Archie Campbell

Actor, Comedian. This native of Bulls Gap, Tennessee, got his start in 1936 co-hosting a radio show with Roy Acuff on Knoxville station WNOX. After one year he relocated to Chattanooga where he worked in radio until joining the Navy in 1941. He retuned from the service to Knoxville where he helped launch “Country Playhouse”, the city’s first country music television show. In 1958 he moved to Nashville where he was chosen to be a comedian for the Grand Ole Opry. Soon after his Opry debut he signed a recording contract for RCA. In 1968 he became a writer and star for the popular country variety show Hee-Haw. In 1969, his success as a recording artist and actor led him to be named “Comedian of the Year” by the Country Music Association. In addition to his comedic skills he was an accomplished artist, owing his own art gallery, active in politics, having served on the Knoxville school board and he was an avid golfer who built one of America’s first lighted golf courses. He continued to perform until his death.