‘Hee Haw’ shows being released on video, DVD

Saaa-lute! The straw hats and braying cartoon donkey of “Hee Haw” are back.

Time-Life released full “Hee Haw” shows for the first time on VHS and DVD this week to mark the 35th anniversary of the show’s first season.

With its pickin’, grinnin’ and hayseed humor, “Hee Haw” was an American TV institution, on the air almost continuously from 1969 to 1997.

The format was folksy comic skits interspersed with performances by country music stars like Vince Gill, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson and Alan Jackson. There were no serious issues debated, no cliffhangers, no wardrobe malfunctions — just down-home silliness accompanied by grins and guitars.

” ‘Hee Haw’ won’t go away,” said former host Roy Clark “It brings a smile to too many faces… . Everywhere I go, people talk about it.”

There were 24 years’ worth of original “Hee Haw” shows — 14 years more than “Friends” and 15 more than “Seinfeld.”

Critics mostly hated the show because of its Dogpatch look, simple humor and twangy country music. And sometimes it still gets criticized for perpetuating stereotypes.

There was a bevy of curvy Southern belles such as Barbi Benton, Gunilla Hutton (who played Nurse Good Body) and Misty Rowe. The men were most often harmless rubes in straw hats and overalls.

But TV viewers embraced it, and even noncountry stars such as Sammy Davis Jr. and Regis Philbin were among the celebrities eager to appear on the show.

“They just wanted to be part of the fun,” Clark said.

The show even had an impact on the national lexicon.

The phrase “pickin’ and grinnin’ ” became popular based on a segment with Clark and co-host Buck Owens playing guitar while smiling and telling jokes.