Henry D. Haynes

Henry Doyle Haynes (July 27, 1920–August 7, 1971) was an American entertainer who gained fame on radio and television as Homer of the country music comedy duo Homer and Jethro with Kenneth C. Burns for 35 years beginning in 1936. Haynes was born near Knoxville, Tennessee on July 29, 1920. He met Kenneth Burns during a WNOX-AM audition in 1936 when they were both 16 years old. Haynes strummed the guitar and Burns played the mandolin. Known as Junior and Dude (pronounced "dood'-ee"), the duo was rechristened Homer and Jethro when WNOX Program Director Lowell Blanchard forgot their nicknames during a 1936 broadcast. In 1939 they became regulars on the Renfro Valley Barn Dance radio program. Haynes was drafted into the US Army and served in...