Hee Haw

*Hee Haw*
Hee Haw
Genre	Comedy
Presented by	Buck Owens, Roy Clark
Country of origin	USA
Original language	English
Production
Production location	Nashville,

For the EP from the musical band "Birthday Party", see Hee Haw (EP). For the noise that a donkey makes, see donkey.

Hee Haw was a long-running television variety show hosted by musicians Buck Owens and Roy Clark and featuring country music and humor with rural "Kornfield Kounty" as a backdrop. It was taped at WLAC-TV (now WTVF) and Opryland USA in Nashville. The show was produced by Yongestreet Productions through the mid-1980s; it was later produced by Gaylord Entertainment, who distributed the show in syndication. The show's name was derived from the sound a mule makes when it brays.

The show was inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the major difference being that Hee Haw was far less topical, and was centered around country music. The show was equally well-known for its voluptuous, scantily clad women in stereotypical Southern farmer's daughter outfits and its cornpone humor. Hee Haw was a quintessentially American show; and although its appeal was not only limited to a rural audience (indeed, it was seen in all large markets, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago), it is virtually unknown outside North America.^{[citation needed]}

Its success in the 1970s alerted local stations to the wisdom of scheduling niche programs, those appealing to older or ethnic audiences, in less-prominent time slots.^{[citation needed]}

Creation and Syndication

Created by Canadian comedy writers Frank Peppiatt and John Aylesworth, and New York ad executive (later turned TV and film producer) Bernie Brillstein, the show started on CBS as a summer 1969 replacement for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Though the show had respectable ratings, it was dropped by CBS in 1971, along with fellow country shows The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres, due to network executives' feeling that its viewers reflected the wrong demographics (e.g. rural, somewhat older, and less affluent). Undaunted, the producers put together a syndication deal for the show, which continued in basically the same format for 20 more years (though Owens departed in 1986). In many markets, it competed in syndication (usually on early Saturday evenings) against The Lawrence Welk Show, which, for some of the same reasons, was also cancelled and resurrected in syndication in 1971. (In a few areas, Hee Haw and Welk were shown back-to-back.)

By 1991, a continued decline in its audience, the remaining part of which was aging, led to a dramatic change in setting, to a more urban feel combined with more pop-oriented country music, in an ill-fated attempt to gain younger viewers. The new format lasted a single season, during which the show alienated many of its longtime viewers. In its final 1992 season, the now renamed Hee Haw Silver featured Clark hosting a mixture of classic clips and new footage.

After the show's syndication run ended, reruns aired on The Nashville Network until 1997. Its 22 years in TV syndication was the record for a U.S. program, until Wheel of Fortune surpassed it in 2005. In 2006, Jeopardy! (Wheel's sister program, coincidentally) surpassed it also, making Hee Haw the third-longest-running off-network American TV program.

On July 17, 2006 CMT announced that it would begin rerunning the series starting July 29, and reruns began in late September. The channel hosted a marathon of episodes on January 1, 2007 but has only shown one episode since, on March 13.

In April 2007, the "TV Land" network recognized the long reunning series with an award presented by K.D. Lang. In attendance were Roy Clark, Guinilla Hutton, Barbie Benton, the Hager twins, Linda Thompson, Mindy Rowe and others.

Cast Members

Two rural-style comedians, already well known in their native Canada, gained their first major U.S. exposure—Gordie Tapp and Don Harron (whose character, newscaster Charlie Farquharson, later appeared on The Red Green Show).

Other cast members over the years included: Roy Acuff (the King of Country Music), Barbi Benton, Cathy Baker, Archie Campbell, the Hager Twins (Jim and John), Gunilla Hutton (as "Nurse Goodbody"), Grandpa Jones, Susan Raye, The Buckaroos (Don Rich, Jim Shaw, Jerry Brightman, Jerry Wiggins, Doyle Singer, Ronnie Jackson,Terry Christoffersen, Doyle Holly) George Lindsey (reprising his "Goober" character from The Andy Griffith Show), Minnie Pearl, Linda Thompson, Kenny Price, Lulu Roman, Misty Rowe, Junior Samples, Rev. Grady Nutt, John Henry Faulk, Gailard Sartain, Roni Stoneman, and the team of Jimmie Riddle and Jackie Phelps, among many others. Original cast member David "Stringbean" Akeman was murdered, along with his wife, in November 1973 during a robbery at his home.

Recurring skits and segments

The Colonel (portrayed by Gordie Tapp), standing at his front door espousing a funny piece of philosophy, only to get hit on the head each with a rubber chicken.
Crossing 2 objects (Example: "I crossed an elephant with a gopher." Everybody in unison: "What'ja get?" "Some awfully big holes in the backyard.") The one giving the answer got smacked on the bottom by a huge fenceboard, and even the women were victims of the board.
"Archie's Barber Shop", with Archie Campbell, regular customer Roy Clark, and three or four others in the "waiting chairs". Campbell would share comic dialogue with Clark or tell one of his "backwards fairy tales" such as "Rindercella".
The doctor (Campbell), who handled various 'ill/injured' cast members with the assistance of the lovely "Nurse Goodbody" (Gunilla Hutton)
"Justus O'Peace" (Campbell), the local judge, whacking away at the various accused parties (as in the legendary "Here Come De Judge" routine of Pigmeat Markham).
"General Store", with Gordie Tapp as the proprietor. The sketches always opened with Tapp ringing up his cash register
"Where Oh Where Are You Tonight?", a nonsense duet which debuted on the opening show and is perhaps the most enduring image that most viewers have of the program. In early seasons, this was performed by Campbell and Tapp, in the vein of folk songs like "Oh! Susanna" and "Old Dan Tucker." In later seasons, Tapp would sometimes be replaced by that episode's guest singer, or other surprise celebrities. The guest/celebrity would stand with their back to the viewer while Campbell sang the new, humorous verse solo, holding a scythe. At the end of the verse, Campbell would elbow Tapp or the guest (as a comedic visual cue), who would then spin around (Tapp would react as if awoken by the elbow) to join him on the chorus: "Where, oh where, are you tonight?/Why did you leave me here all alone?/I searched the world over, and I thought I'd found true love,/Then you met another, and--pffft! you was gone!" The "pffft" would be done as a spitting "Bronx cheer", and occasionally, they would break up into laughter after the "pffft", unable to finish the song (Who got spat upon during the "pffft" would change each show.) Later, whole groups and even females would be part of the refrain, after Campbell's death in 1987. In some episodes, which had several major guest stars, the routine appeared several times in the show so that each guest would have the chance to be part of this tradition.
"Hey Grandpa! What's for supper?" (Grandpa Jones is cleaning a window pane with no glass in it and recites a dinner menu in verse). Often, he would describe a delicious, country-style meal (e.g., chicken and biscuits smothered in rich gravy, and collard greens), and the audience would reply approvingly, "yum yum!"); although sometimes he would serve a less-than spectacular meal (thawed out TV dinners), to which the cast would reply, "yuck!" One notable run-through of the routine had Grandpa saying "Ah ain't got nuthin!", which would be the only time he ever got booed during this routine.
"Stringbean" would read a "letter from Home" to his friends (similar in style to the routine of American comedian "Charley Weaver"). When asked about the latest letter, "Stringbean" would reach for it, stating that he carried it right next to "his Heart" (his upper overalls pocket). Not finding it there, he would proceed to quickly check all his other pockets, saying "Heart" on each check until he found the letter, usually in his hip pocket. The friends would chant "Heart" along with him (" . . heart, heart, heart heart!").
Minnie Pearl's schoolhouse. The beloved Grand Ole Opry comedienne would try in vain to gain order in the classroom, while her students were in the mood for one-liners. Example - Minnie: Who makes the sun shine? Roy (dressed as a little boy): The Good Lord does. Minnie: Who makes the moon shine? Roy: My daddy does. (On earlier occasions the skit featured actual kids as students rather than regular cast members.)
"The Culhanes of Kornfield County" (Gordie Tapp, Grandpa Jones, Junior Samples, and Lulu Roman). A soap-opera satire, the foursome was seated side by side on a couch, resembling an old-time family portrait. With help from an off-screen announcer, they would discuss some family crisis while maintaining a dead-pan monotone look and not moving.
The "Empty Arms Hotel," in which Roy Clark would pop up from behind the front desk to deal with its clients' complaints.
"Lulu's (Lulu Roman) Truck Stop," which featured some tough-to-eat items.
"Archie's Angels," a parody on Charlie's Angels, but unlike the unseen Charlie, Campbell was seen with his three lovely beauties in their detective agency office.
"Junior's (Junior Samples) Used Car Sales," in which Samples would try to palm off a major 'clunker' and then hold up a sign to remind viewers that his phone number was "BR 549.") (Hee Haw tapes were later sold using the "800" number 1-800-BR54949; also, the future country music group BR5-49 adopted this as its name.)
The "Gloom/Despair song (with the chorus "Gloom, despair and agony on me!/Deep dark depression, excessive misery!/If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all!/Gloom, despair and agony on me!)" Performed by an all-male quartet who sat around looking sad, each of the quartet would sing one line of the verse (a new one for each performance). They would join on the chorus, with each one alternating lip-synching a mournful howl between each phrase in it. (In later seasons the female cast got their own version of the song)
"The Cornfield," a version of the Laugh-In "Joke Wall," with cast members and guest stars 'popping up' to tell jokes and one-liners. Until his death, "Stringbean" played the field's 'scarecrow,' delivering one-liners before being shouted down by the 'crow' on his shoulder; after his 1973 murder, he was not replaced, and the 'scarecrow' simply was seen in the field as a memorial. Occasionally during this segment, personalities or station managers from television stations that carried Hee Haw would appear in this segment with Owens or Clark.
Buck Owens & His Buckaroos usually performed 2 songs on each show, accompanied by their trademark red-white-and-blue colored guitars and fiddles
The "Hee Haw Salutes" feature, in which that night's guest, or other celebrities and cast members, would mention his or her hometown and its population; the entire cast would then 'pop up' from the cornfield, shouting "SAA-LUTE!!"
"Pickin' and Grinnin'" with Owens and Clark (Owens: "I'm a-Pickin!" Clark: "And I'm a-Grinnin'!"), with the duo and the cast 'dueling' by playing guitar and banjo, telling jokes and reciting one-liners.
Riddle and Phelps, longtime members of Roy Acuff's Smoky Mountain Boys, would perform a comic poem, and then break into their eefing rhythm routine. Riddle would make a noise, "eeph," while Phelps would slap his hand against his leg in a percussion pattern called "Hamboning." Occasionally, the duo would break into their routine while joking with another cast member, and then get chased away.
Various male cast members would be seen sitting around and listening to comic stories by either the Rev. Grady Nutt, a Baptist pastor and humorist, or former American radio commentator John Henry Faulk. Nutt, who had successful LP comedy album releases on Word Records, had his promising career on Hee Haw cut short by his death in an airplane crash in November 1982.
KORN-AM radio, featuring humorous news reports by "Charlie Farquharson" (Don Harron).
Grandpa and Minnie's Kitchen ("How-dee! Welcome to Grandpa and Minnie's Kitchen!")
"Aunt Minnie" Pearl giving advice to her "nieces" on love and relationships as they are knitting a quilt
"Advice To The Loveworn", with Lisa Todd giving advice on finding the right man
"Ask Buck", another "advice" sketch with Buck Owens answering letters from around the world, usually accompanied by Roy Clark and occasionally Buck's son Buddy.
"The 'Oh YEAAAAAH!' Song", with Buck Trent singing a short ditty on banjo
The Hee Haw Gospel Quartet, always the last segment of many shows in later years, and featuring Clark, Owens, Grandpa Jones and Kenny Price singing a gospel song. This was one of the few serious segments of the show, and a beloved one to many viewers. Several of their performances were released as recordings.
Singer/Songwriter segment - A guest performer who worked in both capacities would sing one of their most famous songs, then a song they wrote that became a big hit for another artist.
The Hager Twins, featuring Jim on guitar and Jon on percussion (tambourine, kazoo, etc.), performing various songs. They were usually featured near the end of the first half-hour of the show
"The Gossip Girls", featuring various female members of the cast surrounding a washtub and clothes wringer singing "We're not ones to go 'round spreadin' rumors/Well, really we're just not the gossipy kind;/No, you'll never hear one of us repeatin' gossip,/So you better be sure and listen close the first time!", featuring a new verse every episode. Much later, the guys would wear wigs & sing that tune.
Gordie Tapp and Roni Stoneman as LaVerne & Ida Mae, "The Naggers", a bickering couple, similar in style to the radio classic The Bickersons.
During the American Bicentennial year (1976), CBS News produced a daily television historical feature called "The Bicentennial Minute." Hee Haw's take on that was Grandpa Jones' "200 And Some Odd Years Ago" sketches, with Grandpa delivering 'facts' such as, "My great-great-great grandmother attended the 'Boston Tea Party.' She was the first old bag thrown overboard."
Hee Haw's All-Jug Band, featuring a humorous song performed by all the female members of the cast, who blew air across the open mouths of various-sized 'moonshine' jugs to sound different notes. (The title of the routine was a play on both the jugs used to sound the notes, and the vulgar slang for the female breast.) Leader Minnie Pearl (on piano) announced the segment, stating "We're gonna play now;" at the conclusion, she proclaimed, "We're through playin' now!"
"The Haystack", begins with the top of the haystack which slides down (with slide whistle accompaniment) to reveal a man and a woman talking about love, marriage, and other relationship issues.
At the end of the show hosts Clark and Owens, backed by the entire cast, sang the song "We love the time we spent with you, to share a song and a laugh or two, may your pleasures be many, your troubles be few..." And ending with Owens and Clark saying "Good night everybody! We'll see you next week on...HEE-HAW!!!" (This would be replaced with another song in the early-1980s ("So long, we sure had a good time. So long, gee the company was fine. Singin and a dancin, laughin and a prancin. Adios, farewell, good-bye, good luck, so long. HEE-HAW!"), then with a simple goodnight from the cast in the late-1980s.)
And after the final credits, cast member Cathy Baker would say, "That's All!" (preceded from the mid-1980s to 1992 by "This has been a Gaylord Production from Opryland USA!"

Musical legacy

The show's additional legacy—probably its main one to most of the Southern and rural viewers in particular—was the hundreds of performances of country music, bluegrass, gospel music, and other traditional styles, that were featured on it during its run. During the 1970s and early 1980s, the show was probably the best-known showcase for country on commercial television, aside from other half-hour performer-hosted syndicated shows produced by packagers like Nashville's Show Biz, Inc.

In addition to the regular performances by the hosts and cast members, guest artists performing on the show include—but are hardly limited to—Alabama, Atlanta, Roy Acuff, Lynn Anderson, Suzy Bogguss, Garth Brooks, Bellamy Brothers, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Robert Byrd, Jessi Colter, David L Cook, Crystal Gayle, Lee Greenwood, Merle Haggard, Janis Ian, Alan Jackson, Wanda Jackson, Sonny James, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Lyle Lovett, Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, Roger Miller, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Ray Price, Charley Pride, Charlie Rich, Riders in the Sky, Eddie Rabbitt, Linda Ronstadt, Kenny Rogers, Roy Rogers, George Strait, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, B.J. Thomas, Mel Tillis, Pam Tillis, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt, Ernest Tubb, Conway Twitty, Dottie West, Boxcar Willie, Tammy Wynette, Don Williams, Hank Williams Jr., and Faron Young, among others.

Trivia

From 1969 until the late 1980s, Hee Haw was produced by Yongestreet Productions, named after Yonge Street, the major thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario. The production company's name was a testament to Hee Haw's Canadian roots.

Hee Haw had a short lived spin-off series, Hee Haw Honeys, for the 1978-79 television season. The sitcom starred Kathie Lee Johnson (Gifford), Misty Rowe, Gailard Sartain, Lulu Roman, and Kenny Price.

At Wishard Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, there are signs throughout the hospital cautioning against the use of cell phones. These signs have an image of a cell phone on them, the display of which shows the cell phone "number" BR549. This is a telephone number regularly used in a Junior Samples sketch on the television show Hee Haw.

Bowery Poetry Club in New York City hosts a regular "Urban Hee Haw" event. This tribute to the original show plays with the hick image of the characters by resetting them with foibles of city dwellers.

In one episode of Futurama, the opening caption says "It's like Hee Haw with lasers".

It was parodied in The Critic as "Hee Haw: The Next Generation"

It is referenced twice in the Family Guy episode, Bill and Peter's Bogus Journey.

In the movie Doc Hollywood, Michael J. Fox says, "What is this? Some kind of Hee Haw hell?"

External links