Jim Hager

Musician, Entertainer. He, along with his twin brother Jon Hager, is best remembered as a regular cast performer on the television series “Hee Haw” that ran from 1969 until 1986, in which they were known for their rapid delivery of cornball one-liners. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he and his brother were adopted by Jack and Frances Hager, a Methodist minister and a schoolteacher. They began their musical career by singing in the church choir and as teenagers they formed a musical-comedy duo and sang on a Saturday morning WGN-TV series show. After graduating from Maine Township High School, Park Ridge, Illinois in 1959, he and his brother served in the US Army, performing at Officer’s Clubs and Non-commissioned Officer’s Clubs in the US and Europe. After leaving the military, he and his brother moved to California and performed as the Hager Twins, the Hager Brothers, or The Hagers at the Ledbetter’s Night Club in Los Angeles along with other famous acts, like The Carpenters, The New Christy Minstrels, John Denver, Steve Martin and Kenny Rogers. They also worked at Disneyland, where country singer Buck Owens saw them perform, signing them to contracts and brought them into “Hee Haw.” In addition to Owens, they served as opening acts for country singers Tex Ritter, Wynn Stewart, Billie Jo Spears and Lefty Frizzell. In 1969 they signed with Capitol Records and hit the country charts at #41 with “Gotta Get To Oklahoma (‘Cause California’s Gettin’ To Me)”. and also charted Merle Haggard’s “Silver Wings”, which was an on the B-Side of Haggard’s “Working Man Blues.” They recorded six albums, three for Capitol (“The Hagers” (1970), “Two Hagers are Better Than One” (1970), “Motherhood, Apple Pie and the Flag” (1971)), one for Barnaby Records (“Music on the Country Side” (1972)), and one for Elektra-Asylum Records (“The Hagers” (1974)). His television appearances include the TV-movie “Twin Detectives” with Lillian Gish, where he starred as Tony Thomas, and the original “The Bionic Woman” in which he played ‘Verm’ in the February 11, 1978 episode “Sanctuary Earth.” He and his brother continued to perform at comedy clubs from the 1980s. He also appeared in TV commercials and with Florence Henderson in “Country Kitchen” on The Nashville Network (TNN). He died in Nashville, Tennessee of an apparent heart attack at the age of 66.