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"Just the good ole' boys. Never meanin' no harm. Beats all you never saw, been in trouble with the law since the day they was born. Straightenin' the curves. Flattenin' the hills. Someday the mountain might get 'em, but the law never will. Makin' their way the only way they know how. That's just a little bit more than the law will allow. Just the good ole' boys. Wouldn't change if they could. Fightin' the system like a true-modern day Robin Hood."
The story goes that in the early eighties you couldn't find a 1969 Dodge Charger for love or money in LA; that's because they were all being wrecked on the set of The Dukes of Hazzard. Yessiree, a lot of cars were crashed during filming.
Replacing the police sedans was easy - replacing the "General Lee" was not. Needless to say, the Chargers were well out of production and the show was going through them quicker than Boss Hogg goes through sweet sauce pork ribs. It got to the point where producers would spot a Charger on the street and immediately approach the owner with an offer to buy it on the spot. In fact, over 200 "General Lee" cars were made and most were destroyed during the series, but around 20 of these still exist today in various states of (dis)repair.
The Dukes of Hazzard has a lot answer for. It was a dumb, fun show with great car chases, funny characters and plenty of action. While this show is relatively tame by today's standards, some people thought it was racy back in 1979. My guess would be because of some people's reactions to Daisy Dukes’ (Catherine Bach) shorts.
I can still remember my reaction to those shorts, although it was a few more years before I could properly identify exactly what that feeling was. So iconic are those little cut-off jean shorts that they have now been named after her - Daisy Dukes. In fact one of Bach's outfits was on display at the Smithsonian in Washington DC, but it had to be removed because the glass was permanently steamed up.
Inspired by the 1975 film Moon Runners, the TV series The Dukes Of Hazard first aired in 1979 and was an immediate hit.
The Dukes of Hazard follows the troublesome Duke boys, Bo and Luke (played by Tom Wopat and John Schneider), who were always getting into trouble with the chubby overlord Boss Hog. In the show, just about every time a crime takes place in Hazard county, Boss assumes it is the Duke boys at it again. Generally, he's wrong but, more often than not, he tries to pin his own misdemeanors on those good ole' boys.
The rest of the show was filled out with the colourful characters of Hazard county - Uncle Jessie, Crazy Cooter ("comin’ at ya"), Deputy Enos and of course, the snickering Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane - "oh, oh, I'm in HOT pursuit!"
Towards the end of the series it wasn't as good as when it first started. The best episodes of the show were during the first season, when everything was brand new. And, as far as the episodes where Bo and Luke were replaced with their "cousins" Coy and Vance, let us never speak of them again.
Wopat, who beat out Dennis Quaid and Gerald McRaney for the role of Luke Duke, spent time living on a farm – much like his character. He grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm with his six brothers and sisters, but no hottie cousins or shine-running uncles. Apparently Wopat Enjoys fishing for bass, panfish and large carp - presumably with a bow and dynamite arrows.
Schneider auditioned for the role of Bo by pretending he was a genuine country boy. He had a week’s growth of beard and held a beer can claiming he was from Snellville, Georgia. It worked.
In addition to starring on The Dukes of Hazard, Schneider also wrote and directed several episodes of the series. What's more, he performed many of his own stunts, including driving.
Born on the same day as Oscar-winning filmmaker Ron "Sit On It" Howard, Bach was a shoo-in for the part of Daisy Duke (or should that be "short in"?). Born to a German father and a Mexican mother, Bach hand-made many of the costumes she wore as Daisy Duke, particularly those seen in early episodes, including tops; the red bikini seen during the first episode, “One Armed Bandits”, that were immortalised in the opening credits; and even her famous Daisy Duke cut-off jeans.
Schneider and Wopat briefly left the show due to a contract dispute in 1982, and were replaced by new characters and actors (who we’re not speaking about), but due to falling ratings they were soon back on the show. But the show never fully regained its original popularity and after seven series and 147 episodes, the show was finally cancelled in 1985.
So where are those good ole' boys and girls now?
As well as continuing to work as an actor in TV and film, Schneider soon went on to become a successful country singer. He is probably best known today for his role as Clark Kent's adoptive father in the hit TV series Smallville.
He has three children - Leah, Chasen and Karis - and is co-founder of the Children's Miracle Network charity organisation, along with Marie Osmond.
He also races cars every May in the Silver State Classic Challenge held in Ely, Nevada where he is the driver of a model of the General Lee with fellow actor friend, James Caviezel, who is his navigator. And, possibly as a way of making amends, Schneider has personally restored over 20 Dodge Chargers.
Wopat went on to become a serious and successful stage actor and in 1999 was nominated for a Best Actor Tony Award for his role in the musical "Annie Get Your Gun".
He is performing in the David Mamet play, Glengarry, Glen Ross, with Alan Alda, at the Royale Theatre in New York. He's been quoted as saying “As far as Dukes of Hazard goes, it was what it was. It was a huge phenomenon. If you have a success of that stature you should embrace it. And you shouldn't deny it. Some people who have a popular television show will tell you that they wanted to 'be more artistic' and deny that that TV show was what they wanted to do, but to me it's all work."
Bach continued to appear on TV and in films in the 1980s and early 1990s. She now lives with her husband and two daughters in Los Angeles, opting for the quiet life.
All three of them reunited last year to add their voices to the Video game - The Dukes of Hazard: Return of the General Lee. Altogether now YEEEEE-HAW!
"General" Facts
• Waylon Jennings provided the voice of "The Balladeer" for every episode
• During one of the famous jump sequences, the stunt crew actually set a world record
• Over half of the fan mail for The Dukes of Hazard was sent to the General Lee
• Ben Jones (Crazy Cooter) actually owns a store called "Cooters" in Gatlinburg Tennessee dedicated to all things related to The Dukes of Hazard
• Tom Wopat explained that his trademark sliding across the hood of the General Lee was an accident as he had originally intended to leap over the hood. However, the back heel of his boot clipped the car resulting in his sliding.
• Bo and Luke's real names are Boregard and Lukas
• The original Georgia location of Cooter’s Garage was torn down in 1998 to make way for a church expansion, and the original Boar's Nest is also now a church
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