Country Comic, Singer Archie Campbell Dies
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Country comedian Archie Campbell, who played the cigar-chomping barber on television’s “Hee Haw†program, died Saturday of kidney problems and other complications from a heart attack he suffered in June. He was 72.
Campbell was a Grand Ole Opry member and star of the “Hee-Haw†show. Born in Bulls Gap, Tenn., he originally wanted to be a painter, but became a singer and country comedian.
While his paintings of East Tennessee scenes won praise from critics, Campbell was better known as the barber who recited a country bumpkin form of Pig Latin called “spoonerisms†on television.
Campbell, juxtaposing the letters in phrases of popular nursery rhymes and fairy tales, created the “Pee Little Thrigs,†“Beeping Sleuty†and “Rindercella.â€
After service in the Navy in World War II, Campbell moved to Knoxville and began practicing his skills as an entertainer, first appearing on a popular radio show called the “Midday Merry-Go-Round.â€
He later had his own radio and TV show and was credited with launching the careers of such country music legends as guitarist Chet Atkins, Carl Smith and Flatt and Scruggs.
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