Bulls Gap, Tennessee, USA
November 7, 1914 - August 29, 1987

No words can adequately describe the multi-talented Archie Campbell. Side-splitting comes to mind when recalling his numerous characters on HEE HAW, but notably, Archie was a country recording artist, script writer, sculptor, poet, artist and two-handicap golfer.

Born in Bulls Gap in his native Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, Archie made his entertainment debut as a radio announcer on WNOX Knoxville in 1936. There he first worked alongside Roy Acuff on a daily show entitled The Midday Merry-Go-Round. Archie subsequently worked at several radio stations, with time out to serve in the Navy during World War II before returning to WNOX. In 1949, Archie went to rival station WROL for a show called Country Playhouse, which eventually became Knoxville's first country music television show, on WROL-TV. In 1958, Archie moved to Nashville and joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry as a comedian on the "Prince Albert Show," replacing the recently deceased Rod Brasfield. That year Archie also launched a career as a comedy recording artist with RCA Victor.

In 1969, Archie joined HEE HAW as cast member and writer. From the show's inception, Archie was the comedic foundation of some of its most popular skits and characters, including his own characters as the gregarious barber spinning yarns to a barber shop full of customers, the leering doctor, and a gavel-pounding judge. He quickly became a household name, delighting audiences with his clever spoonerisms "Rindercella," "Beeping Sleauty," and "Pee Little Thrigs," as well as "The Cockfight" and "Hockey Here Tonight." He was named "Comedian of the Year" by the Country Music Association in 1969.

In addition to his HEE HAW performing and writing, Archie sold rural landscape paintings and limited edition prints, owned an art gallery in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, served on the Knoxville School Board and in local politics, and remained an active comedic performer and speaker until his death in 1987.