Buck Owens From ‘Hee Haw’ Crossed Paths With Merle Haggard Before Dying At 76

Those looking for a very particular brand of humor that’s distinctively “country” had to look no further than Hee Haw, which also featured music that perfectly matched its tone and theme. To keep viewers hooked, it also featured a strong cast of personalities. Among some of the most notable was Buck Owens, who was tasked with the weighty duties of co-host. But what of his career after the series ended in 1993?

The esteemed other half to Roy Clark was born as Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. on August 12, 1929. A country soul since birth, he was a native of Texas and got his nickname thanks to a donkey. His family farm played host to a mule named Buck and, according to the biography About Buck, when the future actor was just three or four, he marched into his house and announced that his name was also Buck too.

Blending his professional interests

Fittingly, as a future Hee Haw co-host, Owens got his start in music. He initially gained recognition as a guitarist and vocalist in the Bakersfield, California music scene, known for its distinctive and influential country sound. Owens co-founded the band The Buckaroos and signed a record deal with Capitol Records in 1957, combining honky-tonk and rockabilly to create a very well-received sound. Owens achieved his breakthrough with the release of “Act Naturally,” his first number-one hit on the country charts.

RELATED: The Cast Of ‘Hee Haw’ Then And Now 2023

The late ’60s, all of the ’70s, and most of the ’80s ended up dominated by Hee Haw for Owens, exacerbated thanks to his group, the Buckaroos. Thanks to the talent Owens brought, the series, fashioned after Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, stretched on for 231 episodes across 24 seasons.

Did Merle Haggard and Buck Owens get along?

By 1996, Buck Owens would be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. If any project needed a definitive name and face of country, Owens quickly established himself as a contender for the position. So, it’s no surprise rumors told of a feud between Owens and Merle Haggard. For the longest time, the two Bakersfield legends did not collaborate and one of Haggard’s courtships included Bonnie Owens, Buck’s former wife.

On the other side of things, Haggard was reportedly jealous of Owens as a businessman, recognizing his savvy through the murky nature of their relationship. The tension melted away when the two did finally perform on stage, singing “Beer Can Hill” to great effect.

The majority of Owens’ big successes happened before Hee Haw. So, the variety show was one of the very last projects he took part in before he died in 2006 at the age of 76, enduring through the incredible impact he’s had on country music.