Hill billy A Cultural History of an American Icon Hill billy Anthony Harkins 1 2004 1 Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi São Paulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Harkins, Anthony. Hillbilly : a cultural history of an American icon / Anthony Harkins. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-19-514631-X 1. Mountain people in popular culture—United States. 2. Whites in popular culture— United States. 3. Popular culture—United States. 4. United States—Civilization. 5. United States—Race relations. 6. Group identity—United States. 7. Whites— Race identity—United States. 8. Mountain people—United States—Public opinion. 9. Whites—United States—Public opinion. 10. Public opinion— United States. I. Title. E184.M83H37 2003 975'.00943—dc21 2003041974 Portions of chapter 3 have been reprinted with permission in revised form from “The Significance of ‘Hillbilly’ in Early Country Music, 1924–1945,” Journal of Appalachian Studies2 (Fall 1996): 311–22. Chapter 6 has been reprinted with permission in revised form from “The Hillbilly in the Living Room: Television Representations of Southern Mountaineers in Situational Comedies, 1952–1971,” Appalachian Journal29 (Fall 2001–Winter 2002): 98–126. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper To Charles R. Harkins In Memoriam This page intentionally left blank This work is appearing in print largely because of the support and ex- pertise of the editorial staff at Oxford. I thank Niko Pfund for his unflagging commitment to this project, Susan Ferber for her unparalleled editorial sug- gestions as well as calm guidance, and Stacey Hamilton for her assistance with the book’s production. I also thank the outside readers of the original manuscript, both those who remained anonymous and those who did not (Dwight Billings, Erika Doss, David Hsuing, and Scott Sandage), for their in- cisive commentary and suggestions. My efforts to address their concerns and to reach for what they saw as the project’s full potential has made this a far better book. I am also deeply appreciative of the many individuals who have shared difficult to find or unpublished materials with me, often allowing me to see their notes for their own forthcoming publications. First, I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Jerry Williamson. Going far beyond the bounds of mere scholarly collegiality, Jerry opened up to me his vast collection of hillbilly- related materials, allowing me to roam at will through his extensive files and view his copies of rare films. He also freely offered his valuable insights into the hillbilly identity, helped me find accommodations during my stay in Boone, North Carolina, and has continued to offer his invaluable support and insights in the ensuing years. I am extremely grateful to him for his many kindnesses and suggestions. I also thank the following people who all pro- vided me with their own scholarly work or other research materials: Terry Bailes, Tom Bené, Simon Bronner, Jim Clark, Stephen Cox, Jon Harris, Tom Inge, Angie Maxwell, Michael McKernan, John McCoy, Ronnie Pugh, David Whisnant, Adam Wilson, and David Zercher. Finally, I am most ap- preciative of Paul Henning’s willingness, despite health problems, to partici- pate in an extended telephone interview. His candor and infectious warmth in recalling his years working on The Beverly Hillbilliesand other program- ming made for a thoroughly enjoyable and informative conversation. This research project has entailed significant expense in acquiring il- lustrations and republication permissions and traveling to far-flung archives and libraries, and I gratefully acknowledge the institutional support and re- search assistance I have received. My sincere appreciation to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of History for research travel and con- ference presentation funds and the Princeton University Committee on Re- search in the Humanities and Social Sciences for their generous grant that allowed me to acquire the array of artwork that enriches the text. I am grate- ful to John Blazejewski for the expert job he did photographing the majority of these images. I also wish to express my gratitude to the many librarians and archivists who have assisted me along the way. In particular, I thank Stephen Goddard of the Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas; Steve Green Acknowledgments viii of the Southern Folklife Collection at the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill; Ronnie Pugh, formerly of the Country Music Foundation; Ned Irwin of the Archives of Appalachia at Eastern Tennessee State University; Dean Williams of the Appalachian Collection at Appalachian State Univer- sity; Kate Black and Bill Marshall of the Appalachian Collection and Special Collections at the University of Kentucky; Harry Rice and Gerald Roberts of the Hutchins Library at Berea College; Ann Wright of the Asheville Public Library; Randy Roberts of the Western Historical Manuscript Collection of the University of Missouri-Columbia, and the library staff at Firestone Li- brary of Princeton University. For assistance during my research in the Los Angeles area, I thank Ned Comstock at the Cinema-Television Library at the University of Southern California; the staff at the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (particularly Kristine Kreuger); Brigitte Kueppers, chief archivist of Special Collections at the The- ater Arts Library at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the ex- tremely helpful proprietors of Eddie Brandt’s Saturday Matinee in North Hollywood, California, for their great assistance in finding the many obscure hillbilly films held in their vast collection. My travels were made infinitely more enjoyable and affordable through the kindness of friends and family who generously allowed me to stay with them during my research trips. I sincerely thank Anne and Chris Kenyon, my mother, Shanna MacLean, Harry and Katherine Petrequin, and David Zercher. Above all, I am indebted to Andrew Cypiot for not only allowing me to stay in his small apartment for over a month but also for conducting valuable re- search for me. I could not have completed the California portion of my re- search without his help and friendship. Throughout the many years it took to bring this project to fruition, I have relied heavily upon friends and colleagues for guidance and support. I am very grateful that Susan Ballard, Steve Burg, Joe Cullon, Judy Cochran, Rob Good, Dan Graff, Charlotte Haller, Katherine Ledford, Charlie Mont- gomery and Linda Curchin, Paul Murphy, Doug Reichert-Powell, Sue Rosen- thal, Bethel Saler, James Siekmeier, Kevin Smith, Lisa Tetrault, David Zercher, and, last but certainly not least, the “Lake Pawtuckaway Gang” (Sam Broek- smit, Andrew Cypiot, Pat Connors, John Gregg, Jeff Speck, Mark Van Nor- man, and Adam Wilson) have all been a part of my life. I especially thank Janet Davis and Jeff Osborne, Steve Hoelscher and Kristin Nilsson, and Mark and Paula Van Ells and their children for their many kindnesses, including last-minute babysitting, home-cooked dinners, and general assurances that we would all survive this process of completing dissertations and publishing our first books (which, remarkably, we all have). My family has been my greatest inspiration and source of support. I Acknowledgments ix