Roy Clark, Country Music Legend and 'Hee Haw' Host Dead at 85

A rep for the Grammy, CMA and ACM Award victor tells us Clark died Thursday morning at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

He was 85 years old, and died Thursday at his home in Tulsa, Okla. due to complications from pneumonia. Clark even headlined a tour in the Soviet Union in 1976, when that was still a rare opportunity for American performers.

Hee Haw co-hosts Roy Clark, right, and Buck Owens, pictured on November 26, 1969. Roy played the guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, harmonica and many other instruments. After the dissolution of Jackson's band, Clark savvily hired her old manager, who secured him appearances on The Tonight Show and Beverly Hillbillies.His first album, 1962's The Lightning Fingers of Roy Clark, was soon followed by his first hit single, "The Tips of My Fingers", the next year. He had almost two-dozen Top 40 country hits, including "The Tip of My Fingers", "Yesterday, When I Was Young" and "I Never Picked Cotton".

In 1982 Clark won the Grammy for best country instrumental performance for "Alabama Jubilee".

Clark's show "Hee Haw" - a country music variety show - ran for 24 years. making it one of the longest syndicated television shows in history. Performing at storied venues such as New York's Carnegie Hall, the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo and the Rossiya Theatre in Moscow, Clark remained a popular touring act as late as the 2000s. He is survived by his wife, Barbara, as well as his four children and five grandchildren. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.