Former Mississippi lawmaker Ed Perry of Oxford dies at 76

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A former Mississippi lawmaker known for his lively interpretation of a speech about legalizing liquor has died.

Ed Perry was found unresponsive Tuesday at his home in Oxford, according to Mississippi Democratic Party chairman Bobby Moak. He says Perry was supposed to join friends to socialize, and they checked on him after he didn't arrive.

Perry was 76.

He served as a Democrat in the Mississippi House from 1968 to 2000 and was chairman of several committees, including Appropriations.

Perry was an attorney and powerful orator. He was known for reciting the "whiskey speech ," written in the 1950s by a predecessor in the Mississippi House, Noah "Soggy" Sweat.