# TV Show Characters from Arkansas **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 10, 2019, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650 "2019-12-10T15:48:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/21 "2019-12-10T21:56:32Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > Wikipedia had a surprisingly comprehensive article about the character Herb Tarlek but no mention of Arkansas. [IMDB.com](http://IMDB.com) didn’t help. Where else should I look? Herb Tarlek in costume and holding a Arkansas Razorback coffee mug. It’s no coincidence. Bonner slipped in similar branded props into his other roles. I can’t say for certain the Tarlek character had a established backstory linked to Arkansas. Many fans in my state thought that was the reason for the mug. [https://images.app.goo.gl/zFa5tVKLmKwS7MYu8](https://images.app.goo.gl/zFa5tVKLmKwS7MYu8) ---
**Author:** ![breezman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@breezman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breezman)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/22 "2019-12-11T01:02:09Z")
Laverne Todd on Empty Nest was from the fictional town of Hickory Arkansas. The show was a spinoff of The Golden Girls, and Laverne was played by Park Overall. ---
**Author:** ![breezman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@breezman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breezman)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/23 "2019-12-11T01:03:18Z")
Double post. Mods please delete. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/24 "2019-12-11T02:50:46Z")
[Lazy Luke and Blubber Bear](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7a/71/ed/7a71eddc270b7b875c9872d736355838.jpg) on [_Wacky Races_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wacky_Races_(1968_TV_series)). At least, I would assume so from the name of their car, The Arkansas Chugabug. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/25 "2019-12-11T08:08:30Z")
Do you know that there is a wikipedia entry for each state for fictional characters from that state?: > **[Category:Fictional people by state in the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fictional_people_by_state_in_the_United_States)** > > This category has the following 50 subcategories, out of 50 total. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/26 "2019-12-11T11:43:37Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Not a TV show, but one of the characters (Abigail Breslin) in \*Zombieland \*was called Little Rock, after her hometown. It was _almost_ a TV show. There was a [televised pilot in 2013](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2090440/) but it didn’t perform well and the series didn’t get picked up. “Little Rock” was played by Izabela Vidovic. I suppose if _Zombieland 2_ is considered a success, the idea of a series might get revisited. Somebody could be working on it right now. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/27 "2019-12-11T14:21:02Z")
I remember an episode of it’s a living where Cassie’s family came to visit, and they were a bunch of stereotypical hicks. I don’t remember if they were from Arkansas, but they acted like it. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/28 "2019-12-11T14:44:07Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Beverly Hillbillies were mentioned in the OP. Did they ever get any more specific than that the Clampetts were from the Ozarks? That’s a large chunk of southern Missouri as well as Arkansas. The movie, with Jim Varney et al., specifically named Arkansas, but the TV show? No idea. Wayne Hays, from season 3 of _True Detective_, was from Conway, Arkansas. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/29 "2019-12-11T16:43:12Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [Here’s one.](https://mash.fandom.com/wiki/Captain_Roy_DuPree) The other was a patient named Jimmy Danielson, who does not appear to have his own page on that wiki. The episode was called “Promotion Commotion” and Colonel Potter sort of “adopts” him and teaches him to tie fishing flies, and the other members of his unit taunt him for perceived “unmanliness”. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/30 "2019-12-11T16:57:14Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > The movie, with Jim Varney et al., specifically named Arkansas, but the TV show? No idea. Funny how things you know sometimes have no basis. I would have sworn in court that the TV Clampetts were from Bugtussle, AR. I’ve “known” that for decades. Where did I “learn” that? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/31 "2019-12-11T17:04:46Z")
They were from a fictional “Bug Tussle”; fans are still divided on whether it’s in MO or AR. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/32 "2019-12-11T20:45:36Z")
Jerry Jones, who plays the owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys on their weekly TV show is from Arkansas. There’s no way that that ass could be real. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/33 "2019-12-11T21:03:43Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Funny how things you know sometimes have no basis. > > I would have sworn in court that the TV Clampetts were from Bugtussle, AR. I’ve “known” that for decades. > > Where did I “learn” that? I figured they were all from Tennessee because I remember Granny referring to being from that state. I didn’t know she had already moved to another state before moving to California. ---
**Author:** ![Zelski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c67d28/32.png) [@Zelski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zelski)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2019, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/34 "2019-12-12T00:06:58Z")
There are a lot of points about the Clampett’s origins [here](http://www.slipups.com/items/13566.html). There are reasons to say Tennessee. Granny is surely from Tennessee. Bugtussle is near the Kentucky-Tennessee border. Bugtussle Hollow is in south central Tennessee. But Bugtussle could mean Oklahoma, Texas, or Alabama. Maybe Bugtussle is a suburb of Springfield. Of course, there is a Springfield in each of Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee, so the Simpsons are no help. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2019, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/35 "2019-12-12T00:52:43Z")
In the early 90s there was a show with John Ritter, Markie Post and Billy Bob Thornton called _Hearts Afire_. Billy Bob Thornton’s character was from Arkansas, as is he. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2019, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/36 "2019-12-12T19:42:58Z")
Before this thread dies I thought I would post a summary: Lt. Jim Dangle, _Reno 911_ Herbert Garrison, _South Park_ Caeser Martinez, _The Walking Dead_ Capt. Roy DuPree, _M_A_S_H\* Jimmy Danielson, _M_A_S_H\* Chuckles, _G.I. Joe Adventures_ Lavern Todd, _Empty Nest_ Lazy Luke, _Wacky Races_ Blubber Bear, _Wacky Races_ Billy Bob Davis, _Hearts Afire_ We also had the following: July Johnson, _Lonesome Dove_ [Does a “mini-series” count as a “television series”?] Herb Tarlek, _WKRP in Cincinnati [not explicitly proven] Would anyone be interested in a new thread about the origins of the Beverly Hillbillies? If so, I will do some research, i.e_., watch a whole lot of _Beverly Hillbillies_, before I start it. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2019, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/37 "2019-12-13T23:02:59Z")
Charlene (Jean Smart’s character) from Designing Women was from Poplar Bluff, Arkansas. (She was also friends with the then Governor Bill Clinton & his wife and the Waltons of Walmart - they were lesser known at the time the show was on the air). ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2019, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/38 "2019-12-13T23:16:59Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > Charlene (Jean Smart’s character) from Designing Women was from Poplar Bluff, Arkansas. (She was also friends with the then Governor Bill Clinton & his wife and the Waltons of Walmart - they were lesser known at the time the show was on the air). Is this a fictional Poplar Bluff, Arkansas? There is no real Poplar Bluff in Arkansas but there is a real Poplar Bluff, Missouri only about 20 or 30 miles north of the Arkansas border. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2019, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/39 "2019-12-13T23:27:57Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > Is this a fictional Poplar Bluff, Arkansas? There is no real Poplar Bluff in Arkansas but there is a real Poplar Bluff, Missouri only about 20 or 30 miles north of the Arkansas border. [Designingwomenonline.com](http://Designingwomenonline.com) (I never imagined there would be such a website) says that Charlene is from Poplar Bluff, Missouri. But how do we know if that is a reliable source? Fictional characters can come from fictional towns if they want to, right? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2019, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650/40 "2019-12-14T00:28:03Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > Fictional characters can come from fictional towns if they want to, right? Well, we could say that Seinfeld was set in the fictional town of New York City, Arkansas but I think we’d have a hard time selling that idea. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-show-characters-from-arkansas/844650.md?page=3)