Lulu Roman, Hee Haw Star and Gospel Singer, Dies at 78

Lulu Roman, one of many final surviving forged members of Hee Haw, has died. She was 78.

A detailed good friend of the actress, who was often known as a staple on the long-running comedy sketch collection, confirmed her loss of life to PEOPLE on Thursday, April 24. 

Roman’s son, Damon Roman, advised The Hollywood Reporter that his mom died on Wednesday, April 23, in Bellingham, Wash. She moved to Washington to stay with Damon final yr.

“Lulu Roman was unsung. She endured a lot adversity in her life that helped her turn out to be a pleasure to others,” her former publicist, Ben Laurro, tells PEOPLE.

The comic, born Bertha Louise Hable, as soon as mentioned she was “employed to be the fats lady” on Hee Haw, however misplaced 200 lbs. after the present ended. She spoke publicly about her well being journey on The 700 Membership in 2010.

Roman was born in 1942 in a house for unwed moms and was dropped off at a Dallas orphanage as a baby. Whereas rising up, a thyroid situation induced her to turn out to be chubby, resulting in a lot teasing. 

Roman aged out of the adoption house after by no means being adopted, Laurro says. 

Regardless of her misfortunes, the publicist tells PEOPLE the “Failure Isn’t Closing” singer “had the reward of constructing individuals chortle.” 

She used that very reward to turn out to be a family title, changing into mates with nation celebrity Buck Owens, who beloved her humorousness and helped her land her starring position on Hee Haw. The present ran for 23 seasons following its 1969 debut

Nevertheless, hardships struck once more when struggles with drug use prompted her Hee Haw exit in 1971. 

Roman discovered her saving grace by changing into a Christian in 1973. She was inducted into the Nation Gospel Music Corridor of Fame in 1999 and printed a memoir in 2019.

From 1978 to 1979, the “King of Who I Am” artist appeared on the spinoff Hee Haw Honeys, that includes Kathie Lee Gifford and Misty Rowe. She additionally appeared in episodes of The Love Boat and Touched by an Angel. She additionally took her skills to the massive display for the 1972 motion thriller Corky with Robert Blake.

“Lulu was a present in my life,” Rowe mentioned in a press release to The Hollywood Reporter. “She performed my mom twice and but she was simply 3 years older than me. We had been Gossipy Women and now Lulu is my angel in heaven. I thank God for her time right here on Earth, and I do know we’ll all see her once more in that massive Kornfield within the sky sometime.”

“For anybody who knew Lulu, they witnessed her ardour for loving God, others and particularly her sons. Her youthful son handed away in 2017. She had profound kindness and empathy for the broken-hearted or lonely as a result of she walked that path herself,” Laurro tells PEOPLE. “Her followers meant the world to her.”

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A reason for loss of life has not but been decided. Her youngest son, Justin, died in October 2017.