Lulu Roman dead at 78: Hee Haw star who called herself 'the fat girl' passes away after tragic struggles

Daily Mail​

25-04-2025

The music and comedy worlds are in mourning with news of the passing of Hee Haw star Lulu Roman.
The performer - who appeared on over 150 episodes of Hee Haw from 1969 to 1992 - passed away at 78 on Wednesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Her son Damon Roman confirmed she passed in Bellingham, Washington, where she moved to be with her son seven months earlier.
No cause of death was released at this time, though her former publicist Ben Laurro released a statement to People.
'Lulu Roman was unsung. She endured much adversity in her life that helped her become a joy to others,' Laurro's brief statement read.
Of her role in Hee Haw, she previously said that she had been 'hired to be the fat girl' as she spoke publicly about her health journey on The 700 Club in 2010. She later lost 200 pounds after the show had ended.
Lulu was born Bertha Louise Hable on May 6, 1946 in Dallas, in a home for unwed mothers, and she was placed in Buckner Orphans Home.
She was born with a thyroid condition that would lead to her obesity, though she was never adopted.
After graduating from W.W. Samuell High School in Dallas in 1964, she started performing a comedy act called Lulu Roman, the World's Biggest Go-Go Dancer.
She primarily performed at a number of Dallas clubs owned by the now-infamous assassin Jack Ruby, who gunned down Lee Harvey Oswald on live television.
One of Lulu's fans was country music star Buck Owens, with Lulu stating in a 2020 interview that he, 'liked my sense of humor.'
'He told me once that he'd just sit and observe me. I said, "Lord have mercy!" He said it was real interesting: "You're a master at quick wit." I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but I got hold of it later,' she said.
It was Owens who would ultimately recommend her to Hee Haw producers and pave the way for her appearance on the show's first episode in 1969.
She added in a 2024 interview, 'They needed one boy next door, one fat dumb man, one fat dumb woman. Buck said, "I got your girl! She's in Dallas!"'
She converted to Christianity in 1973 and convinced the Hee Haw producers not only to re-hire her, but also allow her to sing
While she originally only had background roles, she would ultimately get speaking roles in regular segments like The Culhanes.
An arrest for drug possession (marijuana, speed, LSD and meth) in 1971 lead to her exiting the show for a few years as she was sentenced to four years in prison.
She converted to Christianity in 1973 and convinced the Hee Haw producers not only to re-hire her, but also allow her to sing.
'After I gave my heart to Jesus, the Lord started working on me and making me into quite a different person than when I started,' she said in an undated interview.
That led to a new gospel singing career, releasing the first of her dozen albums in 1974, despite never having any formal training for singing.
She was inducted into the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and appeared in Hee Haw Honeys, The Love Boat and the 1972 movie Corky.
Roman published her autobiography This Is My Story; This Is My Song in 2019, two years after her youngest son Justin passed away in 2017.