Sam Lovullo, who as producer and co-creator of "Hee Haw" brought country music and homestyle humor to millions of American homes, has died at age 88, his publicists said Thursday. Lovullo died peacefully at his home in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday, publicists the Brokaw Company said. No immediate cause of death was given, but Lovullo had been suffering from heart disease.

Lovullo worked on TV's "The Jonathan Winters Show" from 1967 and 1969. He and two writers from the show noticed that it enjoyed a ratings spike when country music guests were on. They conceived of "Hee Haw," the variety show that ran for two years on CBS starting in 1969 and went on to a 21-year run in syndication. Lovullo was producer for all but the last five years.

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Source: http://www.startribune.com/