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

Lulu Roman, one of the last surviving cast members of Hee Haw, has died. She was 78.

A close friend of the actress, who was known as a staple on the long-running comedy sketch series, confirmed her death to PEOPLE on Thursday, April 24. 

Roman’s son, Damon Roman, told The Hollywood Reporter that his mother died on Wednesday, April 23, in Bellingham, Wash. She moved to Washington to live with Damon last year.

“Lulu Roman was unsung. She endured much adversity in her life that helped her become a joy to others,” her former publicist, Ben Laurro, tells PEOPLE.

The comedian, born Bertha Louise Hable, once said she was “hired to be the fat girl” on Hee Haw, but lost 200 lbs. after the show ended. She spoke publicly about her health journey on The 700 Club in 2010.

Roman was born in 1942 in a home for unwed mothers and was dropped off at a Dallas orphanage as a child. While growing up, a thyroid condition caused her to become overweight, leading to much teasing. 

Roman aged out of the adoption home after never being adopted, Laurro says. 

Despite her misfortunes, the publicist tells PEOPLE the “Failure Isn’t Final” singer “had the gift of making people laugh.” 

She used that very gift to become a household name, becoming friends with country superstar Buck Owens, who loved her sense of humor and helped her land her starring role on Hee Haw. The show ran for 23 seasons following its 1969 debut

However, hardships struck again when struggles with drug use prompted her Hee Haw exit in 1971. 

Roman found her saving grace by becoming a Christian in 1973. She was inducted into the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and published a memoir in 2019.

From 1978 to 1979, the “King of Who I Am” artist appeared on the spinoff Hee Haw Honeys, featuring Kathie Lee Gifford and Misty Rowe. She also appeared in episodes of The Love Boat and Touched by an Angel. She also took her talents to the big screen for the 1972 action thriller Corky with Robert Blake.

“Lulu was a gift in my life,” Rowe said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “She played my mother twice and yet she was just 3 years older than me. We were Gossipy Girls and now Lulu is my angel in heaven. I thank God for her time here on Earth, and I know we will all see her again in that big Kornfield in the sky someday.”

“For anyone who knew Lulu, they witnessed her passion for loving God, others and especially her sons. Her younger son passed away in 2017. She had profound kindness and empathy for the broken-hearted or lonely because she walked that path herself,” Laurro tells PEOPLE. “Her fans meant the world to her.”

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A cause of death has not yet been determined. Her youngest son, Justin, died in October 2017.