One of the most unlikely TV stars in history, Alvin Samples, Jr., was a carpenter by vocation and avid fisherman and teller of tall tales by avocation. A recording of Junior's tall tales, originally made for a radio program, was heard by Chet Atkins, who, in turn, introduced him to country music comedian Archie Campbell. The album the two men made,...
In the first few series of Hee Haw, Junior had a full set of teeth. According to Roy Clark, Junior returned to the set after one of the regular production hiatuses with his upper front four teeth missing. Clark asked Junior what had happened, and Junior replied that he had gone to the dentist and had them all pulled because somebody told him a comedian was funnier if he had teeth missing.
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Is sometimes confused with child actor Gary Jasgur, who played "Junior" in many "Our Gang" short films in the 1930s. While the two bore a strong resemblance to one another, Samples was nine years older than Jasgur, and would have been too old to portray the character at the time.
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Was discovered when Hee Haw producers heard his record "The Fishin' Story" which was actually taken from a radio interview. At Samples expense the nation giggled at the epitome of the stereo typical, naive, simple, slow-talking Appalachian.
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The phone number for Junior Samples' used car sales skit on Hee Haw was "BR-549" and he held up a crude white sign at the end of the skit with the number painted on it, which later in real life became the name of a country music group. When DVDs of the show were marketed on TV in the '90s, the number to call to purchase them was 1-800-BR54949.