Frank Peppiatt Dead at 85

Frank Peppiatt (right) and long-time business
partner John Aylesworth, who died in 2010

Frank Peppiatt, the Canadian-born co-creator of HEE HAW, died on Wednesday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, at age 85.

Peppiatt was born in Toronto on March 19, 1927, to Frank and Sarah Peppiatt. His father was a car salesman. After graduating in 1949 from the University of Toronto, he became an advertising copywriter. An entry-level job at the Canadian Broadcasting Company led to production credits in Canada and to his longtime partnership with John Aylesworth. By the mid-1950s he was working in American television.

Created in 1969 by Peppiatt andAylesworth, HEE-HAW had a proudly cornpone sense of humor and a lineup of musical guests that included some of the biggest names in Nashville.