Roy Linwood Clark (born April 15, 1933) is an American country music musician and performer. He is best known for hosting Hee Haw, a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969–1992. Clark has been an important and influential figure in country music, both as a performer and helping to popularize the genre. Most of all, he is an entertainer, with an amiable personality and a telegenic presence.
During the 1970s, Clark frequently guest-hosted for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show and enjoyed a 30-million viewership for Hee Haw. Clark is highly regarded as a guitarist and banjo player, and is also skilled in classical guitar and several other instruments. Although he has had hit songs as a pop vocalist (e.g., "Yesterday, When I Was Young" and "Thank God And Greyhound"), his instrumental skill has had an enormous effect on generations of bluegrass and country musicians. He is a member of the Grand Ole Opry and The Country Music Hall of Fame. Born in Meherrin, Virginia, Clark grew up in Staten Island, New York[1] and lived as a teenager in Washington, D.C. where his father worked at the Washington Navy Yard. At 14, Clark began playing banjo, guitar, and mandolin, and by age 15 he had already won two National Banjo Championships and world banjo/guitar flatpick championships. He was simultaneously pursuing a sporting career, first as a baseball player, and then as a boxer, before dedicating himself solely to music. At 17, he had his first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry.
By 1955, he was a regular on Jimmy Dean's Washington, D.C. television program. Dean, who valued punctuality among musicians in his band, the Texas Wildcats, fired Clark for habitual tardiness, telling him "you're the most talented person I've ever fired." In 1960, Clark went out to Las Vegas where he worked as 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 during the latter part of her rockabilly period.
When Dean was tapped to host The Tonight Show in the early 1960s, he asked Clark to appear, introducing him to a national audience for the first time. Subsequently, Clark appeared on The Beverly Hillbillies as a recurring character (actually two, he played businessman Roy Halsey and Roy's mother, Myrtle). Once, on an episode of the Sunday evening Jackie Gleason Show dedicated to country music, Clark played a blistering rendition of "Down Home". Later, he even appeared on an episode of The Odd Couple where he played "Malagueña".
In 1963, Clark signed to Capitol Records and had three top 10 hits. He switched to Dot Records and again scored hits. He later recorded for ABC Records, which had acquired Dot, and MCA Records, which absorbed the ABC label.
Clark as "Cousin Roy" on The Beverly Hillbillies, 1968. Cousin Roy was selling medicine and willing to do whatever it took to do that.
In 1969, Clark and Buck Owens were the hosts of Hee Haw. The show was dropped by CBS Television in 1971 but continued to run in syndication for twenty-one more years. During its tenure, Clark was a member of the Million Dollar Band and participated in a host of comedy sketches.
In 1983, Clark opened the Roy Clark Celebrity Theatre in Branson, Missouri, becoming the first country music star to have his own venue there, and thus beginning a trend which led to Branson becoming a center of live music performance, as it is today. Many of the celebrities who play in Branson first performed at the Roy Clark Celebrity Theatre. Clark frequently played in Branson during the 1980s and 1990s. He has since sold the venue (now owned by the Hughes Brothers and renamed the Hughes American Family Theatre) and gone back to a fairly light touring schedule, which usually includes a performance with Ramona Jones and the Jones Family Band at their annual tribute to Clark's old Hee Haw co-star Grandpa Jones in Mountain View, Arkansas.
In addition to his musical skill, Clark has often displayed his talents as a comedian and actor. During his years on Hee Haw, Clark entertained with numerous comedy sketches, including a recurring feature where he played the clerk of the "Empty Arms Hotel". Clark released several albums of his comedic performances, to varying critical acclaim and commercial success.
Clark has endorsed Mosrite, Gretsch, and many other brands of guitar during his career. He currently endorses Heritage Guitars, which makes a Roy Clark model.[2]
On August 22, 1987, Clark was made a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He plays an annual benefit concert at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, the proceeds of which go to fund scholarships for aspiring musicians.
For many years Clark has made his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Roy Clark Elementary School in Tulsa's Union School District was named in his honor in 1978.
On May 17, 2009, Clark was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame along with Barbara Mandrell and Charlie McCoy.[3]
On September 23, 2010, Clark sang God Bless America during the seventh-inning stretch at Dodger Stadium in a game featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers versus the San Diego Padres.
On April 12, 2011, Clark was honored by the Oklahoma House of Representatives. He will be honored by the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame as Oklahoma's Music Ambassador for Children and will be presented with a commendation from Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin.
