About Roy Clark
Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer, musician and television presenter. He is best known for having co-hosted Hee Haw, a nationally televised country music variety show, with Buck Owens, from 1969 to 1993. Clark was an important and influential figure in country music, both as a performer and in helping to popularize the genre. Clark was highly regarded and renowned as a guitarist, banjo player and fiddler. During the 1970s, Clark frequently guest-hosted for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show; he also enjoyed a 30-million viewership for Hee Haw. He was skilled in the traditions of many genres, including classical guitar, country music, Latin music, bluegrass and pop. He had hit songs as a country music vocalist (e.g., "Yesterday, When I Was Young" and "Thank God and Greyhound") and his instrumental skill had an enormous effect on generations of bluegrass and country musicians. He became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1987 and, in 2009, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He published his autobiography, My Life—in Spite of Myself, in 1994. The first musical instrument Clark ever played was a four-string cigar box with a ukulele neck attached to it, which he picked up in elementary school. As for his banjo style, Clark said in 1985, "When I started playing, you didn't have many choices to follow and Earl Scruggs was both of them." Clark won the National Banjo Championship in 1947 and 1948.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.