The funniest places Huell Howser ever visited on 'California's Gold'

Love "California's Gold"? Click or scroll ahead to see the weirdest and most memorable places Huell Howser visited on the program. Love "California's Gold"? Click or scroll ahead to see the weirdest and most memorable places Huell Howser visited on the program. Photo: Uncredited, Associated Press Photo: Uncredited, Associated Press Image 1 of / 28 Caption Close The funniest places Huell Howser ever visited on 'California's Gold' 1 / 28 Back to Gallery

Click or swipe through the gallery above to see the funniest places Huell Howser visited on his show "California's Gold."

You probably already hear his voice in your head.

Anything about Huell Howser is impossible to read without your brain automatically inflecting it with his Southern twang. Once you've heard him say the phrase "California's Gold," it's forever changed.

For generations of Californians, there is no state ambassador like Huell, a Tennessee transplant bursting with childlike wonder. Starting in 1991, Howser made almost 450 episodes of "California's Gold," a public television treasure that explored the many things to see in the Golden State.

Although, sadly, Howser died in 2013, he lives on both in re-runs and through his complete archive, housed at Chapman University in Orange, Calif. Looking to learn more about him, I called up the Huell Howser Archive to talk with Chapman archivist Andrew Harman.

Harman oversees both the website — you can watch Huell's many programs for free there — and a physical exhibition. Chapman's connection to Huell is an unexpected one, although completely in-line with his warm personality.

Harman says in 2007, Howser filmed an episode in Orange. It didn't include Chapman University. Hoping to draw Howser's attention to the school, then-university president Jim Doti wrote him a letter. Upon receiving it, Howser called up Doti and asked him to lunch. The pair formed a friendship.

When Howser was diagnosed with cancer, his thoughts turned to preserving his legacy. Although he attended the University of Tennessee, it didn't seem right to ship his archives there.

"It’s 'California’s Gold' stuff," Harman said. "He wanted it to be somewhere in California."

Then, Howser remembered Doti. He called up the school and they began the process of digitizing his show. The school also took in all kinds of memorabilia from his career. They have photos of him during his years in the Marine Corps; a dress that once belonged to Dolly Parton (they were friends, of course); some of the Tommy Bahama shirts he wore on the show; Stalin nesting dolls he bought in the Soviet Union during a State Department-sponsored goodwill cultural exchange in the 1970s.

And there's a box of what looks like chocolates — made of lint by the Lint Lady herself (for more on that memorable episode, check out the gallery above.)

Today, there's a steady stream of visitors to see his mementos —"Mostly it’s Huell fans looking to reconnect with Huell," Harman said — and it seems his resonance with the public hasn't diminished since the show wrapped.

"It’s his personalty. It’s what he did telling California's stories from an outside looking in point of view," said Harman. "Everyone on the outside thinks California is about surfing, and he showed the little details, the minutiae...

"You don’t just love the show. You love the person."

A few odds and ends about the man himself:

— His unusual first name was the invention of his parents Jewell and Harold. Huell is a portmanteau of their names.

— If it seemed like Howser was encountering everything on the show for the very first time, it's often because he was. He rarely did research, wanting to instead come in fresh to each experience. "He wanted it to be ad hoc," Harmon said. "When he asks a question, he really wants to know to the answer."

— Howser digitally edited every episode himself, wanting the show to flow as he intended it.

— Howser kept color-coded calendars to keep track of which episode was playing in which California market at any given time. He controlled what aired where as well, wanting the right things to show in the right places.

Katie Dowd is an SFGATE Senior Digital Editor. Contact: katie.dowd@sfgate.com | Twitter: @katiedowd