Lulu Roman dead: Hee Haw star who called herself 'the fat girl' dies as son pays tribute

Comedian and Lulu Roman has died at the age of 78, her son has confirmed. The star of Hee Haw died seven months after moving to to be with her son. No cause of death has been determined.

Her publicist Ben Laurro shared a brief statement to confirm the sad news. It read: "Lulu Roman was unsung. She endured much adversity in her life that helped her become a joy to others."

Lulu had starred on show Hee Haw for a number of decades, appearing on over 150 episodes between 1969 and 1992. She previously claimed that she had been "hired to be the fat girl".

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She said in an with News Channel 5 in 2024: "They needed one boy next door, one fat dumb man, one fat dumb woman. Buck [Owens] said, "I got your girl! She’s in Dallas!"'

Lulu was arrested for drug possession in March 1971, saying she used marijuana, speed, LSD and meth. She left the show and was handed a four-year sentence 10 months later before converting to Christianity. In 1973, she was rehired after convincing producers to let her sing.

Speaking of her converting, she previously said: "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."

During her time on the show, Lulu reinvented herself as a gospel singer. She would later go on to release over a dozen albums, with her first in 1974.

She would also perform regularly in concert. Among those she recorded with included Dolly Parton.

She was inducted into the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999.

Hee Haw Honeys co-star Misty Rowe was among those paying tribute to Lulu following her death, saying: "We were as different as night and day.

"Working together since 1972, we were the original Hee Haw Honeys and the original Kornfield Friends. Yet we would often squabble and then make up by saying, ‘I love you, Lu,’ and she would say, ‘I love you too, Sugar.'

"Lulu was a gift in my life. She played my mother twice and yet she was just 3 years older than me. We were Gossipy Girls and now Lulu is my angel in heaven. I thank God for her time here on Earth, and I know we will all see her again in that big Kornfield in the sky someday."

Speaking to The 700 Club in 2010 she revealed how she lost 200 pounds after the show had ended.

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