The Corn Was Green
The Inside Story of Hee Haw
$29.95
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About the Book
Reviled by critics but beloved by an extraordinarily faithful audience, Hee Haw was seen in over 15 million homes a week during the height of its popularity. Many years after going off the air, Hee Haw remains the longest running variety show of its type in television history, having aired for nearly 600 episodes during its decades-long run. This book tells the complete story of how one of America’s classic television programs was created by two Canadians in Beverly Hills.
Series co-creator John Aylesworth provides an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at some of Hee Haw’s best—and worst—moments, from the show’s shoestring beginnings in a tiny Nashville studio; to the “Great Country Massacre of 1971,” which saw the cancellation of Hee Haw, The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and several other “country shows” on CBS; to its unprecedented success in syndication. Richly illustrated with dozens of the author’s personal photographs and memorabilia, the book also includes one appendix providing a complete list of Hee Haw episodes from 1969 to 1992.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
John Aylesworth
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 248
Bibliographic Info: 120 photos, appendix, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3338-4
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
Prologue 3
Introduction: In the Beginning 5
1. Thank You, Jimmy Dean 11
2. How Hee Haw Was Hatched 15
3. A Power Breakfast 20
4. The Miracle 22
5. Nashville Bound 30
6. Strangers in a Strange Land 35
7. Bring in the Clowns 38
8. A Star Is Born 46
9. The Big Party 51
10. The Cornfield 55
11. The Cornfield—Part Two 57
12. Putting It All Together 59
13. Hee Haw Hits the Air 63
14. Surprise! We’re a Hit! 65
15. Here We Go Again 68
16. Hee Haw Rides Again 76
17. Here We Go Again, Again! 81
18. Junior Goes Hollywood 89
19. A Weekend As Big as Your Fist 93
20. “The Murder Game” 98
21. The Great CBS Country Massacre 103
22. Saving Our “Ass” 106
23. “New York State of Mind” 111
24. The Long Wait 117
25. Hee Haw Is Back! 120
26. Happy Days Are Here Again 122
27. Moonlighting 127
28. Hee Haw—The Next Six Years 130
29. John Henry Faulk 146
30. “Keep on Truckin’” 150
31. “The Big Event”—Hee Haw’s Tenth Anniversary Celebration 155
32. The “Hee Haw Theater” 163
33. The Hee Haw Honeys 167
34. Grady Nutt—“The Prime Minister of Humor” 171
35. Hee Haw—The Movie 179
36. The End of the Beginning 183
37. The Beginning of the End 188
38. The Nashville Palace 196
39. The Day the Chanting Stopped 199
Epilogue: Summing Up 205
The Creators of Hee Haw 209
Appendix: Hee Haw Episodes 213
Sources 229
Index 231
Book Reviews & Awards
“entertaining…engaging and funny account…amusing…extremely well-written”—Library Journal.