthed him and his business practices. The lawsuit was settled in 1980, with both brothers agreeing never to say anything about each other again. Jimmy kept talking, though, and the feud continued.

Now Sara Lee, a Chicago-based maker of apparel, food and household products, is getting a firsthand taste of Dean's wrath.

Age bias alleged

The company bought the Jimmy Dean sausage company in 1984 but let him go as spokesman last year — prompting Dean to publicly denounce Sara Lee and accuse the company of dumping because he got old. Last month, Dean sued Sara Lee in federal court in Lubbock, Texas, for an unspecified amount, claiming the company is ruining his image and using his name without his permission.

Dean declined to comment on the suit. But he has said that Sara Lee, after pledging to keep him around, told him he wouldn't be around forever, and the company needed to move on.

The company said the lawsuit has no merit.

"We are saddened Mr. Dean has taken these actions after such a long association with the company," Sara Lee said in a statement.