Misplaced Pages

#880119

89-464: Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer, musician, and television presenter. He is best known for having hosted Hee Haw , a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark was an important and influential figure in country music , both as a performer and in helping to popularize the genre. During the 1970s, Clark frequently guest-hosted for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show and enjoyed

178-487: A Mitsubishi MU-2 , Stearman PT-17 and Mitsubishi MU-300 Diamond 1A business jet . Rising country music star Jimmy Dean asked Clark to join his band, the Texas Wildcats, in 1954. Clark was the lead guitarist, and made appearances on Dean's "Town and Country Time" program on WARL-AM and on WMAL-TV (after the show moved to television from radio in 1955). Clark competed in 1956 on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts ,

267-474: A 30-million viewership for Hee Haw . Clark was highly regarded and renowned as a guitarist, banjo player, and fiddler . He was skilled in the traditions of many genres, including classical guitar, country music, Latin music , bluegrass , and pop. He had hit songs as a pop vocalist (e.g., " Yesterday, When I Was Young " and "Thank God and Greyhound"), and his instrumental skill had an enormous effect on generations of bluegrass and country musicians. He became

356-585: A cheap guitar from Sears and Roebuck and always loved music. George had a local group called the Rhythm Rascals, and he also played with Sonny James Loden and his family, as well as gospel singer Jake Hess . The Rhythm Rascals consisted of Will Harvey Jones, James "Snookem" Turner, a fiddle player, and a Mr. Howell. At age 14, George made his debut radio broadcast on WMSD-AM in Sheffield, Alabama . He graduated from Haleyville High School in 1942. Turned down by

445-428: A different name because WSM stipulated that Lloyd would have to give up the name Lonzo. Johnny Sullivan then took on the role. Rollin produced the duo from this point on. They went to Decca Records and released 29 singles. In 1963, the group scored another hit with "Country Music Time". Johnny Sullivan died of a massive heart attack on June 5, 1967, and Rollin continued with Lonzo and Oscar when he found David Hooten,

534-572: A donkey's braying, was coined by show-business talent manager and producer Bernie Brillstein . The series initially ended its run in June 1993, after 25 seasons. It was soon picked up by TNN for reruns. Hee Haw is set in Kornfield Kounty, a rural farming community in an unspecified state in the Southern United States. The show's sketches mostly center around visits to local businesses in

623-456: A dramatic overhaul. The changes included a new title ( The Hee Haw Show ), more pop-oriented country music, and the barnyard-cornfield setting replaced by a city street and shopping mall set. The first of the new episodes aired in January 1992. The changes alienated many of the show's longtime viewers while failing to gain the hoped-for younger viewers, and the ratings continued their decline. During

712-465: A family who owned a truck stop restaurant (likely inspired by the "Lulu's Truck Stop" sketch on Hee Haw ). Their restaurant included a bandstand , where guest country artists would perform a couple of their hits of the day, sometimes asking the cast to join them. Cast members would also perform songs occasionally; and the Nashville Edition, Hee Haw's backup singing group, frequently appeared on

801-462: A fatal brain tumor, and, as mentioned above, Don Rich of the Buckaroos was killed in a motorcycle crash in 1974. Some cast members, such as Charlie McCoy and Tennessee Ernie Ford, originally appeared on the show as guest stars; while Barbi Benton and Sheb Wooley returned in later seasons only as guest stars. After Buck Owens left the show, a different country music artist would accompany Roy Clark as

890-1498: A fixture of Canadian television since 1952 and later appeared on The Red Green Show ), gained their first major U.S. exposure on Hee Haw . Other cast members over the years included: Roy Acuff , Cathy Baker (as the show's emcee ), Willie Ackerman, Billy Jim Baker , Barbi Benton , Kelly Billingsley, Vicki Bird, Jennifer Bishop, Archie Campbell , Phil Campbell, Harry Cole (Weeping Willie), Mackenzie Colt, John Henry Faulk , Tennessee Ernie Ford , Diana Goodman, Marianne Gordon (Rogers), Jim and Jon Hager , Victoria Hallman, Little Jimmy Henley , Gunilla Hutton , Linda Johnson, Grandpa Jones , Zella Lehr (the "unicycle girl"), George Lindsey (reprising his " Goober " character from The Andy Griffith Show ), Little Jimmy Dickens , Irlene Mandrell , Charlie McCoy , Dawn McKinley, Patricia McKinnon, Sherry Miles, Rev. Grady Nutt , Minnie Pearl , Claude "Jackie" Phelps, Slim Pickens , Kenny Price , Anne Randall , Chase Randolph, Susan Raye , Jimmie Riddle , Jeannine Riley , Alice Ripley , Lulu Roman , Misty Rowe , Junior Samples , Ray Sanders, Terry Sanders, Gailard Sartain , Diana Scott, Shotgun Red , Gerald Smith (the "Georgia Quacker"), Jeff Smith, Mike Snider, Donna Stokes, Dennis Stone, Roni Stoneman , Mary Taylor, Nancy Taylor, Linda Thompson , Lisa Todd, Pedro Tomas, Nancy Traylor, Buck Trent , Jackie Waddell, Pat Woodell , and Jonathan Winters , among many others. The Buckaroos (Buck Owens' band) initially served as

979-428: A guest co-host each week, who would give the episode's opening performance, participate with Clark in the "Pickin' and Grinnin'" sketch, and assist Clark in introducing the other guest stars' performances. The show's final season ( Hee Haw Silver ) was hosted by Clark alone. Hee Haw featured at least two, and sometimes three or four, guest celebrities each week. While most of the guest stars were country music artists,

SECTION 10

#1732869267881

1068-681: A hit song, they didn't want to play it under comic barnyard footage." The concept's mixed reaction eventually spelled an end to the "video" concept on Hee Haw . However, several of co-host Owens' songs—including "Tall, Dark Stranger", "Big in Vegas", and "I Wouldn't Live in New York City (If They Gave Me the Whole Dang Town)"—aired on the series and have since aired on Great American Country and CMT as part of their classic country music programming blocks. Hee Haw premiered on CBS on June 15, 1969, as

1157-548: A local program based in Chicago, the black-oriented program also went on to a very long run in syndication; unlike either program, Soul Train entered the market after achieving success at the local level. In 1981, Yongestreet was acquired by Gaylord Entertainment (best known for the Grand Ole Opry and its related businesses). Mirroring the long downward trend in the popularity of variety shows in general that had taken place in

1246-689: A member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1987, and, in 2009, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame . He published his autobiography, My Life—in Spite of Myself , in 1994. Clark was born April 15, 1933, in Meherrin, Virginia , one of five children born to Hester Linwood Clark and Lillian Clark (Oliver). His father was a tobacco farmer. He spent his childhood in Meherrin and New York City, where his father moved

1335-418: A network, stations could schedule the program at any day or time that they saw fit. Hee Haw continues to remain popular with its long-time fans and younger viewers who have discovered the program through DVD releases or its reruns through the years on TNN, CMT, RFD-TV , and now Circle TV . In spite of the popularity among its fans, the program has never been a favorite of television critics or reviewers ;

1424-524: A nod to one of Owens' hits, " Sam's Place "). Other settings for the musical performances throughout the series' run included a haystack (where the entire cast performed songs), the living room of a Victorian house, the front porch and lawn of the Samuel B. Sternwheeler home, a grist mill (where Roy Clark performed many of his songs in earlier seasons), and a railroad depot , where Buck Owens performed his songs before acquiring "Buck's Place." Hee Haw featured

1513-807: A pair of hosts who represented each side in a divide in country/western music at the time: Buck Owens was a prominent architect of the California-based Bakersfield sound and one of the biggest country hitmakers of the 1960s. Roy Clark , who had worked in Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas , was a stalwart of Nashville's Music Row known for his skill at mixing music and comedy onstage. Both Clark and Owens had been regular guests on The Jimmy Dean Show during Peppiatt and Aylesworth's time writing for that series. Peppiatt and Aylesworth brought on two fellow Canadian writers with more experience in rural humor, Gordie Tapp and Don Harron ; Harron would appear in

1602-407: A premiere showcase on commercial television throughout its run for country , bluegrass , gospel , and other styles of American traditional music, featuring hundreds of elite musical performances that were paramount to the success, popularity and legacy of the series for a broad audience of Southern , rural and purely music fans alike. Although country music was the primary genre of music featured on

1691-431: A recording career or to perform on television. In the spring of 1959, Clark appeared regularly on George Hamilton IV 's short-lived television series in Washington, D.C. In 1960, Clark went to Las Vegas , where he worked as a guitarist in a band led by former West Coast Western Swing bandleader-comedian Hank Penny . During the very early 1960s, he was also prominent in the backing band for Wanda Jackson —known as

1780-474: A recurring character — actually two, as he played businessman Roy Halsey and Roy's mother, Myrtle. Once, in an episode of the Saturday evening Jackie Gleason Show dedicated to country music, Clark played a blistering rendition of "Down Home". Later, he appeared in an episode of The Odd Couple , where he played " Malagueña ". In the mid-1960s, he was a co-host (along with Molly Bee and Rusty Draper ) of

1869-473: A song is inserted. The hand-off is done in Hee Haw style, and often uses actual footage of Twitty performing on the show. Lulu Roman released a new album titled At Last on January 15, 2013. The album features Lulu's versions of 12 classics and standards, including guest appearances by Dolly Parton , T. Graham Brown, Linda Davis, and Georgette Jones (daughter of George Jones and Tammy Wynette ). The series

SECTION 20

#1732869267881

1958-529: A summer series. The show played to the rural routes of its humor with the producers arranging with the network to have the show segments recorded and edited in Nashville at CBS affiliate WLAC-TV (now WTVF ). The network picked it up as a last-minute replacement for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour , a popular but controversial variety show that had been canceled amid feuds between the Smothers Brothers and

2047-423: A variety show airing on CBS . It was his first network television appearance, and he came in second. Dean, who valued punctuality among musicians in his band, fired Clark for habitual tardiness in 1957. Clark left D.C. and never lived there again. During his D.C. years, Clark said he never intended to be a country guitarist. Rather, he played when he liked and what made him feel good, and never intended to begin

2136-432: A week ($ 1,900 in 2023 dollars). After the tour, Clark returned to performing at local country-music venues. He recorded singles for Coral Records and 4 Star Records . At the age of 23, Clark obtained his pilot's certificate and then bought a 1953 Piper Tri-Pacer (N1132C), which he flew for many years. This plane was raffled off on December 17, 2012, to benefit the charity Wings of Hope . He owned other planes, including

2225-527: A weekday daytime country variety series for NBC entitled "Swingin' Country", which was canceled after two seasons. In 1969, Clark and Buck Owens debuted as hosts on the syndicated sketch comedy program Hee Haw which aired from 1969 until 1997 and propelled Clark to stardom. During its tenure, Clark was a member of the Million Dollar Band and participated in a host of comedy sketches. In 1976, Arthur Fiedler conducted Evening at Pops with Roy Clark and

2314-472: A wide range of other famous luminaries were featured from actors and actresses to sports stars to politicians. Sheb Wooley , one of the original cast members, wrote the show's theme song. After filming the initial 13 episodes, other professional demands caused him to leave the show, but he returned from time to time as a guest star. Loretta Lynn was the first guest star of Hee Haw and made more guest appearances (24) than any other artist. She also co-hosted

2403-691: Is "Uh-Huh Honey", which nearly became a hit. He was also a disc jockey on WSKY-AM in Asheville, North Carolina in 1956. After George stopped making records later in his life, he booked shows for Bill Monroe . He married Clyda Ogletree, a singer in a trio (January 15, 1924–June 6, 1990). They lived in Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee, and had one daughter, Claudia Faye. George died October 16, 1991. He and his wife are buried at Netherland Cemetery in Overton County, Tennessee. †Honorary former member;

2492-711: The DuMont Television Network affiliate in Washington, D.C. At 17, he made his first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry in recognition for winning his second national banjo title. By this time, he had begun to play fiddle and twelve-string guitar . He toured the country for the next 18 months playing backup guitar during the week for David "Stringbean" Akeman , Annie Lou and Danny , Lonzo and Oscar , and Hal and Velma Smith , working county fairs and small town theaters. On weekends, these acts usually teamed up with country music superstars like Red Foley or Ernest Tubb and played large venues in big cities. He earned $ 150

2581-415: The Grand Ole Opry -operated Circle network. As part of the promotions for its DVD products, Time-Life also compiles and syndicates a half-hour clip show series The Hee Haw Collection . When Hee Haw went into syndication, many stations aired the program on Saturday evening in the early fringe hour, generally at 7:00pm ET / PT. But as Hee Haw was syndicated and not restrained by the scheduling of

2670-501: The Hee Haw Honeys spin-off, in particular, was cited in a 2002 TV Guide article as one of the 10 worst television series ever . In the third-season episode of The Simpsons , " Colonel Homer ", Hee Haw is parodied as the TV show Ya Hoo! . On at least four episodes of the animated Fox series Family Guy , when the storyline hits a dead-end, a cutaway to Conway Twitty performing

2759-563: The Soviet Union . On August 22, 1987, Clark was made a member of the Grand Ole Opry . He played an annual benefit concert at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia , the proceeds of which went to fund scholarships for aspiring musicians. Clark was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009. On April 12, 2011, Clark was honored by the Oklahoma House of Representatives . He

Roy Clark - Misplaced Pages Continue

2848-443: The house band on the show and consisted of members Don Rich , Jim Shaw, Jerry Brightman , Jerry Wiggins, Rick Taylor, Doyle Singer (Doyle Curtsinger), Don Lee, Ronnie Jackson, Terry Christoffersen, Doyle Holly and, in later seasons, fiddle player Jana Jae and Victoria Hallman, who replaced Don Rich on harmony vocals (Rich was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1974). In later seasons, the show hired Nashville musicians to serve as

2937-417: The 1970s, ratings began to decline for Hee Haw around 1986. That year, Owens departed as host, leaving Clark to continue with a celebrity guest host each week. The ratings decline continued into the early 1990s. In the fall of 1991, in an attempt to win back viewers, attract a younger audience, and keep pace with sweeping changes in the country music industry of the era, the show's format and setting underwent

3026-448: The 2006–07 season CMT aired a series of reruns and TV Land also recognized the series with an award presented by k.d. lang ; in attendance were Roy Clark, Gunilla Hutton , Barbi Benton , the Hager twins, Linda Thompson , Misty Rowe , and others. It was during this point, roughly between the years of 2004 and 2007, that Time Life began selling selected episodes of the show on DVD. Among

3115-615: The Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in March 1974. Following his departure from the duo, George continued performing under the stage name Ken Marvin. George continued recording throughout the 1950s; he released many songs on the Capitol, Mercury , RCA Victor, Intro, Todd, and Briar labels. In the 1960s, he changed his stage name from Ken Marvin back to Lloyd George, where he released songs on Imperial Records . His best known song

3204-827: The Boston Pops Orchestra. In 1983, Clark opened the Roy Clark Celebrity Theatre in Branson, Missouri , which was the "first venue linked permanently to a widely known entertainer" in the resort town. Clark frequently played in Branson during the 1980s and 1990s. He sold the venue in 1992(now owned by the Hughes Brothers and renamed the Hughes American Family Theatre) and went back to a light touring schedule. Clark annually appeared with Ramona Jones and

3293-476: The CBS Television Network at its station affiliate WLAC-TV (now WTVF ) in downtown Nashville, Tennessee , and later at Opryland USA in the city's Donelson area. The show was produced by Yongestreet Productions through the mid-1980s; it was later produced by Gaylord Entertainment , which distributed the show in syndication. The show's name, derived from a common English onomatopoeia used to describe

3382-561: The DVD content offered was the 1978 10th anniversary special that had not been seen since its original airing. CMT sporadically aired the series, usually in graveyard slots , and primarily held the rights in order to be able to air the musical performances as part of their music video library (such as during the "Pure Vintage" block on CMT Pure Country ). Reruns of Hee Haw began airing on RFD-TV in September 2008, where it ran for 12 years, anchoring

3471-705: The Halsey Agency, which represented him for the remainder of his career. During this period, Jackson performed at the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas . Within two years, Clark had become a headliner in Vegas, and made numerous appearances there in the 1960s and 1970s. Clark's backup work for Jackson brought him to the attention of Capitol Records . He signed with Capitol and in 1962 released his first solo album, The Lightning Fingers of Roy Clark . The album won solid critical praise, and "above-average" notice from fans. By

3560-477: The Hee Haw Honeys dated Presley long before they joined the cast: Linda Thompson in the mid-1970s, with whom Presley had a long-term relationship after his divorce from Priscilla ; and Diana Goodman shortly afterwards. Charlie McCoy played harmonica on a select few of Presley's recordings in the late 1960s, Joe Babcock of the Nashville Edition also sang backup vocals on a couple of his recordings at that time, and

3649-704: The Jones Family Band at their annual tribute to Clark's former Hee Haw co-star Grandpa Jones in Mountain View, Arkansas . On July 4, 1984, Roy played Washington D.C. along with several other acts to over 500,000 fans. Some of the other acts included Ringo Starr , the Beach Boys , Three Dog Night , George Jones , and B.J. Thomas . In 1960, Clark began touring with rockabilly star Wanda Jackson , and playing backup instrumentals on several of her recordings. Through Jackson, Clark met Jim Halsey . Clark signed with

Roy Clark - Misplaced Pages Continue

3738-520: The Kentucky Ramblers. They made their professional debut on WTJS-AM in Jackson, Tennessee, about 1939. In 1942, Rollin joined Paul Howard's Arkansas Cotton Pickers playing an electric mandolin, where he received the nickname Oscar. Johnny was in the military at the time. In the summer of 1944, Rollin, with WSM-AM's Grand Ole Opry , played tent shows with Eddy Arnold . Johnny's wife Ruth Evelyn Sullivan

3827-634: The Nashville Edition sang backup on Presley's recording of " Early Morning Rain ." Shortly after Presley's death, his father, Vernon Presley , made a cameo appearance on the show, alongside Thompson and Buck Owens, and paid tribute to his late son, noting how much Elvis enjoyed watching the show, and introduced one of his favorite gospel songs, which was performed by the Hee Haw Gospel Quartet. Hee Haw's creators, Frank Peppiatt and John Aylesworth , were both Canadian-born writers who had extensive experience in writing for variety shows. Inspired by

3916-493: The Party Timers —during the latter part of her rockabilly period. During Jack Paar 's temporary absence from The Tonight Show in early 1960, Jimmy Dean was asked to guest-host the program. Dean asked Clark to appear on the last night of his guest-host stint, and showcased Clark in two songs. Clark made his solo debut on The Tonight Show in January 1963. Subsequently, Clark appeared on The Beverly Hillbillies as

4005-451: The background singers for most of the musical performances, along with performing songs on their own. Some of the cast members made national headlines: Lulu Roman was twice charged with drug possession in 1971; David "Stringbean" Akeman and his wife were murdered in November 1973 during a robbery at their home; Slim Pickens , less than two years after joining the series, was diagnosed with

4094-438: The cancellation of reruns in 1995, the program resurfaced a year later, for another run of reruns, ultimately concluding in 1997. Its 22 years in TV syndication (1971–93) was, during its latter years, tied with Soul Train with the record for the longest-running American syndicated TV program ( Soul Train continued until 2006); Hee Haw has fallen well behind several other American first-run syndicated shows since then. During

4183-604: The cast of the television series, as well as guests and other talent. The format was similar with a country variety show-type family theme. Lonzo and Oscar Lloyd George was born to parents Austin and Myrtle George in a duplex house in Cordova, Alabama on June 27, 1924. In 1930, Austin operated a cafeteria and Myrtle worked in a cotton mill. About 1931, they moved to the mill village in Haleyville, Alabama , where better jobs were available, and where Lloyd went to school. He ordered

4272-569: The county and the offbeat characters who live and work there. Some of the most popular sketches and segments on Hee Haw included: Where, oh where, are you tonight? Why did you leave me here all alone? I searched the world over and thought I'd found true love, You met another and PFFT! You was gone! Gloom, despair, and agony on me-e! Deep dark depression, excessive misery-y! If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all! Gloom, despair, and agony on me-e-e! Now, we're not ones to go 'round spreadin' rumors, Why, really we're just not

4361-502: The early 1970s, Clark was the highest-paid country music star in the United States, earning $ 7 million ($ 54,900,000 in 2023 dollars) a year. He switched to Dot Records and again scored hits. He later recorded for ABC Records , which had acquired Dot, and MCA Records , the latter of which then was allowed to absorb the ABC label. Clark endorsed Mosrite , Gretsch , and Heritage guitars ;

4450-422: The enormous prior success of rural sitcoms of the 1960s, especially on CBS, which included the small-town sympathetic The Andy Griffith Show , followed by the country-parodying The Beverly Hillbillies , Petticoat Junction and Green Acres , Peppiatt and Aylesworth sought to create a variety show catering to the same audience—although neither one had a firm grasp on rural comedy. The producers selected

4539-600: The family to take jobs during the Great Depression . When Clark was 11 years old, his family moved to a home on 1st Street SE in the Washington Highlands neighborhood of Washington, D.C., after his father found work at the Washington Navy Yard . Clark's father was a semi-professional musician who played banjo , fiddle , and guitar, and his mother played piano. The first musical instrument Clark ever played

SECTION 50

#1732869267881

4628-417: The final show. Brooks then surprised Lovullo by showing up at the last minute, ready to don his overalls and perform for the final episode. Elvis Presley was a fan of Hee Haw and wanted to appear as a guest on the program, but Presley knew his manager, Colonel Tom Parker , would not allow him to do so (following Presley's death, Parker would be sued by Elvis Presley Enterprises for mismanagement). Two of

4717-471: The gossipy kind, No, you'll never hear one of us repeating gossip, So you'd better be sure and listen close the first time! Guest stars often participated in some of the sketches (mostly the "PFFT! You Was Gone" and "The Cornfield" sketches); however, this did not occur until later seasons. Two rural-style comedians, already well known in their native Canada, Gordie Tapp and Don Harron (whose KORN Radio character, newscaster Charlie Farquharson, had been

4806-606: The group Lonzo and Oscar with their Winston County Pea Pickers. Sullivan still recorded for Arnold throughout 1947, but at the end of the year, Arnold let Lonzo and Oscar go. Besides persuading Steve Sholes of RCA Victor to get them a contract and landing them a spot on the Grand Ole Opry, he also hired Johnny Sullivan to manage a record store Arnold owned in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Lonzo and Oscar with their Winston County Pea Pickers recorded 16 songs for RCA. Their best selling song

4895-532: The latter produced a signature model. In the 1980s, he served as a spokesman for Hunt's ketchup. Clark married Ruby Conley in 1954. They had a son, Roy Linwood Clark Jr. The couple divorced in 1957. Roy married Barbara Joyce Rupard on August 31, 1957. They remained wed until Roy's passing in 2018 The couple had five children. They made their home in Tulsa, Oklahoma , where the Roy Clark Elementary School

4984-518: The military for World War II, he moved to Nashville and got a gig with Curly Fox and Texas Ruby , but soon he was playing bass with Eddy Arnold after Arnold's bassist, Gabe Tucker, left. Rollin Sullivan was born in Edmonton, Kentucky , one in a family of ten. Rollin (born January 9, 1919) and brother Johnny Sullivan (born July 7, 1917) toured together in the 1930s; they were also in a local group known as

5073-608: The network censors over the show's topical humor. Though Hee Haw had solid ratings overall (it sat at No. 16 for the 1970–71 season), it was dropped in July 1971 by CBS as part of the so-called " Rural Purge " that abruptly canceled all of the network's country-themed shows, including those with still-respectable ratings. The success of shows like Hee Haw was the source of a heated dispute in CBS's corporate offices: Vice President of network programming Michael Dann , although he personally disliked

5162-497: The network decisions that led to their respective cancellations, were the inspiration for a novelty song, " The Lawrence Welk-Hee Haw Counter-Revolution Polka ", performed by Clark; it rose to become a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in the fall of 1972. Welk and Hee Haw also competed against another music-oriented niche program that moved to syndication in 1971, Soul Train . Originally

5251-443: The network's Sunday night lineup, although beginning in January 2014 an episode airs on Saturday afternoon and the same episode is rerun the following Sunday night; those episodes were cut down to comply with the 44-minute minimum. In 2011, the network began re-airing the earliest episodes from 1969 to 1970 on Thursday evenings. That summer, many of the surviving cast members, along with a number of country artists who were guest stars on

5340-474: The other founding inductees. †Honorary former member; was scheduled to be invited, but died before the invitation was extended Hee Haw Hee Haw is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired from 1969 to 1993, and on TNN from 1996 to 1997. Reruns of the series were broadcast on RFD-TV from September 2008 to April 2020, and aired on Circle . The show

5429-405: The recurring sketches for a season in batches, setting up the cornfield set one day, the joke fence on another, etc. At its peak, a season's worth of shows were recorded over the course of two separate, week-long shoots, and then assembled in the editing suite. Only musical performances were taped with a live audience, while a laugh track was added to all other segments. The series was taped for

SECTION 60

#1732869267881

5518-475: The recurring role of "Charlie Farquharson", the rural anchorman for station KORN. The producers also scored a country comedy expert familiar to rural audiences in Archie Campbell , who co-starred in and wrote many of the jokes and sketches, along with Tapp, George Yanok and comedian Jack Burns (who himself had briefly replaced Don Knotts on The Andy Griffith Show ) in the first season. A barn interior set

5607-482: The rural purge—the Prime Time Access Rule —had opened up an opportunity for independent syndicated productions, Hee Haw's producers put together a syndication deal for the show, which continued in roughly the same format for the rest of its run. Peppiatt and Aylesworth's company, Yongestreet Productions (named for Yonge Street , a prominent thoroughfare in their home city of Toronto ), maintained ownership of

5696-417: The series. At its peak, Hee Haw often competed in syndication against The Lawrence Welk Show , a long-running ABC program which had likewise been canceled in 1971, in its case in a purge of the networks' older demographic-leaning programs. Like Hee Haw , Lawrence Welk was picked up for syndication in the fall of 1971, in some markets by the same stations. The success of the two shows in syndication, and

5785-468: The show more than any other guest co-host and therefore appears on more of the DVD releases for retail sale than any other guest star. Tammy Wynette was second with 21 guest appearances, and Wynette married George Richey (the musical director for Hee Haw from 1970 to 1977) in 1978. From 1990 to 1992, country megastar Garth Brooks appeared on the show four times. In 1992, producer Sam Lovullo tried unsuccessfully to contact Brooks because he wanted him for

5874-493: The show's "house band." George Richey was the first music director. When he left to marry Tammy Wynette , harmonica player Charlie McCoy , already a member of the band when he was not playing on recording sessions, became the show's music director, forming the Hee Haw Band , which became the house band for the remainder of the series' run. The Nashville Edition, a singing quartet consisting of two males and two females, served as

5963-452: The show's producer, Sam Lovullo , the ratings showed improvement with these classic reruns; however, the series was finally canceled in June 1993 at the conclusion of its 25th season. Hee Haw continued to pop up in reruns throughout the 1990s and later during the following decade in a series of successful DVD releases from Time Life . After the show's syndication run ended, reruns aired on The Nashville Network from 1993 until 1995. Upon

6052-413: The show's staff go to nearby rural areas and film animals and farmers, before editing the footage to fit the storyline of a particular song. "The video material was a very workable production item for the show", he wrote. "It provided picture stories for songs. However, some of our guests felt the videos took attention away from their live performances, which they hoped would promote record sales. If they had

6141-400: The show, guest stars and cast members alike also performed music from other genres, such as rock 'n' roll oldies, big band , and pop standards. Some of the music-based segments on the show (other than guest stars' performances) included: Lovullo also has made the claim the show presented "what were, in reality, the first musical videos." Lovullo said his videos were conceptualized by having

6230-475: The show, portraying regular patrons of the restaurant. Notable guest stars on Honeys included, but were not limited to: Loretta Lynn , The Oak Ridge Boys , Larry Gatlin , Dave & Sugar , and the Kendalls . Some stations that carried Hee Haw would air an episode of Honeys prior to Hee Haw . The Hee Haw Theater opened in Branson, Missouri in 1981 and operated through 1983. It featured live shows using

6319-580: The show, taped a Country's Family Reunion special, entitled Salute to the Kornfield , which aired on RFD-TV in January 2012. The special is also part of Country's Family Reunion ' s DVD series. Concurrent with the special was the unveiling of a Hee Haw exhibit, titled Pickin' and Grinnin' , at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City . Hee Haw left RFD-TV in 2020 and then aired on

6408-463: The shows, argued in favor of ratings (reflecting audience size), while his subordinate, Fred Silverman , head of daytime programming, held that certain demographics within total television viewership—in which Hee Haw and the others performed poorly—could draw more advertising dollars. Silverman's view won out, Dann was fired, Silverman promoted, and CBS canceled its rural shows in the summer of 1971. Undaunted, and noting that one instigating factor for

6497-568: The stage, and he would sing ‘Mommy Please Stay Home with Me,’ and they’d all start bawling." Rollin continued on the electric mandolin, recording for Arnold on November 21, 1945. By Arnold’s next two recording dates on March 20 and September 24, 1946, all three were playing as session musicians: George played bass and Johnny Sullivan played guitar. In 1947, Arnold signed George and Sullivan with his label, RCA Victor . They recorded their first songs on May 18, 1947, which were released in August. George named

6586-537: The summer of 1992, a decision was made to end first-run production, and instead air highlights of the show's earlier years in a revamped program called Hee Haw Silver (as part of celebrating the show's 25th season). Under the new format, Clark hosted a mixture of classic clips and new footage. Hee Haw Silver episodes also aired a series of retrospective looks at performers who had died since performing in highlighted content, such as David "Stringbean" Akeman , Archie Campbell, Junior Samples, and Kenny Price. According to

6675-466: The things that influenced me growing up around Washington, D.C., in the '50s was that it had an awful lot of good musicians. And I used to go in and just steal them blind. I stole all their licks. It wasn't until years later that I found out that a lot of them used to cringe and say 'Oh, no! Here comes that kid again' when I'd come in. As for his banjo style, Clark said in 1985, "When I started playing, you didn't have many choices to follow, and Earl Scruggs

6764-409: The third Lonzo. In the duo's third incarnation, Lonzo and Oscar made a brief comeback in the 1970s when they recorded the album Traces of Life . A departure from their earlier comedy material, the album consisted primarily of sentimental and religious songs. The title track, a middle-aged man's tribute to home and people who (now deceased) made a difference during his formative years, reached No. 29 on

6853-419: Was August 21, 1949; however, George recorded his first songs as Ken Marvin on Capitol two days before he recorded with Rollin as Lonzo and Oscar. They recorded ten songs for Capitol. By the end of January 1950, Lloyd left the group to solo as Ken Marvin. George asked Rollin if he could quit, and told him "sometime in my life, I am gonna try to go solo. It's something that I've always wanted to do." Lloyd had to use

6942-486: Was a four-string cigar box with a ukulele neck attached to it, which he picked up in elementary school. His father taught Clark to play guitar when Roy was 14 years old, and soon Clark was playing banjo, guitar, and mandolin . "Guitar was my real love, though," Clark later said. "I never copied anyone, but I was certainly influenced by them; especially by George Barnes . I just loved his swing style and tone." Clark also found inspiration in other local D.C. musicians. "One of

7031-470: Was both of them." Clark won the National Banjo Championship in 1947 and 1948, and briefly toured with a band when he was 15. Clark was very shy, and turned to humor as a way of easing his timidity. Country-western music was widely derided by Clark's schoolmates, leaving him socially isolated. Clowning around, he felt, helped him to fit in again. Clark used humor as a musician as well, and it

7120-487: Was checking in, this black man, a porter, was coming down the steps just covered with dirty linen. The desk clerk looked up and said, ‘Lonzo! Don’t you ever come down those front steps with dirty linen anymore,’" recounted Rollin. Arnold then changed Cicero to Lonzo. According to Rollin, they would "go out on the stage, and boy, we’d wang-bang them, get them all laughing and having a good time [Lonzo and Oscar got 20 minutes before Arnold.] Then we introduced Eddy. Eddy came out on

7209-785: Was honored by the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame as Oklahoma's Music Ambassador for Children and presented with a commendation from Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin . In 2007, he was inducted into the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame . He was inducted into the Fiddlers Hall of Fame. Roy Clark was one of the founding inductees into the Virginia Musical Museum & Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Wayne Newton, Ella Fitzgerald, The Carter Family, The Statler Brothers, Bruce Hornsby, Pearl Bailey and Ralph Stanley were

7298-454: Was inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In , but centered on country music, rural rather than pop culture -inspired humor, and with far less topical material. Hosted by country music artists Buck Owens and Roy Clark for most of its run, the show was equally well known for its cornpone humor as for its voluptuous, scantily clad women (the "Hee Haw Honeys") in stereotypical farmer's daughter outfits. Hee Haw ' s appeal, however,

7387-407: Was killed in a car crash near Evanston, Wyoming, on October 9, 1959, while traveling with the Grand Ole Opry. Johnny was injured but recovered. By 1945, the Sullivan brothers joined George with Arnold's show. They played a comedy act called Cicero and Oscar, opening shows for Arnold and His Tennessee Plowboys. George was Cicero and Rollin was Oscar. One evening the troupe stopped at a hotel. "While we

7476-665: Was named in his honor in 1978. Clark died on November 15, 2018, at age 85, at his Tulsa home from complications of pneumonia . By the early 1970s, Clark had been named "Entertainer of the Year" three times by the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association (CMA). The Academy also named him "Best Lead Guitar Player" and "Best Comedy Act", while the CMA named him an "International Friendship Ambassador" in 1976 after Clark toured

7565-430: Was not limited to a rural audience. It was successful in all of the major markets, including network -based Los Angeles and New York City, as well as Boston and Chicago. Other niche programs such as The Lawrence Welk Show and Soul Train , which targeted older and black audiences, respectively, also rose to prominence in syndication during the era. Like Laugh-In , the show minimized production costs by taping all of

7654-421: Was not until the mid 1960s that he felt confident enough to perform in public without using humor in his act. The D.C. area had a number of country-western music venues at the time. Duet acts were in favor, and for his public performance debut Clark teamed up with Carl Lukat. Lukat was the lead guitarist, and Clark supported him on rhythm guitar. In 1949, at the age of 16, Clark made his television debut on WTTG ,

7743-590: Was referenced in The Critic as a parody crossover with Star Trek: The Next Generation under the title of Hee Haw: The Next Generation , where the characters of the Star Trek series act out as the cast of Hee Haw . Hee Haw produced a short-lived spin-off series, Hee Haw Honeys , for the 1978–79 television season. This musical sitcom starred Kathie Lee Johnson (Gifford) along with Hee Haw regulars Misty Rowe , Gailard Sartain , Lulu Roman , and Kenny Price as

7832-443: Was released in 1948. Written by Dwight Latham and Moe Jaffe, "I’m My Own Grandpa" became their signature tune and was recorded by many others. It sold over four million copies. Originally, RCA Victor approached Arnold to sing and release this record, but Arnold thought that it would better suit Lonzo and Oscar. In 1949, the team switched record companies, finding their home with Capitol Records . Their first recording date with Capitol

7921-426: Was used as the main stage for most of the musical performances from the show's premiere until the debut of the "Hee Haw Honky Tonk" sketch in the early 1980s. Afterwards, the "Hee Haw Honky Tonk" set would serve as the main stage for the remainder of the series' run. Buck Owens then began using the barn interior set for his performances after it was replaced by the "Hee Haw Honky Tonk" set and was named "Buck's Place" (as

#880119