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On Thursday, November 15, country music star Roy Clark passed away in his Tulsa, Oklahoma home at the age of 85-year-old due to complications from penumonia.
Clark was best known for hosting Hee Haw, a nationally televised country variety show. Hee Hawran from 1969 to 1997. In addition to Hee Haw, Clark frequently guest-hosted The Tonight Show in place of legendary host Johnny Carson during the 1970’s.
In the year 2009, Clark was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Clark’s publicist was the first to announce the news of Roy’s passing.
Roy Clark Cause of Death: Complications From Pneumonia.
Clark passed away on Thursday, November 15, at his Tulsa, Oklahoma home due to complications from pneumonia. He was 85-years-old at the time of his death.
Roy Clark Life & Career
Clark was born in Meherrin, Virginia, on April 15, 1933. After being born in Virginia, Clark grew up in Staten Island, New York and spent his teenage years in Washington, D.C.
At the age of 14-years-old, Clark began playing banjo, guitar, and mandolin, and by 15-years-old, Clark had already won two National Banjo Championships.
By 1955, he was a regular on Jimmy Dean’s Washington, D.C., television program, however, he was eventually fired for repetitive lateness. However, because of this connection, Dean asked Clark to appear on The Tonight Show when he was made the host in the late 1960s. His appearances on The Tonight Show marked his first exposure to a national audience.
In the year 1963, Clark signed a record deal with Capitol Records, where he would go on to record and release three top ten hits. Following his stint with Capitol Records, Clark signed with Dot Records, which was later acquired by ABC Records.
In 1969, Clark landed the role he would become best known for, as he began hosting Hee Haw with Buck Owens on CBS. While the show was canceled in 1971, it was in syndication until the 1990s.