Hager Twins
When "Hee Haw" entertainers THE HAGER TWINS
perform, it's not just another show for the comedic brothers - it's a
homecoming. "Everywhere we perform is like coming home", says Jon Hager,
who with his twin brother Jim, were raised in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge.
It's a lot of fun trying to tell the twins
apart. Not only do the brothers look and sound identical, but their ad-lib
humor is quick, spontaneous and razor-sharp. For example, when asked about
their childhood, one brother starts answering the question, but they both finish
it!
Jim and I were adopted, explains Jon.
"Our late father, Jack, was a Florida Methodist minister, and our mother
Frances, is a retired Mississippi school teacher. Dad had a church on the
south side of Chicago when we were very little". Jim interjects, "It
was near the Stockyards". "Ahhh!" they laughingly conclude in unison.
"So, THAT'S where we got our first whiff of country upbringing".
Besides a natural flair for comedy, the Hager
Twins realized early on they had a talent for singing. "Singing in the
church choir helped nurture this God-given talent", says Jim.
By the time they were in high school, the
Hager Twins were regular performers on a weekly Saturday morning television show
for teens on WGN-TV in Chicago.
After college, the twins both served in the
Army, where they performed for Officers' and NCO clubs in the United States and
Europe.
Following their discharge, the twins moved to
California. There they became regular players with The Carpenters, The
Christy Minstrels, John Denver, Steve Martin and Kenny Rogers at Randy Sparks'
Los Angeles nightclub, "Ledbetters".
Their big break came when country icon Buck
Owens attended one of their shows at Disneyland and signed the twins to a
management, recording and booking contract in less than a week.
"We traveled for years opening shows for
Buck", Jon says. "We also got to open for some of the other greats like
Tex Ritter, Wynn Stewart, Billie Jo Spears and Lefty Frizzell. We learned
so much from them, and we loved them all".
The Hager Twins were introduced to millions of
viewers when they became regular cast members on the No. 1 syndicated television
show of all time -
"Hee Haw!
"We were on 'Hee Haw' from the very first show
in 1969 until we left 19 years later in 1988", Jim says. "The success of 'Hee
Haw', Jon adds, is that the cast members loved and supported each other.
Not only did we put our hearts and souls into the program, we also leaned how to
laugh at ourselves".
The Hager Twins have provided audiences with
more than three decades of smiles, laughter and music. They both agree
that they have been blessed and are grateful that they can do, what they do, and
for all the wonderful people God has brought into their lives.
Many Thanks to Tamela Meredith Partridge
@ Herald-Review, Decatur, Illinois
