In 1997, Neal Pollack was fired from the TV
Show Hee-Haw, America's longest running show sketch
comedy/music show. I interviewed Roy Clark, the co-host
of Hee-Haw since 1969.
"Neal Pollack was one of the new writers we hired to try
and save the show, as the ratings had been low
for many years at that point, and we were told
that the producers had brought some new talent to
give it that kick it needed."
"You know if you seen the show its a real simple
format, and all the writers gota do is real simple
jokes. Like how many feet does a horse have?
Guy answers four? Wrong its none, horses have hooves
You know that sort of simple three part joke,
Neal couldn't do that. Not the brightest bulb lit
may he was a little lit, you know."
"But then he would start in on his rock n roller schtick
and that got real old. He took
Dwight Yokum's guitar and was a strumming it, broke a
string. Got mad and smashed the guitar on the table.
A bit of a hothead."
"We fired him. I think because of his schtick he wouldn't
let up on. He'd go on and on about what a
rock n' roller he was, but didn't know much
about any music including rock.
Didn't look like any rocker I ever seen."
"Just real repetitive and real annoying. That all
I remember. He did have a nickname "Pollack." Yeah
the crew would say hey Pollack how ya doing, and
he never caught on. Funny."
