Posted: 4/3/2008 7:22:02 PM EDT
My grandfather loved this show.   - "Hee Haw Salutes...". Two or three times in each episode, Hee Haw would salute a selected town (or a guest star's hometown) and announce its population, which was sometimes altered for levity, at which point the entire cast would then 'pop up' from the cornfield, shouting "SAA-LUTE!!" (sometimes after the salute, Archie Campbell would pronounce the saluted town spelled backwards.) - The Fence, Two or three times during each show a cast member, standing in front of a high wooden fence, would tell a one liner joke. (Example: "I crossed an elephant with a gopher." Everybody in unison: "What'ja get?" "Some awfully big holes in the backyard.") After the punchline, a portion of the fence would swing up and hit the joketeller on the rear end-- regardless of their gender. - Archie's Barber Shop, with Archie Campbell, regular customer Roy Clark, and two or three other regulars sitting in the "waiting chairs" (on lesser occasions Junior Samples would be the one going into the barber's chair). Campbell would share comic dialogue with Clark (Campbell's legendary "That's Good, That's Bad" routine immediately comes to mind) or tell one of his "backwards fairy tales" such as "Rindercella". - "Hee-Haw's All-Jug Band" A musical segment, featuring most of the female cast members, singing a comical song, in which the punchline differed each week. Regular Lulu Roman "played" moonshine jugs (by which, she would blow air over the spout, creating a "humming sound"), which partially explains the segment's title (as well as the fact that "jugs" is off-color euphemism for breasts). Minnie Pearl introduced the segment each week, loudly announcing, "We're gonna play now!"; at the end of the song, she would similarly conclude "We're through playin' now!" - "Hey Grandpa! What's for supper?" Grandpa Jones is cleaning a window pane (with no glass in it) and recites a dinner menu in poetic verse. Often, he would describe a delicious, country-style meal (e.g., chicken and biscuits smothered in rich gravy, and collard greens), and the audience would reply approvingly, "yum-m yum-m!"; although sometimes he would serve a less-than spectacular meal (thawed out TV dinners), to which the cast would reply, "yuck!" One notable run-through of the routine had Grandpa saying "Ah ain't got nuthin!", which would be the only time he ever got booed during this routine. - The Cornfield, patterned after Laugh-In's "Joke Wall," with cast members and guest stars 'popping up' to tell jokes and one-liners. Until his death, "Stringbean" played the field's 'scarecrow,' delivering one-liners before being shouted down by the 'crow' on his shoulder; after his 1973 murder, he was not replaced, and the 'scarecrow' simply was seen in the field as a memorial. On occasion, personalities from TV stations that carried Hee Haw would appear in this segment with Owens or Clark. - The Hee Haw Gospel Quartet: This was one of the few serious segments of the show, and always featured near the show's end. Clark, Owens, Grandpa Jones and Kenny Price would sing a gospel hymn. Several of their performances were released as recordings. At the end of the show hosts Clark and Owens, backed by the entire cast, sang the song: "We loved the time we spent with you, To share a song and a laugh or two, May your pleasures be many, your troubles be few... And ending with Owens and Clark saying "So long everybody! We'll see you next week on...HEE-HAW!!!" and my personal favorite: "Where, oh where, are you tonight? Why did you leave me here all alone? I searched the world over, and I thought I'd found true love, Then you met another, and PFFFT! You was gone!" |
