Roy Clark, ‘Hee Haw’ host and country music legend, dies at 85

Roy Clark, the country music singer and co-host of “Heehaw,” the country-infused variety show, has died at the age of 85 on Thursday at the age of 85. He died from complications of pneumonia at home in Tulsa, Oklahoma, according to a representative.

Though success didn’t come early for Clark, he became one of the people to popularize country music for a wider audience. Starting in 1969, Clark was either a host or co-host — with Buck Owens — of “Heehaw,” which was on the air for 24 years.

As for his solo career, Clark’s hit songs include “Yesterday, When I Was Young” and “Thank God and Greyhound.”

Outside of his hosting duties, Clark was known as an expert picker, a multi-instrumentalist, and one of the first artists to play in Branson, Missouri, which is now a popular family vacation destination in the Ozarks.

In the 1970s, due to the popularity of “Heehaw,” Clark would fill in for Johnny Carson as “Tonight Show” host.

Born in 1933 in Virginia, Clark was inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009. He won seven CMA Awards and named Entertainer of the Year in 1973.

Clark is survived by Barbara, his wife of sixty-one years, his sons Roy Clark II and wife Karen, Dr. Michael Meyer and wife Robin, Terry Lee Meyer, Susan Mosier and Diane Stewart, and his grandchildren: Brittany Meyer, Michael Meyer, Caleb Clark, Josiah Clark and his sister, Susan Coryell.

Read original story Roy Clark, ‘Hee Haw’ Host and Country Music Legend, Dies at 85 At TheWrap