This article is about the The Country Bears character. For other characters with the same name, see Henry (disambiguation).
Henry is a 7-foot-tall brown bear who serves as the master of ceremonies of the Disney theme park attraction Country Bear Jamboree. He also appears in the 2002 feature film based on the attraction.
He typically dresses in formal wear, including a top hat that his raccoon companion Sammy is sometimes seen on. He's occasionally paired with Wendell, forming a comedy duo with him.
It's implied in the shows that he has a backstage romance with fellow Country Bear performer Teddi Barra.
Behind the Scenes
In the early Bear Band treatments of the attraction, Henry was only known as the "MC Bear". Henry would derive his name from Henry Jaynes, half of a hillbilly musical comedy duo called "Homer and Jethro", whose songs would be used for Henry and Wendell's segments of the show. By taking the name Henry, this allowed the Imagineers to keep much of the written banter of the original songs intact.
Biography
From 1972's Country Bear Jamboree record album:
Henry, master of ceremonies at the Country Bear Jamboree, stands six feet tall in his stocking paws. He is another famous football player who entered show business. Henry was formerly with the Goose Creek Bruins. One day they tried a hidden ball play, and Henry hid the ball so well he couldn’t find it. This hastened his transfer to music. For a while, he had trouble finding a melody, too. But Henry is a likable sort, and audiences go for him like he goes for honey. For a finale, Henry sings Ballad of Davy Crockett with Sammy, his live raccoon hat. Henry is glad he turned in his football gear for a starched shirt and Sammy. “After all,” he explains, “I never knew a football helmet that could sing like Sammy.”
