Music Legend Roy Clark Dead At 85 (Week in Review)

Music Legend Roy Clark Dead At 85 was a top story on Thursday: (2911) Roy Clark, the legendary 'superpicker', Grammy, CMA and ACM award winner, Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member and co-host of the famed 'Hee Haw' television series, died on Thursday (Nov 15) at the age of 85 due to complications from pneumonia at home in Tulsa, Okla.

Roy Clark's decade-defying success could be summed up in one word - sincerity. Sure, he was one of the world's finest multi-instrumentalists, and one of the first cross-over artists to land singles on both the pop and country charts. He was the pioneer who turned Branson, Mo., into the live music capitol of the world (the Ozark town today boasts more seats than Broadway). And his talents turned Hee Haw into the longest-running syndicated show in television history.

But the bottom line for Roy Clark was the honest warmth he gave to his audiences. Bob Hope summed it up when he told Roy, "Your face is like a fireplace."

"A TV camera goes right through your soul," says the man who starred on Hee Haw for 24 years and was a frequent guest host for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. "If you're a bad person, people pick that up. I'm a firm believer in smiles. I used to believe that everything had to be a belly laugh. But I've come to realize that a real sincere smile is mighty powerful." Read more - here.