NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — We are celebrating the 70-year anniversary of NewsChannel 5. You may have seen some of our pieces highlighting the people and shows that built this station. You know we couldn't miss this one. For more than a decade, a show was taped here that brought people joy with a very special blend of comedy and music. This is the story of "Hee Haw."
In 1968, Channel 5, then-called WLAC, opened a new studio on James Robertson Parkway. They did it up big, bringing in CBS stars of the day. That notably included "The Andy Griffith Show" star George Lindsey. He'd be back many more times in the years to come.
By 1969, "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" abruptly ended and CBS was searching for a summer replacement series. The network wanted something in the style of Laugh-In but with a different flavor. The pitch was for a show with a rural charm. The sets might include a barn, maybe a field, maybe a truck stop.
"I used to be the comedian in the strip joints in Dallas, Texas," said original series star Lulu Roman. "I had to learn how to conduct myself! I was screamin' crazy back then."
Friend musician Buck Owens recommended Lulu for one of the roles this new show was looking to fill.
"They needed one boy next door, one fat dumb man, one fat dumb woman," Lulu said. "Buck said, 'I got your girl! She's in Dallas!'"
That new Channel 5 studio is where you'd find Kornfield Kounty. In a studio that's now 5+, cast and crew gathered for a few weeks in the fall and a few weeks in late spring. They'd tape an entire season of "Hee Haw." The first stage manager was Jim Norton.
"It put country comedy into every house in America," Jim said.
The boom mic operator was Glen Trew.
"Right here is the very one I used on the 'Hee Haw' show," Glen said, motioning to a huge piece of equipment.
The first time she met Carol Burnett, Lulu's mouth dropped.
"She said, 'Shut your mouth, child, you're fixin' to be one of us!" Lulu remembered.
Sure enough, "Hee Haw" was a hit. The success wasn't just in rural areas. It was famously popular in major cities.
"Our biggest audience was New York," Lulu said.
For the people who lived it, that broad appeal of "Hee Haw" comes down to a few factors. One was a certain authenticity.
"At Channel 5, it was never lip-synced, all live music," Jim said.
"On 'Hee Haw,' you did it live or you didn't do it," Lulu added.
Perhaps even more importantly was the camaraderie was real. Audiences felt that.
"It was fun, not only for the people on the show or people at home but for the crew," Glen said. "All the smiles you saw on the actors, that was real. Fun is contagious. Having a good time is contagious."
"What you saw on that little tube was what was going on in the studio," Jim added.
The show wasn't usually polished and perfect.
"Occasionally, some of the outtakes or the missteps were left in," Glen said.
That was part of the appeal.
"How do you describe the comedy on Hee Haw?" I asked Jim.
"Corny," he smiled.
"The punchlines you could see coming a mile away, but we laughed anyway," Glen continued.
Everyone on set was welcome to give ideas.
"It was a big family," Jim said.
"Hee Haw" was shot at Channel 5 until the early 80s when it moved to Opryland. "Hee Haw" ended its run in 1993 after more than 650 episodes.
Lulu's been open about her journey overcoming substance abuse during the years of the show. In later seasons, she began performing gospel music on "Hee Haw."
"After I gave my heart to Jesus, the Lord started working on me and making me into quite a different person than when I started," she said.
"Hee Haw" is a document of Lulu's journey.
"She was, I would say, exactly as you saw her on the show," Glen said of Lulu. "She was brash. She was loud. She was funny."
"She was genuine," Jim added. "She was funny without having to try to be funny. She had a heart as big as the whole outdoors."
"I was so excited to get to be a part of it, and to get to do it, and meet all these neat people," Lulu said of her time on "Hee Haw." "It was my family. I loved every second of it, I did."
After long careers in broadcasting, Glen and Jim still cite "Hee Haw" as their favorite project.
For Lulu, there's something so special about still hearing from people who loved what this show did.
"It really is a heart thing," she said. "It really is precious that people still remember it. That's rich. It is."
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
I LOVE Forrest's stories on the history of NewsChannel 5 as we celebrate our 70th anniversary. Here's a story I wasn't familiar with until recently. Eudora Boxley had a live cooking show in the early days of the station. She may have been the first black on air at NewsChannel 5 and perhaps, one of the first African Americans to have a TV cooking show anywhere in the country. It wasn't until her grandson reached out to me that I even heard of Ms. Boxley. Thankfully, I was able to connect him with Forest to learn more about this great nugget in NewsChannel 5 history.
-Lelan Statom
