Archie Campbell
Archie Campbell in 1977
Background information
Born	(1914-11-07)November 7, 1914 Bulls Gap, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	August 29, 1987(1987-08-29) (aged 72) Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Comedy country
Occupations	Musician comedian actor
Labels	RCA Victor

Archie Campbell (November 7, 1914 – August 29, 1987)^[1] was an American comedian, writer, and star ofHee Haw, acountry-flavored network television variety show. He was also a recording artist with several hits forRCA Victor in the 1960s.

Born in Bulls Gap, Tennessee, Campbell studied art atMars Hill College inMars Hill, North Carolina, after which he began a radio career atWNOX in Knoxville. After a year alongsideRoy Acuff on theirMid-Day Merry-Go-Round,^[1] he relocated toWDOD inChattanooga, where he stayed until joining theU.S. Navy in 1941.^[1] At the end ofWorld War II, Campbell returned to WNOX. While working at the station he helped create theTennessee Barn Dance.^[2]

Campbell left WNOX for rivalWROL, where he helped start Knoxville's first country-music television show (onWROL-TV),Country Playhouse, that premiered in 1952 and ran until 1958.^[1]

In 1959^[2] Campbell moved toNashville to replaceRod Brasfield on the nationally syndicated Prince Albert segment of theGrand Ole Opry.^[1] Shortly after, he signed a contract withRCA Victor, and one of his early singles, "Trouble in the Amen Corner" reached the 1960 country music top 25.^[1] After an unsuccessful stint with theStarday label, Campbell returned to RCA Victor in 1966 and had three top-30 singles: "The Men in My Little Girl's Life" (1966), "The Dark End of the Street" (1968), and "Tell It Like It Is" (1968).^[1] He was named Comedian of the Year in 1969 by theCountry Music Association.

One of Campbell's "signature" routines was to tell stories in "spoonerism" form, with the first letters of words in some phrases intentionally switched for comic effect. The best-known of these stories was "RinderCella", his retelling of the fairy tale "Cinderella", about the girl who "slopped her dripper" (dropped her slipper). Campbell once told the "RinderCella" story on an episode of the game showJuvenile Jury. At the conclusion of the story, hostJack Barry said, "That's one of the funniest stories Carchie Ampbell tells." All of Campbell's spoonerism routines borrowed heavily from comedy routines performed by Colonel Stoopnagle on the radio showStoopnagle and Budd in the 1930s. (Colonel Stoopnagle was the stage name ofF. Chase Taylor, 1897–1950.)

Campbell also performed a routine with various partners generally known as "That's Bad/That's Good". Campbell would state a troublesome occurrence; when the partner would sympathize by saying, "Oh, that's bad," Campbell would quickly counter, "No, that's good!", and then state a good result from the previous occurrence. When the partner would say, "Oh, that's good!", Campbell would immediately counter with "No, that's bad!" and tell the new result, and so on.

Campbell was a charter member of the cast ofHee Haw onCBS-TV from its beginning in 1969, though he also served as a head writer.^[1] His regular characterizations included:

• "Archie's Barber Shop", in which he performed his spoonerism stories and his "That's Bad/That's Good" routine
• "Doc Campbell", withGunilla Hutton as "Nurse Goodbody"; though Campbell portrayed an M.D., a certification hanging on the wall clearly showed him being a veterinarian (D.V.M.).
• "Justus O'Peace", his version of the classic "Judge" routine ofPigmeat Markham.
• Campbell was also a lead character in the group bit “Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me!”
• One of his most well-known segments was the song "PFFT! You Was Gone", in which he would perform a short verse of original comedy, followed by the standard chorus of "Where Oh Where Are You Tonight", which would conclude with a singing partner, oftenGordie Tapp, and himblowing a raspberry at each other or at the camera. In later years, Tapp was replaced by the episode's guest stars, who were mentioned in Campbell's lyrics right before they revealed themselves.

Campbell also recorded several comedy-music albums, which he continued doing during hisHee Haw years, such asBull Session at Bull's Creek withJunior Samples, released the year beforeHee Haw premiered. He frequently performed musical duets with singerLorene Mann.

In 1984, Campbell hostedTNN'sYesteryear interview show. Campbell was an accomplished amateur golfer and built one of the earliest lightedgolf courses in the United States. An avid painter (he painted the mural backstage at the Grand Ole Opry), he also owned an art gallery and served on the school board in Knoxville, where he lived until his death.^[1]

On June 15, 1987 Campbell suffered a heart attack. He had heart surgery, but then died of kidney failure on August 29, 1987. He was survived by his wife Mary, and two sons.^[2] Campbell is buried near the town ofPowell, Tennessee.

Campbell's childhood home on Main Street inBulls Gap, Tennessee, has been preserved as a memorial, and has been expanded into a "tourism complex and museum", which hosts annual Archie Campbell Days each September.

Following Campbell's death,U.S. Highway 11E through Bulls Gap was renamed Archie Campbell Highway in his memory.

• Jones, Loyal (1998). "Archie Campbell". InThe Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 75–6.

• CMT.com profile
• HeeHaw.com profile
• Archie Campbell atIMDb
• Archie Campbell

• 1914 births
• 1987 deaths
• 20th-century American comedians
• 20th-century American male actors
• 20th-century American singer-songwriters
• American country singer-songwriters
• American male comedians
• American male television actors
• Comedians from Tennessee
• Country musicians from Tennessee
• Grand Ole Opry members
• Mars Hill University alumni
• Military personnel from Tennessee
• People from Hawkins County, Tennessee
• People from Knoxville, Tennessee
• RCA Victor artists
• Singer-songwriters from Tennessee
• Starday Records artists
• United States Navy personnel of World War II

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