Roy Clark

The affable Roy Clark, longtime co-host of "Hee Haw," on syndicated television, is recognized as a virtuoso of country-style banjo and guitar. Clark has been performing since his teens, and his serious musicianship is sometimes overshadowed by his hayseed comedy routines, especially on television. Neil Hickey noted in TV Guide, however, that the corny "Hee Haw" was the vehicle that propelled Clark "from the penumbral half-light of minor celebrity to the blinding glare of full public favor" and therefore gave the star a national following for his music.

Named Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year in 1973, Clark has extended his popularity beyond America’s borders to include Europe and the Soviet Union, where he has toured to enthusiastic ovations. The extent of his appeal, obviously, is wider than the southern states where country music dominates. This is because Clark has been a ground-breaker in adapting country picking styles to classical and popular melodies—his repertory includes the Spanish dance "Malaguena," "Lara’s Theme," and "Yesterday When I Was Young." Hickey quotes "HeeHaw" producer Frank Peppiatt, who has said of Clark: "It took a long time for him to be discovered, but he deserves his success because he is one of the best musicians alive."

Clark was born into a musical family. His father and uncles were amateur performers who played guitar, banjo, and fiddle at small socials in the Washington, D.C., area. While a child, Clark toyed with a cigar-box ukelele his father made for him; by his teens he had graduated to the banjo and guitar, both of which he mastered without learning how to read music. Soon he was playing with his family and contemplating a show business career. Clark was also an excellent athlete as a youngster. He was invited to spring training by the St. Louis Browns but had no money for the train fare to Florida. He also boxed professionally as a light heavyweight, winning fifteen bouts before losing one and deciding to retire.

At the age of fourteen Clark won the prestigious banjo competition at the National Country Music Championships in Warrenton, Virginia. He won again in 1948 and earned television contracts in Washington, D.C., and occasional appearances at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. By 1950 he had his own band and had added fiddle, piano, trumpet, trombone, and drums to his list of instruments played. He also worked up a comedy act that he performed during the band’s breaks, and he discovered that he enjoyed making people laugh.

Slowly Clark began to make his way in the competitive country music industry. In the mid-1950s he played lead guitar first for Jimmy Dean’s Texas Wildcats, then for the Marvin Rainwater Ensemble. A 1956 guest

appearance on the "Arthur Godfrey Show" led to even wider exposure; by 1960 he was touring the nation and playing Las Vegas as backup to Wanda Jackson and Hank Thompson. In 1962 Clark got the chance to be a guest host of "The Tonight Show," and he played the rural wisecracker so successfully that other television offers poured in. He appeared several times as Cousin Roy and Big Mama Halsey on "The Beverly Hillbillies" and was a guest star on numerous variety shows.

His early albums, Lightning Fingers of Roy Clark, Superpicker, and Yesterday When I Was Young did well on the country charts; the latter also made the pop charts. In 1969 Clark was working with "The Jonathan Winters Show" when he was asked to co-host a country comedy/variety series on CBS. He agreed, and "Hee Haw," starring Clark and Buck Owens, premiered in May of 1969.

Fast-paced but uncompromisingly hokey, "HeeHaw" was an instant hit, not only among rural viewers, but with mainstream audiences as well. Country Music U.S.A.author Bill C. Malone observed that the show’s appeal "suggested that the humor of country music was more traditional than its music" but added that the performers in the ensemble cast "won a national exposure through the show that most earlier country comedians had only dreamed of."

"HeeHaw" was more than just a silly comedy program, however. Each episode featured an old-fashioned gospel quartet number, with Clark providing vocals and guitar accompaniment, and both hosts were given a solo song in almost every show. Clark used his solo time primarily to perform his guitar and banjo instrumentals, some of which bore little resemblance to the stereotypical hillbilly tenor of "HeeHaw.". While one week he might pick the ever-popular "Orange Blossom Special" or "Jesse James," the next week he would offer a jazz tune like "St. Louis Blues" or "Georgia on My Mind."

Clark’s performance styles likewise were quite varied, from traditional stringband methods to complex classical fingering to innovative uses of a guitar pick. CBS cancelled "HeeHaw" in 1971 because the network wanted to urbanize its image, but the show continued in syndication. It is still on the air throughout rural America, the longest continuously-running television program in history.

Surprisingly, "HeeHaw" consumes only three to five weeks of Clark’s time each year. The rest of the time he travels, giving live performances and appearing on television talk shows, variety specials, and charity telethons. In The Encyclopedia of Country & Western Music, Rick Marschall suggested that because of his engaging personality, Clark "is more popular in performance than on record…. His voice can be described as a permanently hoarse tenor, and the emotion he brings to heart-songs sounds like every drop of feeling has been wrung out for the task." It is as a comedian and an instrumentalist that Clark has made his mark, however. Long-time friend Jimmy Dean is quoted in The Encyclopedia of Folk, Country, and Western Music as saying of Clark: "Everybody loves him. When he walks out on stage with his bungling attitude as though he didn’t know what was going to happen next, the audience is immediately on his side. It’s like cheering for the underdog or the hometown boy."

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Country star Roy Clark, the guitar virtuoso and singer who headlined the cornpone TV show "Hee Haw" for nearly a quarter century and was known for such hits as "Yesterday When I was Young" and "Honeymoon Feeling," has died. He was 85.

Publicist Jeremy Westby said Clark died Thursday due to complications from pneumonia at home in Tulsa, Okla.

Clark was "Hee Haw" host or co-host for its entire 24-year run, with Buck Owens his best known co-host. The country music and comedy show's last episode aired in 1993, though reruns continued for a few years thereafter.

"'Hee Haw' won't go away. It brings a smile to too many faces," he said in 2004, when the show was distributed on VHS and DVD for the first time.

Clark played the guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, harmonica and other instruments. His skills brought him gigs as guest performer with many top orchestras, including the Boston Pops. In 1976 he headlined a tour of the Soviet Union, breaking boundaries that were usually closed to Americans.

And of course, he also was a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

His hits included "The Tips of My Fingers" (1963), "Yesterday When I Was Young" (1969), "Come Live With Me" (1973) and "Honeymoon Feeling" (1974). He was also known for his instrumental versions of "Malaguena," on 12-string guitar, and "Ghost Riders in the Sky."

He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009, and emotionally told the crowd how moving it was "just to be associated yourself with the members of the Country Music Hall of Fame and imagine that your name will be said right along with all the list."

In his 1994 autobiography, "My Life in Spite of Myself," he said "Yesterday, When I Was Young" had "opened a lot of people's eyes not only to what I could do but to the whole fertile and still largely untapped field of country music, from the Glen Campbells and the Kenny Rogerses, right on through to the Garth Brookses and Vince Gills."

Clark was guest host on "The Tonight Show" several times in the 1960s and 1970s when it was rare for a country performer to land such a role. His fans included not just musicians, but baseball great Mickey Mantle. The Yankees outfielder was moved to tears by "Yesterday When I Was Young" and for years made Clark promise to sing it at his memorial — a request granted after Mantle died in 1995.

Beginning in 1983, Clark operated the Roy Clark Celebrity Theatre in Branson, Missouri, and was one of the first country entertainers to open a theater there. Dozens followed him.

He was a touring artist as late as the 2000s. Over the years, he played at venues around the world: Carnegie Hall in New York, the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo, the Grand Palace in Brussels and the Rossiya Theatre in Moscow.

Clark was born in Meherrin, Virginia, and received his first guitar on his 14th Christmas. He was playing in his father's square dance band at age 15.

In the 1950s, Clark played in bands in the Washington, D.C., area. In 1960, he got the chance to front the band of country singer Wanda Jackson. He also performed regularly in Las Vegas. He got his first recording contract, with Capitol Records, in 1962.

He appeared on Jimmy Dean's TV show "Town and Country Time" and took over the show when Dean left.

In 1997 he released "Roy Clark's Christmas Memories."

Clark told The Associated Press in 2004 that "Hee Haw" was like a family reunion.

"We became a part of the family. The viewers were sort of part owners of the show. They identified with these clowns, and we had good music."

Clark said the hour-long program of country music and corny jokes capped off his career.

"This was the icing on the cake. This put my face and name together."

Former AP writer Joe Edwards contributed to this report.

Singer, Entertainer. He was best known for both his country music and as the long-time co-host of the popular television show "Hee Haw" from 1969 to 1993. He received his first guitar at the age of fourteen and was playing in his father's square dancing band a year later. In the 1950s, he was playing in bands in the Washington D.C. area. In 1960, he got the chance to front the band of country singer Wanda Jackson and later played regularly in Las Vegas. In 1962, he signed his first recording contract with Capitol Records. He went on to produce many hits including "The Tips of My Fingers," (1963) "Yesterday When I Was Young," (1969) "Come Live With Me," (1973) and "Honeymoon Feeling" (1974). Also around this time, he appeared regularly on Jimmy Dean's television show "Town and Country Time" and later took over for Dean when he left the show. In 1969, he became the co-host, along with fellow country music performer Buck Owens, of "Hee Haw," a country comedy and music show that aired for twenty-four years. He also was the guest host of "The Tonight Show" several times during the 1960s and 1970s. He also played various musical instruments and later performed around the world and with numerous prestigious orchestras. In 1983, he opened the Roy Clark Celebrity Theatre in Branson, Missouri and afterwards, other entertainers followed suit. He continued performing around the world in the early 21st Century. He was a long-time member of the Grand Ole Opry and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009. He passed away of complications from pneumonia.

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