Biography

One of the most unlikely TV stars in history, Alvin Samples, Jr., was a carpenter by vocation and avid fisherman and teller of tall tales by avocation. A recording of Junior's tall tales, originally made for a radio program, was heard by Chet Atkins, who, in turn, introduced him to country music comedian Archie Campbell. The album the two men made, "Bull Session at Bull's Gap" on RCA, was a direct stepping stone to both men's being signed to the "Hee Haw" television show, where they remained regulars for years. A mammoth bear of a man, whose weight came close to 400 pounds, Samples was still a regular on the program when he died of a heart attack at age 57.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous

The phone number for Junior Samples' used car sales skit on Hee Haw was "BR-549" and he held up a crude white sign at the end of the skit with the number painted on it, which later in real life became the name of a country music group. When DVDs of the show were marketed on TV in the '90s, the number to call to purchase them was 1-800-BR54949.

In the first few series of Hee Haw, Junior had a full set of teeth. According to Roy Clark, Junior returned to the set after one of the regular production hiatuses with his upper front four teeth missing. Clark asked Junior what had happened, and Junior replied that he had gone to the dentist and had them all pulled because somebody told him a comedian was funnier if he had teeth missing.

Was discovered when Hee Haw producers heard his record "The Fishin' Story" which was actually taken from a radio interview. At Samples expense the nation giggled at the epitome of the stereo typical, naive, simple, slow-talking Appalachian.

Is sometimes confused with child actor Gary Jasgur, who played "Junior" in many "Our Gang" short films in the 1930s. While the two bore a strong resemblance to one another, Samples was nine years older than Jasgur, and would have been too old to portray the character at the time.