Burke County preacher became a Colonel Sanders impersonator on a wing and a prayer

CONNELLY SPRINGS, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Outside the Campbell home, there are signs that someone iconic lives there.

Tim Campbell’s alter ego is “The Colonel,”

as in KFC. His admiration for a fried empire is kind of baked in, considering his striking resemblance to Col. Harland Sanders.

“Sometimes I go out twice and give them some extra corn,” he said, taking us to his backyard chicken coop.

We imagine the birds are a little leery when their keeper comes, even though he’s a friendly fella.

“Hey girls! Chick chick chick chick!” he calls out.

“You can call me the crazy chicken man if you want to,” Campbell kids.

With his white hair and goatee, most just call him Colonel. That made our visit to the coop a little surreal.

“What are you doing girls?” he said, before introducing us to his flock of two. “That’s Mary and Margaret.”

“Got 11 herbs and spice in it,” he said of his chicken feed, which he grabs by the handful out of a KFC cup. “They love it. Makes their eggs taste better, what do you think?”

What do you say to someone who looks like a pop culture legend?

“They’ll say, ‘You know who you look like?’ And I’ll joke with them and I’ll say, ‘Yeah, Burt Reynolds is what I think, ha,'” Campbell said.

He may not be a movie star, but he sure turns heads.

“He was a sharp dresser,” Campbell said.

We witnessed the transformation up close. From the white suit to the western-style bow tie, he donned clothes similar to what the late Kentucky Fried Chicken founder wore.

“I feel like the Colonel,” he said, all dressed up and leaving us hungry for more.

Last weekend, at the Collector’s Vault Toy and Collectibles Con in Statesville, Campbell, aka the Colonel, was a special guest. 

“Oh, it was wonderful to meet him. I’ve always wanted to meet the Colonel,” said Jane Van Hoy of Statesville, smiling big.

The Colonel shook hands and posed for pictures. He got so much attention that General Tso would have been envious.

“I just wanted to meet him because of my grandpa,” a boy named Everett Zellya said. “He liked the chicken.”

This all started on a wing and a prayer. He’s the pastor at Icard Church of God.

As he got older, people suggested he was a Colonel Sanders doppelganger.

“He’s a good-looking man,” said Campbell. “If I do say so myself.”

His first official Colonel appearance was in Burnsville at the Funshine Summer Day Camp for those with developmental disabilities. Campbell said it was like he discovered a superpower.

“Everybody was just hugging me and wanting pictures. It just did something for me, it changed my life,” Campbell told Queen City News.

15 years later, the fake Colonel has genuine intentions.

“Make people smile,” he said.

“Makes me feel excited! Makes me want to eat chicken,” Van Hoy said.

At home, the Colonel enjoys tending to his hens. Just don’t call him a chicken tender.

“Good birds, and they taste good too!” he said, holding one of a feisty fowl. “I better let her back in there, she’s not liking this.”

Pastor Campbell wants to make more appearances as the Colonel at parades and other events. But he won’t count his chickens before they hatch.