On This Day in 2015, We Lost the ‘Hee Haw’ Actor, Comedian, and Journalist Who Helped Push Country Music Into Mainstream Television

Don Harron, perhaps better known as his alter ego Charlie Farquharson on the country variety TV show Hee-Haw, died on this day (Jan. 17) in 2015.

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Don Harron Never Lost His Wit

At 90 years old, Harron passed surrounded by family at his Toronto home after choosing not to pursue cancer treatment, according to his online obituary.

“He was still sharp,” recalled eldest daughter Martha Harron. “He was still capable of being funny even though his voice was barely above a whisper. “It’s horribly sad, but it’s beautiful too.”

Born Sept. 19, 1924, in Toronto, Don Harron relied on his humor from an early age. During the tight financial days of the Great Depression, a 10-year-old Harron earned extra money for his family by charging $10 or $15 for “chalk talks.” These were humorous stand-up acts embellished with caricatures drawn in colored chalk. And they caught the attention of a scriptwriter from the Canadian radio show Lonesome Trail, who invited him to audition for a role. He got it.

Later, Harron studied sociology and philosophy at the University of Toronto, where he won the gold medal in philosophy and the regent’s silver medal his senior year. After earning his bachelor’s degree, he turned down a teaching position at his alma mater to pursue performing instead. After acting in several Canadian plays, Harron moved to London and landed a role in the West End production of A Streetcar Named Desire. He also worked as a comedy writer for the BBC.

[RELATED: Remember When Jim Carrey Wrote a Song in Response to Gun Violence Then Performed it With The Eels on ‘Hee Haw’]

Meet Charlie Farquharson

While working for the Canadian Broadcasting Company in 1952, Don Harron introduced the world to Charlie Farquharson, his wisecracking, backwoods alter ego. Basing the character on his own days working as a teenage farmhand, Farquharson made frequent cameos on the country variety show Hee Haw.

Harron also appeared in TV shows like The F.B.I., Mission: Impossible, The Outer Limits and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Additionally, he adapted the beloved children’s novel Anne of Green Gables into a CBC musical in 1956. Prince Edward Island residents have performed his version annually since 1965 at the Charlottetown Festival.

“He’s one of the few people that I would describe as a true polymath,” granddaughter Zoe Cormier said in his obituary. “Anything he ever put his hand to he excelled at.”

Featured image by Reg Innell/Toronto Star via Getty Images