Roy Clark, country guitar virtuoso and 'Hee Haw' star, has died

Roy Clark, a country music star and former host of the long-running TV series "Hee Haw", died Thursday, his publicist told CNN.

A rep for the Grammy, CMA and ACM Award victor tells us Clark died Thursday morning at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

A remarkably talented multi-instrumentalist, Clark started out on the banjo and mandolin; when he was 14, he received his first guitar as a Christmas present - and made his first television appearance that same year.

But Clark hit his big break in 1960, when he was invited to Las Vegas to open for country artist Wanda Jackson. He had almost two-dozen Top 40 country hits, including "The Tip of My Fingers", "Yesterday, When I Was Young" and "I Never Picked Cotton".

Clark was a staple on both radio and TV throughout the 1960s, performing on almost every variety show of that era.

Clark was the host or co-host of "Hee Haw" from 1969 to 1992. In the mid-'50s, Clark honed his television chops as a regular on Country Style, the D.C. -based television show hosted by Jimmy Dean, eventually taking over as host after Dean relocated to NY. Roy is survived by Barbara, his sons Roy Clark II and wife Karen, Dr. Michael Meyer and wife Robin, Terry Lee Meyer, Susan Mosier and Diane Stewart, and his grandchildren: Brittany Meyer, Michael Meyer, Caleb Clark, Josiah Clark and his sister, Susan Coryell.

A memorial celebration will be held in Tulsa at a later date.