ROOTS of Country Music

Hee Haw

Buck Owens & Roy Clark 

• Buck Owens: Hosts
• Roy Clark: Host  

From the infamous cornfield jokes to the donkey's wild lines, Hee Haw solidified its place in American culture, reveling in its Southern twang and humor. Featuring some of country music's biggest stars, Hee haw was one of the most popular and longest-running variety shows in television history.

Hee Haw is a television variety show featuring country music and humor with fictional rural Kornfield Kounty as a backdrop. It aired on CBS-TV from 1969–1971 before a 20-year run in local syndication. The show was inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the major difference being that Hee Haw was far less topical and was centered on country music. During its tenure, Roy Clark was a member of the Million Dollar Band and participated in a host of comedy sketches.

Initially co-hosted by musicians Buck Owens and Roy Clark, the show was equally well known for its voluptuous, scantily-clad women in stereotypical farmer's daughter outfits, male stars Jim and Jon Hager and its cornpone humor.

Clark was in charge of the comedy sections while Owens handled the musical segments. The typical show would include musical segments interspersed with comedic sketches and took place in fictional Kornfield Kounty. The show featured some famous regular cast performers such as Country Music Hall of Fame members Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff, along with the popular Hee Haw Honeys.    

                                                                Pictured below Buck Owens, Lisa Todd, Roy Clark

Guest performers were diverse, ranging from mainstream country stars such as Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Reba McEntire, and Tammy Wynette to other celebrities such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Mickey Mantle, John Ritter, Robin Leach, and even Big Bird.

The show was originally filmed in the studios of the Nashville CBS affiliate, WLAC. In 1980 production was moved to the Opryland complex, which had significantly more space and was a more state-of-the-art facility. In 1981, shortly after their move to the Opryland complex, Hee Haw was sold to Gaylord, which subsequently added to its holdings the Opryland Hotel, Opryland amusement park, WSM, and the Grand Ole Opry.

The show was produced by Yongestreet Productions through the mid-1980s; it was later produced by Gaylord Entertainment, which distributed the show in syndication.

Like other prominent businesses in Nashville, Tennessee the cast and crew of Hee Haw participated in the greater Nashville community, including forming a softball league and contributing to charity events.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Women of Hee Haw 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Cast of Hee Haw

Cast Members 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Researched, compiled and written by Richard Bell, Roots of Country Music, Jan. 6, 2012.