Remembering Roy Clark
• Roy Clark, legendary “superpicker” guitarist and singer, Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member, Grammy, ACM and CMA Award-winner and longtime co-host of Hee Haw, died at his home in Tulsa, OK due to complications from pneumonia. He was 85 years old.
Music came naturally to Roy Linwood Clark, who was born April 15, 1933 in Meherrin, VA. His father was a proficient musician who played guitar, fiddle, and banjo. Young Roy followed his father’s example, playing quite often with him as a teenager. By the age of 20, Clark was playing professionally, making a name for himself around his native Virginia. He later toured with Grandpa Jones — whom he would work with years later on Hee Haw, and performed on a show that was fronted by Hank Williams.
Clark was always known for the honest warmth he projected to his audiences. Bob Hope summed up that quality best as he once told Clark, “Your face is like a fireplace.” In addition to his lengthy run on Hee Haw, Clark was also respected enough to serve as a frequent guest host for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. “A TV camera goes right through your soul,” Clark observed. “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.”
CMA CEO Sarah Trahern said, “Our community and fans around the world have lost a strong ambassador for Country music. Roy was one of those instantly recognizable artists. I was blessed to get to work with him on many occasions and I will forever smile thinking of him Pickin’ and Grinnin’.”
Clark was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009. He was preceded in death by his beloved grandson Elijah Clark, who passed away at the age of 14 on September 24, 2018. Roy is survived by Barbara, his wife of sixty-one years, his sons Roy Clark II and wife Karen, Dr. Michael Meyer and wife Robin,Terry Lee Meyer, Susan Mosier and Diane Stewart, four grandchildren: Brittany Meyer, Michael Meyer, Caleb Clark and Josiah Clark and his sister, Susan Coryell. A memorial celebration will be held soon in Tulsa.
