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- [S106] The Mountain Press, 13 Sep 2015.
Upland Chronicles: Homer Harris and Stardust were a big hit with children
CARROLL MCMAHAN
During the 1950s and 1960s, Homer Harris and his trick horse Stardust appeared at numerous grammar schools and small theaters around East Tennessee. Known as the Seven-Foot Smiling Cowboy, Harris was a big hit with the students, particularly the boys, whom he called “my little buckaroos.” He delighted the girls by calling them “my little buckarettes.”
Occasionally, Sevierville’s Pines Theatre promoted a Saturday morning movie and a Western stage show this way: “Showing on screen – ‘Buffalo Bill’ and singing TV star appearing in person – Homer Harris, 7-foot cowboy and Stardust, a real live Oklahoma educated horse.”
Using money earned from mowing lawns, newspaper routes and weekly allowances, every young boy in Sevierville who could scrape up the 25-cent admission went to see the show. Earlier, Harris had appeared, along with other popular hillbilly singers, at the Pines on an evening variety show sponsored and emceed by Cas Walker.
When Harris appeared at Sevierville Elementary School, practically the entire student body paid the bargain admission price to see his show in the school gymnasium. The mesmerized youngsters yelled and screamed with delight when Stardust counted to 10 by striking his foot on the floor and strummed Homer’s guitar using his nose.
Although he became known as the Seven-Foot Smiling Cowboy, Harris admitted the figure also included his hat and boots. As a matter of fact, he stood 6 feet 7 inches tall.
But who was this towering, friendly cowboy?
William Homer Harris was born May 18, 1909, in Harford, Tennessee, in Cocke County. As a young boy, he acquired his first guitar and learned to sing by listening to 78 rpm phonograph records by country and western singers such as the legendary Carter Family.
His father was David Harris and his mother was Debbie Laws Harris. They lived on a small farm and operated a grocery store. He had three brothers, Oran, Dorman and Oscar, and two sisters, Nora and Dorothy.
In 1937, Harris obtained a job singing and playing his Martin guitar for a radio station in Muskogee, Oklahoma. While there, he won first prize in a radio contest singing “Little Brown Jug.” A year later, Harris moved to California, where he worked in several entertainment endeavors. He was even hired to entertain at a birthday party for Shirley Temple in Palm Springs.
Harris accepted a job at Monogram Studios in Hollywood as a supporting actor for western movies. However, shortly after starting there, he received his draft notice. While serving in the Army from 1942 to 1945, he participated in numerous GI shows. In 1943, he made a guest appearance in a British documentary starring Bob Hope and Burgess Meredith.
After his discharge, Harris used his separation pay to purchase a Palomino horse he named Prima. It was while riding Prima one Saturday that he got the idea to write a song titled “I’m Riding My Horse on the Radio.” The song was such a hit with children that Harris decided to include his horse in his act.
In the late 1940s, he moved back to East Tennessee, where he joined Knoxville’s “WNOX Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round.” Lowell Blanchard was the program director and emcee of the popular program. Regulars included Archie Campbell, Bill and Cliff Carlisle, Burke Barber, and Molly O’Day. In 1949, Harris began performing on Cas Walker’s radio show on WROL and later WIVK. By this time, he had another horse named Dolly.
After settling in Knoxville, Harris married and raised a family. He and his wife Charline had a son, Homer David, and three daughters, Barbara, Janet and Judy.
Subsequently, Harris bought a three-year-old trick horse named Stardust from Walker that added a new dimension to his act. The popular cowboy began performing on radio with three shows a day on Knoxville’s WROL. Soon after, a noon hour show was added for WIVK.
Later, Harris joined Bonnie Lou and Buster Moore on Bristol’s WCBY radio. When Johnson City’s WJHL television came on the air in 1953, they moved to the new station, where they performed with Bonnie Lou’s brother Lloyd Bell for a three-days-a-week show. Later, it became a daily morning show.
After a few years, Harris left WJHL and began touring throughout the South with his guitar and famed trick horse. He eventually returned to Knoxville and joined Cas Walker again. This time he appeared on the cantankerous grocer’s early morning shows on WBIR television.
Once Harris had earned his reputation as a radio and TV personality, he and Stardust had no trouble attracting audiences when he decided to take their show on the road again. They packed small town theaters and school assemblies throughout East Tennessee. He also performed at Hillbilly Village in Pigeon Forge.
When Stardust died in 1973 at age 29, Harris had another horse, 3-year-old Stardust Jr., trained and ready to join the act. By 1978, Harris was forced to retire due to declining health. Even then, the aging cowboy occasionally performed at John Rice Irwin’s Museum of Appalachia near Norris, and at senior citizen centers and charity functions.
At the height of his career, Harris received hundreds of letters every week. At one time he noted that he had received over 40,000 letters, cards, greetings and telegrams. He also had 88 little brown jugs and 114 little horses his fans had sent him. Doubtless, he received countless more over the years.
The cowboy died Sept. 7, 1998, at age 89, concluding a career that will long be remembered by those who saw and heard the Seven-Foot Smiling Cowboy and his famous trick horse Stardust.
Carroll McMahan is special projects facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce and serves as Sevier County historian.
The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage of Sevier County. If you have suggestions for topics or would like to submit a column, contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or ron@ronraderproperties.com.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 9 Sep 1998.
William Homer Harris , 89, of Knoxville, passed away September 7.
He was a member of Park Lane Baptist Church, Riders of the Silver Screen Association, a veteran of World War II, and a member of the VFW.
He was preceded in death by his son, Homer David Harris ; parents, Dr. David and Debbie Laws Harris ; sister, Nora Harris ; and brothers, Oscar and Dorman Harris .
Survivors include his wife, Charline Harris ; daughters and sons-in-law, Barbara and William Canupp and Janet and Jerry Mynatt; daughter, Judy Weathers; daughter-in-law, Jeanette Harris ; six grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; sister, Dorothy Harris Bowling, of Knoxville; brother, Oran Harris , of White Pine; and several nieces and nephews.
The services were held at 8 p.m. Tuesday, at Mynatt's Chapel in Knoxville with Rev. Gale Lyons and Rev. Robert E. Harris officiating. Interment was at 2 p.m. Wednesday, in Union Cemetery with Rev. Ransom Hall and Rev. Harris officiating. Military honors were provided by VFW Post #5266 Honor Guard.
The pallbearers were Jason Mynatt, Buddy Canupp, William Canupp, David Bowling, Steve Harris , and Keith Harris.
The honorary pallbearers were Fred Lee, Larry Fox, Lee Roy Cureton, Dave Carver, Roy D. Brown, Tunney Moore, Harold Cates, Alton Cureton, and Gary Ford.
The family received friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Mynatt's Chapel and 12 to 2 p.m. Wednesday at Manes Funeral Home.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 9 Sep 1998.
William Homer Harris - Local enterainer Homer Harris dies at 89
William Homer Harris, a Cocke County native and well-known singing star of the silver screen and country music, died on Monday.
Harris, 89, of Knoxville, known as "the seven-foot smiling cowboy," was born near Hartford.
The son of Dr. David and Debbie Laws Harris , he purchased his first guitar when he was a child and learned to sing by listening to old phonograph records of such country and western legends as "Mother" Maybelle Carter.
After attending Cosby Academy and Draughon's Business College in Knoxville, he went to Dallas, Texas, in 1936 and entered a talent contest. He won the contest and entertained at the 1936 Texas Centennial World's Fair.
In 1937, Harris moved to Palm Springs, California, and entertained at various resorts and celebrity events. He performed at Shirley Temple's ninth birthday party.
While performing at Mammoth Lakes Resort and Ski Club, he was interviewed for a part as an extra in western movies. When he was chosen, Harris moved to Hollywood and worked at Monogram Studios. After being scheduled for interviews at the studio, he was notified to return to Cocke County; Uncle Sam had called and Harris was inducted into the US Army.
He was attached to special services and served 42 months entertaining troops and wounded soldiers in hospitals in England, France, Belgium, and Germany. While in London, he was selected for a part in Bob Hope's movie, Welcome to Britain.
In 1945, after the end of World War II, he returned to Knoxville and joined Lowell Blanchard's Merry-Go-Round radio show on WNOX
He became a part of Cas Walker's Farm and Home Hour in 1947. In 1949, Harris and Charline Marlow, Walker's secretary, were married in Louisville, Kentucky.
Harris enjoyed entertaining audiences with his trick horses, Stardust and Stardust Jr.
He returned to the Cas Walker morning television show in 1960 and performed with such stars as Dolly Parton. He and Stardust Jr. entertained at school assemblies throughout the South until his retirement in 1984.
Even though retired, Harris would perform at the Museum of Appalachia, located near Norris. The museum displays much of his memorabilia. He also performed at many senior citizens' centers, charity shows, and reunions within a 100-mile radius of Knoxville.
Harris always enjoyed coming home to Cocke County and often attended the annual Laws and Hall reunions.
He was a member of Park Lane Baptist Church, Riders of the Silver Screen Association, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
His survivors include his wife, Charline Harris ; his daughters and sons-in-law, Barbara and William Canupp and Janet and Jerry Mynatt; and his daughter, Judy Weathers.
The funeral was held in Knoxville. The family received friends from noon until 2 p.m. Wednesday at Manes Funeral Home.
Graveside services were at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Union Cemetery with Rev. Ransom Hall and Rev. Robert E. Harris officiating. Military honors were provided by the VFW Post 5266 honor guard.
- [S147] Find a Grave, (Memorial: 7186817).
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