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gbullard's profile
Gabe Bullard
Gabe Bullard
Gabe Bullard
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@gbullard

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Gabe BullardVerified account

@gbullard

Journalist. Senior editor, @wamu885. Culture writing here and there. Nieman Fellow, '15. Formerly @1A, @NatGeo, @WFPLNews. Getting an MA.

Washington, DC
gabebullard.com
Joined April 2008

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    Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

    A few words on Hee Haw, following Roy Clark's passing… It is, possibly, one of the most interesting and important shows in American television history. Really. I'm not talking about its jokes or production. Many other things made it interesting and important. Here goes…

    5:44 PM - 15 Nov 2018
    • 564 Retweets
    • 1,722 Likes
    • Jennifer McMullen Kim Randolph Kraus ClaireDeLune (csv) ellen teapot 🇨🇦🏳️‍⚧️ Bill Bartosik Glenn Fleishman Joel Bernstein Ron Rinaldi
    100 replies 564 retweets 1,722 likes
      1. New conversation
      2. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        It debuted on CBS in 1969. It was a country version of Laugh-In, created by two Canadians. The pitch seems pretty crass. CBS's comedy lineup was heavy on rural shows (Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Mayberry RFD). And Laugh-In was a rising hit. Why not combine them?

        1 reply 5 retweets 99 likes
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      3. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        The creators hired some heavy hitters in Canadian comedy, then looked for writers and actors with southern backgrounds. Junior Samples and Lulu Roman, who weren't famous, get attention. But the cast had a lot of notable talent, Clark especially.

        2 replies 2 retweets 105 likes
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      4. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        Clark was one of the best instrumentalists of the genre. Check out this old clip from before Hee Haw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlrcNtH5pu8 … Or this, from a 1979 Hee Haw with Clarence Gatemouth Brown, who was also a stellar instrumentalist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5d8KtpIoEQ …

        20 replies 43 retweets 250 likes
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      5. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        Hee Haw debuted in the summer of 1969. Every critic hated it. Here's the NYT. But it was a hit. After CBS canceled the Smothers Brothers due to censorship issues, Hee Haw took its place.pic.twitter.com/M1ETyUcM61

        2 replies 6 retweets 108 likes
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      6. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        What optics! The Smothers Brothers took on the Nixonian establishment. By not being political in any way at this time, Hee Haw seemed conservative by comparison. A critic said it was “the Spiro Agnew of the CBS lineup," designed for the silent majority.

        1 reply 4 retweets 111 likes
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      7. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        Also, on ABC, Johnny Cash launched a variety show. Critics loved it. It had music beyond only country and there were some topical conversations. Both shows were filmed in Nashville, too, which was very unusual for national programs at the time. Cash's show didn't last long…

        3 replies 2 retweets 105 likes
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      8. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        …Hee Haw almost didn't either—CBS got rid of all the country shows in a move later called The Rural Purge. This wasn't just a matter of taste. Ratings technology had advanced and found that older, more rural audiences were watching these shows. The network wanted young viewers.

        6 replies 3 retweets 99 likes
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      9. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        Hee Haw's last episode on CBS led into "All in the Family." From replacing the Smothers Brothers to leading into Archie Bunker, Hee Haw seems like a weird, twangy blip. Except it went on for 21 more years.

        2 replies 6 retweets 131 likes
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      10. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        FCC regulations had changed to mandate that stations air some non-network programming in prime time. Also, network ownership of television syndicates was limited. Hee Haw went into independent syndication, making new episodes in a really innovative way…

        1 reply 4 retweets 100 likes
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      11. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        …They shot the show in sprints in a Nashville TV news station. Entire seasons took 2-3 weeks to film. All the skits were shot out of sequence, and the musicians played enough songs to appear on a few different episodes throughout the season.

        1 reply 6 retweets 117 likes
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      12. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        There was no live audience, and while Loretta Lynn and Charley Pride may have both played in the same episode, they could have been filmed days apart. Hee Haw was maybe the most efficient show of the time.

        1 reply 10 retweets 144 likes
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      13. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        To make this system work, the show was the first to be edited on a computer. Basically, the producers punched in codes for the skits they filmed and an early computer put it all together. This was the late '60s, early '70s.

        2 replies 11 retweets 176 likes
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      14. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        The show was very popular in syndication. And with only local stations to please, it went from being a crude parody into a kind of celebration. It put country music into millions of American homes that the big networks didn't want to program for.

        2 replies 4 retweets 121 likes
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      15. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        There was another big syndicated music show at this time: Soul Train. It debuted in 1971. Using this same syndication model, a lot of shows that networks passed on began to pop up.

        1 reply 5 retweets 129 likes
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      16. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        By the early '90s, Hee Haw had been re-invented to not be as cornpone. The aesthetic seems like it's trying to appeal to the new wealthy white suburban southerner of the day. The kind who would soon be buying Jeff Foxworthy CDs.

        2 replies 3 retweets 83 likes
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      17. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        Media fragmentation and this audience's changing interests eventually led to Hee Haw's cancelation. But the show was essential to shaping their identity, both to outsiders and to themselves. That's a complicated legacy for the show.

        3 replies 2 retweets 84 likes
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      18. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        We can—and should—talk about the nuances of this legacy all day (I have and certainly will again). Obituaries will point out how Hee Haw was cornpone. It was in a lot of ways. It looks bizarre today. But it was a lot more than a cartoon donkey or a cornfield.

        14 replies 6 retweets 145 likes
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      19. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 15 Nov 2018

        Thanks for reading. I wrote about some of this history in a piece for @BitterSouth, too.http://bittersoutherner.com/the-weird-history-of-hillbilly-tv/ …

        35 replies 32 retweets 588 likes
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      20. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 17 Nov 2018

        If anyone’s interested, I have some artifacts from my research into Hee Haw to share. (Wow, I didn’t think I’d ever use that phrase.)

        2 replies 0 retweets 10 likes
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      21. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 17 Nov 2018

        In 1990, it was reported that Marla Maples had claimed to have appeared on Hee Haw. She hadn't. But the show's producer said he would have her on if she brought along a special guest. They never made it happen. Here's a UPI report on it: https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/03/23/People/3555638168400/ …pic.twitter.com/o54Dm2zFiO

        1 reply 1 retweet 4 likes
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      22. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 17 Nov 2018

        Here are some trade publication ads pushing the show in syndication. Notice the other syndicated shows — Lawrence Welk, game shows, and sitcom reruns. Syndication was home to shows that draw older audiences.pic.twitter.com/XY3RVp24P6

        2 replies 0 retweets 5 likes
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      23. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 17 Nov 2018

        Here's a page from the Congressional Record, when Hee Haw was honored on the Senate floor. The producers also got a few honorariums from the state of Tennessee for promoting television production in Nashville.pic.twitter.com/nKPj9kc3tr

        1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
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      24. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 17 Nov 2018

        Hee Haw used a lot of country stereotypes, including the sexualized farmer's daughter trope. This dates back to the earliest printed hillbilly humor, and continued into the '60s with Elly Mae on the Beverly Hillbillies. On Hee Haw, there were women called "The Hee Haw Honeys."

        1 reply 0 retweets 4 likes
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      25. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 17 Nov 2018

        The show didn't allow cursing, but it did feature women in very skimpy costumes. Here's a trade press ad prominently featuring the "honeys" while also promoting the show for appealing to families. The show's creators attempted a "honeys" spinoff. It didn't go far.pic.twitter.com/fcGfYlOm4K

        2 replies 0 retweets 5 likes
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      26. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 17 Nov 2018

        Here's a trade press ad from the late '80s, pointing out that George H.W. Bush said he watched Hee Haw.pic.twitter.com/tjH7Radc9g

        1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
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      27. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 17 Nov 2018

        Producer Sam Lovullo, who helped launch the show, died last year. I spoke with him several times for research. At one point, he sent me a package of photos and documents, including this picture of Sammy Davis Jr. backstage with Minnie Pearl.pic.twitter.com/C3Nd0XCqwQ

        1 reply 2 retweets 13 likes
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      28. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 17 Nov 2018

        Bringing this back to Roy Clark. Here's a clip from that episode.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypx0TNj7uOs …

        1 reply 0 retweets 8 likes
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      29. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 17 Nov 2018

        Hee Haw drew comparisons to The Johnny Cash Show, on ABC. The two were on in the same years and both were filmed in Nashville. But there were crossovers. Here's Roy on the Cash Show, which, unlike Hee Haw, had a live audience.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8YUwn27mjQ …

        1 reply 0 retweets 6 likes
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      30. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 17 Nov 2018

        And here's Cash on Hee Haw in 1974. By this time, Cash's show was canceled and Hee Haw was in syndication. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-eYpRIgCtk …

        2 replies 0 retweets 6 likes
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      31. Gabe Bullard‏Verified account @gbullard 17 Nov 2018

        There was one other country variety show at this time: The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. It began as a summer replacement for the Smothers Brothers (whose time slot later went to Hee Haw), and lasted one season beyond the Rural Purge on CBS.

        2 replies 0 retweets 7 likes
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      32. Show replies

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