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For the 2005 film, see: The Dukes of Hazzard (film).
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.
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Exposition
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The TV series, The Dukes of Hazzard, followed the adventures of two good ol' boys, Bo and Luke Duke, living in an unincorporated area of the fictional Hazzard County, in Georgia, racing around in their 1969 Dodge Charger, The General Lee, evading corrupt Boss Hogg and his inept county sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. Bo and Luke had been sentenced to probation for illegal transportation of moonshine.
Many episodes revolved around Boss trying to engage in an illegal scheme with criminal associates. Some of these were get-rich-quick schemes, though many others affected the financial security of the Duke farm, which Boss had long wanted to acquire for nefarious reasons. Other times, Boss hired known criminals to frame Bo and Luke for crimes such as bank robbery (thus, resulting in probation revocation and allowing Boss to easily acquire the Duke farm). It was up to Bo and Luke to uncover the schemes and foil the criminals. Due to their fundamentally good natures, although Boss Hogg continually tried to frame them, the Dukes were always willing to help him out.
More than once Boss was targeted by former associates who were either seeking revenge or had turned against him after a scheme unraveled as a consequence of Boss' greedy nature or Rosco's bumbling. Sometimes, criminals who were even more crooked and ruthless than Boss came to town. Sheriff Rosco also found himself in trouble more than once. On such occasions, Bo and Luke usually had to rescue their adversaries as an inevitable precursor to defeating the bad guys.
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Origins
The show was an adaptation of the movie Moonrunners (1975), based on the life and times of Jerry Rushing. In Moonrunners, the "Good Ol' Boys", Grady and Bobby Lee Hagg, ran moonshine for Uncle Jesse Hagg. Uncle Jesse prides himself on his old-fashioned moonshining and refuses to buckle to the 'big business moonshine' tactics of boss Jake, who controls the area for the New York mafia. There is an obvious parallel between the surnames 'Hagg' and 'Hogg', despite the transfer from hero to villain. Characters including "Uncle Jesse", "Sheriff Rosco Coltrane" and "Cooter" are also featured in the film.
A lesser source of archetypes are the Louisiana car chase scenes from the James Bond film, Live and Let Die, featuring Sheriff J.W. Pepper. The Sheriff is a recognizable antecedent of Boss Hogg, likewise his wisecracking deputies (the boys) for Bo and Luke.
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Main characters
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Bo Duke (John Schneider) (1979–1982 & 1983–1985) was the blond-haired Duke boy. He was the younger, wilder one of the pair. He was more of a "shoot first, ask questions later" type. An ex-stock car test driver, Bo was the one who drove The General Lee most of the time. He was known for taking the car off wild jumps (and landing without a scratch). He and his cousin Luke were under probation for transporting moonshine and were not permitted to leave the county. Along with Luke, Bo regularly fought on the side of justice against the corrupt law officials in Hazzard. Bo was known for his yell, "Yeeeee-Haaa!"
Luke Duke (Tom Wopat) (1979–1982 & 1983–1985) was the dark-haired, older cousin. More mature and rational than his cousin Bo, he was typically the one who thought of the plan that would get the two out of whatever trouble they had gotten into. Luke was an ex-Marine and skilled fighter. He was the more physical of the two, often doing stunts like jumping onto moving cars. As part of their probation, Bo and Luke were not allowed to use firearms, instead using bow and arrows to fight corruption in Hazzard. Luke was best known for his famous "hood slide" across The General Lee, which was seen in the opening credits of the show.
The Duke boys shared the CB callsign "Lost Sheep".
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Supporting cast of characters
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Daisy Duke (Catherine Bach) raced around Hazzard with her cousins, first in a yellow and black 1971 Plymouth Road Runner, and then—after her car was lost over the side of a cliff—she received her trademark white 1980 Jeep CJ-7 "Golden Eagle" with a Golden Eagle emblem on the hood, the "Dixie". Daisy worked as a waitress at the Boar's Nest, the local bar owned by Boss Hogg. She often used her looks and her position at the restaurant to get insider information to help the Dukes in foiling Boss's various schemes. Daisy also has the distinction of having her trademark provocatively high-cut jean short shorts named after her: "Daisy Dukes". CB Callsign: "Bo Peep"
Jesse Duke, (Denver Pyle) also known as "Uncle Jesse", was the patriarch of the Duke clan, and the father-figure to all Dukes who stayed with him on the dilapidated "Duke Farm". Jesse apparently had no children of his own, and happily provided for his nephews and niece in the unexplained absence of all of their parents (The creator of the show states on the DVDs that their parents were killed in a car wreck, but it was never mentioned in the show). Jesse Duke, in his youth, had been a Ridge-Runner in direct competition with J.D. Hogg, thus beginning the "feud" between the Dukes and the Hoggs. However, it should be noted that, while both Boss Hogg and Uncle Jesse would scowl at the mention of the other's name, the two enjoyed a lifelong "friendship" of sorts, with one helping the other when in desperate need. Jesse educated his nephews against Hogg, and often provided the cousins with inspirational sage advice. Uncle Jesse drove a white 1973 Ford F-100 pickup truck. CB Callsign: "Shepherd"
Cooter Davenport (Ben Jones) was the Hazzard County mechanic, also known as "Crazy" Cooter. He owned "Cooter's Garage" in Hazzard County Square, directly across from the Police Department and the County Bank. Cooter was also an "Honorary Duke", as he often assisted the Dukes in escaping Rosco's clutches, or helped them to foil Boss Hogg's schemes. Cooter drove a variety of trucks, Including Fords, Chevys, & GMCs.
'''Rosco Purvis Coltrane''' (James Best) is the bumbling sheriff of Hazzard County and right-hand man of its corrupt county administrator, Jefferson Davis "J.D." Hogg ("Boss Hogg"). Although Rosco spent the first 20 years of his career as a mostly honest lawman, after the county voted away his pension Rosco joined Hogg in an effort to fund his retirement. Rosco frequently initiates car chases with Bo and Luke Duke (Hogg's most frequent adversaries), but the Duke boys are often able to easily elude Rosco, who winds up crashing his patrol car in various ways (always escaping uninjured). Rosco's loyal companion (pictured) is Flash.
'''"Boss" J.D. (Jefferson Davis) Hogg''', (Sorrell Booke), is the wealthiest man in Hazzard County, and owns most of its property and businesses — whether directly or by holding the mortgages over the land. He is a greedy, corrupt county commissioner with visions of grandeur, a voracious appetite for fatty foods, and constantly orders his bumbling sheriff, Rosco, to "Git them Duke Boys!!" His vehicle was a white 1970 Cadillac Coupe de Ville convertible (almost always driven by a chauffeur), with bull horns attached to the hood. Boss Hogg was also married to Rosco's sister, a point that did not always sit well with either Boss Hogg or Rosco.
Deputy Enos Strate (Sonny Shroyer) (1979-1980; 1982-1985), was generally a friend of the Dukes, but during the early years, he too was involved in car chases with Bo and Luke (since he was Rosco's underling). Only after he returned from his stint in Los Angeles did he totally refuse to harass the Dukes without just cause. He had a crush on Daisy Duke that she often used to the Dukes' advantage in unraveling Boss and Rosco's schemes. Enos is very much in love with Daisy, although the audience is almost always left with the feeling Daisy does not love Enos, even when she suggests marrying him to avoid testifying against him in court.
Deputy Cletus Hogg (Rick Hurst) (1980-1982), Boss Hogg's cousin, was also generally friendly and dim-witted, but he would gladly assist Boss and Rosco in their unprovoked pursuit of the Dukes. Each of the Hazzard County Sheriff's Department officers drove various Chrysler "B-body" patrol cars 1977-78 Dodge Monaco & Plymouth Fury. Cletus often ended up landing in water, usually when pursuing the Duke boys in a car chase.
The Balladeer (voice of Waylon Jennings) sang and played the Dukes of Hazzard theme song, "Good Ol' Boys", and also served as the show's narrator. During each episode, he provided an omniscient viewpoint of the situations presented, and regularly interjected comical asides during crucial plot points (often, during a freeze frame of a cliffhanger scene right before a commercial break) and "down home" aphorisms.
Coy Duke (Byron Cherry) (1982-1983), an obvious replacement for Bo, was another blond-haired cousin who moved to Uncle Jesse's farm along with cousin Vance after Bo and Luke left Hazzard to join the NASCAR circuit. The character proved to be unpopular with fans and was written out of the show after 18 episodes. Following John Schneider and Tom Wopat's return to the series, Coy, along with cousin Vance, left to tend to a sick relative, never to be mentioned again.
Vance Duke (Christopher Mayer) (1982-1983), an obvious replacement for Luke, filled the void of a dark-haired Duke on the show. The character proved to be unpopular with fans and was written out of the show after 18 episodes. Following John Schneider and Tom Wopat's return to the series, Vance, along with cousin Coy, left to tend to a sick relative, never to be mentioned again.
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Recurring characters
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Memorable characters that appeared once in the series
B.B. Davenport — Cooter's cousin who filled in for him at the garage when Cooter was out of town. B.B. appeared in Granny Annie (portrayed by Mickey Jones).
"Little Cousin" — An alien from outer space, portrayed by actor Felix Silla.
Mary Kaye Porter - A pregnant woman who was on the run from gangsters in Mary Kaye's Baby.
Ace Parker — Ace was Hazzard's number-two car salesman. (He was also the only car salesman in Hazzard.) Ace was a partner with Boss in their crooked car lot.
Dewey Hogg — Dewey Hogg was introduced in "How to Succeed in Hazzard". He is Hughie's older brother and is a proud supporter of crooked Hogg family values. Like Hughie, Dewey grew up with the Dukes and tormented them at every opportunity. As children, Dewey tried to push Daisy off the roof of the house in a soapbox airplane. He also cheated her out of first place in the All-School Spelling Bee, which Daisy is still upset about. Dewey, like Boss and Hughie, started his scams young. In the third grade, Dewey faked the Bubonic Plague and got the school closed for a week. In the ninth grade, Dewey sold all the school chairs and desks to get two moonshine stills. As Waylon said, "Dewey makes his Uncle Boss look respectable". Dewey was once a boy scout-apparently, that's where he learned how to plan out his schemes.
Buster Moon — Sheriff Buster Moon replaced Grady Byrd and made his only appearance in "Return of the Ridge Runners". To this day, no one really knows what prompted Boss to give Buster Rosco's job.
Hortense Coltrane — Lulu and Rosco's older sister, Hortense is a no-nonsense woman who doesn't think very highly of Boss. She appeared in "The Return of Hughie Hogg".
Jamie Lee Hogg (portrayed by Jonathan Frakes) — Jamie Lee Hogg is Boss's nephew who visits Hazzard in "Mrs. Daisy Hogg". Jamie is fabulously wealthy, like all the Hoggs, and at first appearance seems to have made all his money legally. However, Jamie Lee's true Hogg nature comes through when it's revealed he's the head of a major counterfeiting operation. When his partners turn on him and threaten Daisy, Jamie Lee does step up to defend her, but that doesn't keep him from being arrested for his illegal activities.
Clarence — The bank janitor at Boss Hogg's bank.
Aunt Clara Coltrane - From the episode Sadie Hogg Day, she became acting sheriff for one day.
Jason Steele — A bounty hunter with a criminal past that supposed multi-millionaire Rosco hires to capture Bo and Luke Duke. Steele has a genuinely nasty disposition and loses his temper and kidnaps Rosco when the sheriff — upon learning he isn't a multi-millionaire after all — is unable to pay a $100,000 fee for services rendered.
Billy Joe Fong — A friend of the Dukes, Billy Joe was a member of Hazzard's oldest—and only—Chinese family, the Fongs.
Big Daddy Hogg (portrayed by Les Tremayne) — The head of the Hogg clan comes to town in "Big Daddy". Boss's "Big Daddy" visits his son to see what kind of man he's become. While at first it seems Big Daddy is as straight as Abraham Lincoln Hogg, it is discovered he's more crooked than Boss ever was. Big Daddy is one of the biggest scam artists the South has ever seen, next to his son.
Lester Crabb (portrayed by Clifton James) — Sheriff Lester Crabb the "Traveling Sheriff", came to Hazzard in "Treasure of Hazzard" to replace Rosco. Lester was a very different type of Sheriff. According to the Balladeer, "When Lester walks by, babies cry, flowers wilt, and beer just naturally goes flat." Lester's motto was "Orders is orders", which would seem to make him good for Boss. However, Lester suddenly left Hazzard for parts unknown.
Nancy Lou (portrayed by Kim Richards) — In "Cooter's Girl" Cooter is reintroduced to his 18-year-old daughter, Nancy Lou. Years ago, Cooter and local girl Beverly Hibbs ran away and got married. Back then, Cooter was still somewhat of a wild man. Beverly's daddy had the marriage annulled, but not before Beverly got pregnant. Because of his wild side, both she and Cooter agreed it would be better if she raised Nancy alone. Beverly later remarried. When she turned 18, Nancy was told about her daddy and came to Hazzard to learn about him. After a typical Hazzard rough start, Nancy and Cooter finally got to spend time with each other and begin becoming a part of each other's lives.
Jonas — One of Cooter's friends.
Rufus Z. Coltrane — Rosco's Great Great Grandfather (portrayed by James Best).
Thaddeus B. Hogg — Boss Hogg's Great Great Grandfather (portrayed Sorrell Booke).
Dieter Davenport — Cooter's Great Great Grandfather (portrayed by Ben Jones).
Jeremiah Duke — Uncle Jesse's Great Great Grandfather (portrayed by Denver Pyle).
Jenny Duke — Uncle Jesse's Great Great Grandmother.
Waylon Jennings (as himself) came to Hazzard with a mobile Country Music museum, which Boss Hogg promptly stole (a crime he framed the Duke boys with). While Waylon is revealed as being an old friend of the Duke family and refuses to believe they had anything to do with the theft, his associate falls for Boss's tricks and is convinced that they stole the museum. The primary evidence is a hat that Waylon gave to the Duke boys (although he had also given out similar hats to other people), which was left at the scene of the crime. Naturally, everything is eventually cleared up and the Dukes help find and return the museum. During this episode, it is revealed that the Balladeer is, indeed, Waylon Jennings (who is recounting the tales of the Dukes, rather than just narrating the stories). One of the memorable "Waylonisms" of this episode is "Now, I should've known better than that..."
Jude Emery — Jude Emery is a Texas Ranger who came to Hazzard, in pursuit of bandit Russel "Snake" Harmon. Jude was an unconventional lawman: he drove a Korean War surplus Jeep and his gun didn't work. Jude and Daisy showed an attraction to one another, but like all classic cowboys, Jude rode off into the sunset.
Sheriff Emmitt "Spike" Loomis — The nastiest lawman in the South with an extremely bad temper, he's been known to rip off whole pieces of cars when angry. Very much a prototype of Sheriff Little.
Sheriff Grady Byrd played by Dick Sargent, Grady Byrd was Boss's cousin and night watchman at the gravel pits for 20 years before he finally gave him the chance to fill in for Rosco. Grady first appeared in "Officer Daisy Duke". While Grady did his best to live up to Boss Hogg's low expectations, it quickly became clear that Grady wasn't going to be a success at his new job. Grady left the job an episode later.
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Vehicles
The General Lee was a souped-up 1969 Dodge Charger. It was orange with a Confederate battle flag painted on the roof, and the words "GENERAL LEE" over each door. The name refers to the American Civil War Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The windows were always open, as the doors were welded shut; and the car has the number "01" on both sides. (Through the history of the show, an estimated 229 General Lees were used. Twenty still exist in various states of repair. The upper left corner of the "1" in the "01" varied, making for a continuity error.)
The 1974 AMC Matador was one of many different Hazzard County police cars used on the series, mostly in the first season. These were fitted with light bars, and working radios. Matadors were among the more obscure sedans, but a popular police car from 1972 to 1974, also used in Adam-12, and pummeled by Michael Jackson in a video. The Dukes of Hazzard was also infamous for the use (and destruction) of mid- to late-1970s Dodge Monacos and Plymouth Furys.
Dixie was the name given to Daisy Duke's trademark white 1980 Jeep CJ-7 "Golden Eagle" which had a Golden Eagle emblem on the hood and the name "Dixie" on the sides.
The Plymouth Roadrunner was used by Daisy Duke in the first season and first fourteen episodes of the second season until Bo and Luke sent it off a cliff in "The Runaway". At the end of that episode, she is given her Golden Eagle Jeep "Dixie". The models of Plymouth Roadrunner used were usually the 1971 or 1974 model.
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Bo and Luke leave the show
The Dukes of Hazzard was consistently among the top-rated television series (at one point, ranking second only to Dallas, which immediately followed the show on CBS' Friday night schedule). Then, in the spring of 1982, series stars John Schneider and Tom Wopat walked off the set in a contract dispute over their salaries and merchandising royalties.
Two "replacement Dukes" were subsequently hired (Byron Cherry as Coy, Christopher Mayer as Vance), and the ratings immediately sank. Much of the criticism was that Coy and Vance were nothing but clones of Bo and Luke, something that creator Gy Waldron himself has said was wrong. The scripts were nothing more than Bo and Luke ones with Bo and Luke crossed out - quite literally - and Coy and Vance penned in. The "faux Dukes" (one of the more polite ways viewers described the previously unmentioned nephews of Uncle Jesse, who were said to have left the farm in 1978, before the show had started) were never popular with viewers, and were immediately written out the show when Schneider and Wopat reached a settlement and returned to the series in early 1983. Some fans consider this period as "The Scabs of Hazzard".
Although Coy and Vance were never popular with the majority, many viewers were disappointed by their departure episode, "Welcome Back, Bo 'N' Luke", which was very much a standard episode, with the return of Bo and Luke and the departure of Coy and Vance tagged onto the beginning. As unpopular as they were, many fans would have liked to have seen Coy and Vance team up with Bo and Luke to tackle a particularly dastardly plot from Boss Hogg, but as it turned out, the "faux Dukes" had virtually no dialog and were gone by the first commercial break, never to be mentioned again.
While the return of Bo and Luke was welcomed by hardcore and casual viewers alike, the show never regained its former popularity.
One of Wopat and Schneider's disputes even before they left was what they considered to be increasingly weak and formulaic scripts, something that many viewers, even including hardcore fans, tended to agree with. With Wopat and Schneider's return, the producers agreed to try a wider scope of storylines, even including some science fiction tones in certain episodes. However, the damage had been done with Coy and Vance, and at the end of its seventh season in 1985, The Dukes of Hazzard quietly ended its run.
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Tourist attraction
Although Hazzard County, Georgia was a fictional location (the early episodes of the show were filmed in Covington, Georgia and Conyers, Georgia), the real-life town of Hazard, Kentucky was a beneficiary of the show's popularity. Members of the cast were frequent visitors to the town's annual Black Gold Festival. There are still gatherings of Dukes of Hazzard fans, the largest of which is the Dukesfest, which is held at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee and organized by Ben Jones (Cooter Davenport) and his wife. More than 25,000 fans attended the 2 day event in 2005.
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The "Cousin Countin Game"
Many people have tried to decipher the Duke's family tree in an attempt to understand how it is that so many people could be cousins, all with the last name "Duke." The last unofficial word is that Jesse Duke would have had to have come from a family of seven boys, including himself, as he would have had to have six brothers to have produced offspring named "Duke."
Brother 1 - Luke and Jud Kane's father
Brother 3 - Daisy's father
Brother 5 - Vance's father
Brother 6 - Jeb Stuart's father
Considering Jesse's advanced age, it is possible he may have been a great-uncle to Bo, Luke and Daisy, and thus the brother of their grandfather. As the term "cousin" has a wide range of familial applications, it isn't strictly necessary for all the various cousins depicted on the show to be first cousins.
NOTE: "Gaylord Duke" appeared in the episode "The Duke of Duke" (Episode 13, Season 2. Original airdate: 21 December 1979) claiming to be a cousin by marriage, but turned out to be a con man impersonating their real 3rd cousin from London, England where he is a priest at a halfway-house.
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Theme song
The theme song "The Good Ol' Boys" was written and performed by Waylon Jennings. He was also "The Balladeer" (as credited), and served as narrator of the show.
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Episode list
A complete listing of The Dukes of Hazzard episodes, along with synopsis, can be found at List of The Dukes of Hazzard episodes.
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Movies
There were two made-for-TV reunion movies, The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! (1997) and The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard In Hollywood (2000)
A feature film remake of the series, The Dukes of Hazzard premiered on August 5 2005. It was well received, earning over $113 million dollars worldwide.
A second Dukes of Hazzard film, The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning , a prequel to the original (and the series) will be a straight to DVD release.
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Spin offs
The character of Deputy Sheriff Enos Strate was spun off into his own short-lived detective show called Enos, which ran from 1980–81.
An animated version of the show called The Dukes aired in 1983. The first season fell under the Coy and Vance era of the live-action show and thus they were adapted into animated form. By the second season, Bo and Luke had returned, and they replaced Coy and Vance in the cartoon.
Five video games based on the show were created:
The Dukes of Hazzard for the Colecovision using Expansion Module
The Dukes of Hazzard (unreleased Atari 2600 prototype by Coleco)
The Dukes of Hazzard: Racing for Home (1999)
The Dukes of Hazzard 2: Daisy Dukes It Out (2000)
In 2005, the Humana Festival of New American Plays premiered a full-length comedy-drama entitled Hazzard County by Allison Moore. The story centers on a young widowed mother and a visit she receives from a big city television producer. Interspersed with recollections of Bo, Luke, and Daisy, the play takes a deep look at southern "Good Ol' Boy" culture and its popularization through the lens of American mass media.
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Reruns
Until TNN was purchased by Viacom, it aired reruns of The Dukes of Hazzard. Some months after the creation of "The New TNN" (shortly before its change to "Spike TV"), the program was absent from all television for quite some time. Viacom's country music-themed cable network CMT (the former sister network to TNN) currently airs the show at 7:00 p.m. eastern time weekday. CMT Canada and Showcase Action airs The Dukes in Canada. CMT America began airing the series in late February 2005. In the United Kingdom, satellite channel Bravo began reruns in August 2005. It also airs Monday-Thursday on ABC Family.
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DVD releases
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Trivia
The General Lees license plate was CNH 320.
Hazzard County used to be named Sleepy City.
In the course of the show's run, more then 300 1969 Dodge Chargers were destroyed. It was noted that once a car jumped, it was never used again, even if there was no visible damage to the car. (Slowing down many of the jumps will reveal the car literally bending on impact.) Late in the show's run, when it got too hard and/or expensive to continue procuring more Chargers, the producers started using jump footage from previous episodes (something that had been done occasionally previously, but not to such an extent).
A continuity error is evident in the first ever episode, ("One Armed Bandits"), where in a car chase scene around the town square, a shot from inside The General Lee clearly shows Bo and Luke drive at speed past another General Lee parked on the roadside. This second car is likely the one used to film external shots of the vehicle.
Sheriff Rosco's name is often misspelled in many sources as Sheriff Roscoe. It was even misspelled in the first episode of the series; at the end of the episode, there is a banner reading 'Welcome Sheriff Roscoe — presumably this mistake was noticed mid-way through, as in a close-up shot, the offending e is conveniently hidden by a balloon!
Denver Pyle (Uncle Jesse) and Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg) are the only characters to appear in every single episode of the series. Catherine Bach (Daisy) appears in all but one episode, the third season's "To Catch A Duke".
Waylon Jennings provides the voice of The Balladeer for every single episode.
The third episode, "Mary Kaye's Baby", is the only episode of the entire run that (bar the opening and closing credits) the General Lee does not appear in.
In 1987, Tom Wopat and John Schneider were reunited in the TV Movie Christmas Comes to Willow Creek. Probably by pure coincidence, a place called Willow Creek was occasionally mentioned in The Dukes of Hazzard.
Rosco's middle initial, 'P.', was not added until the second season. Only in one episode is it revealed that it stands for Purvis.
Catherine Bach made many of Daisy's costumes herself, especially the early ones, including the memorable red bikini in the first episode, immortalized during the show's opening credits.
Daisy's famous cut-off shorts were so short, that the only way the producers could get them on air was for Catherine Bach to wear flesh tone tights with them, to ensure - to put it politely - that the shorts didn't reveal more of her than intended.
During the second season, Ben Jones (Cooter) left the series for a few episodes due to a dispute with the producers. They wanted the character to be unshaven, whereas Jones had grown a full beard. In his absence, Cooter's place was filled by several of Cooter's supposed cousins, who, in typical Coy and Vance style, were never mentioned before or since. Jones returned when the dispute was solved – Cooter would be clean shaven. (However, for continuity reasons, this didn't occur until the third season).
Also during the second season, James Best (Rosco) left over a dispute about the changing-room conditions. His gripe was that he didn’t mind getting soaked when filming Rosco crashing his car into rivers and suchlike, but was unhappy with the poor changing facilities afterwards. During his absence, Rosco was replaced by a number of stand-in Sheriffs. Eventually the dispute was settled, and Best returned as Rosco.
Jeff Altman appeared a number of times in the series as Boss Hogg's equally as crooked (maybe even more crooked) nephew, Hughie Hogg. However, the episode that introduced the character, "Uncle Boss", despite being filmed two episodes into the second season, was not broadcast until the third season, by which time, Hughie had already been seen in his second appearance, as temporary Sheriff in the second season episode "Arrest Jesse Duke". ("Uncle Boss" is noticeably out of sequence even to the more casual viewer as, besides Hughie's introduction despite him having been seen before, Enos is still the Deputy despite having left for Los Angeles at the start of the third season, and Daisy is still driving her yellow Plymouth Roadrunner.)
In the opening credits, carefully observe Luke's slide across the hood of the General Lee. For a split second you can see he actually trips while sliding, catching his right foot on the fender. In a subsequent TV interview, Tom Wopat admitted that was a mistake and they actually reshot it without the stumble, but for some unknown reason the show aired the slide with the stumble. Watch the sequence in slow-motion if you can and you'll clearly see it.
Also on the above mentioned Luke hood-slide, if you watch very carefully, you can see him catch himself on the arial on the near-side of the General Lee. Such arials were removed from later General Lees for such reasons.
The producers of the show originally had the idea for the confederate flag on the General Lee to be on the hood before it ended up on the roof instead.
During the filming of the first season, the producer was riding in a car on a country road when another car, driving the other way, honked their horn at them as they passed them. That car had what was to become the famous "first-12-notes-of-Dixie" horn. Upon hearing the horn, the producer ordered the driver to double back and chase the car down. Once they got the other car to stop, the producer offered the owner of the car upwards of $200 to rip the horn out right there and give it to them. The owner took the deal without hesitation, partially because afterwards the producers found out he could've easily bought the same horn brand-new from the JC Whitney auto parts catalog for about one tenth of what he offered them.
Jerry Rushing, who played crooked used car salesman Ace Parker in the early, first season episode "Repo Men", was a former moonshine runner whose exploits were much of the inspiration for Moonrunners (the movie that lead to The Dukes Of Hazzard), and was said to be very much the inspiration for the character of Bo Duke. Rushing wanted the part of Ace Parker to be a re-occurring one, but "Repo Men" was his sole appearance.
Daisy's original car, a yellow Plymouth Roadrunner, with black stripe along the sides and over the roof, occasionally changed into a Plymouth Satellite in some episodes! The car met its demise when the brakes failed while Bo and Luke were driving it in the second season episode "The Runaway", sending it over a cliff. It was replaced by Daisy's familiar 1980 white Jeep CJ7, called Dixie, with a golden eagle painted on the hood. The version of Jeep seen at the end of "The Runaway" is different from the regular version, the most noticeable difference being that it has doors, whereas the regular version didn't. Due to the episodes being broadcast in a different order to that in which they were produced, the Plymouth magically reappeared several times after it had supposedly been wrecked!
The very early episodes are slightly, but noticeably, raunchier than the family-friendly show that the series would soon become. Examples include: light-hearted comments that Bo and Luke each have a number of girlfriends and that Luke may even be the father to several children; Bo telling Daisy (in "One Armed Bandits") "If we weren't related, I'd marry you", to which Daisy responds "That never stopped anyone in this family before"; mention of Enos being "the oldest virgin in Hazzard County"; the inclusion of 'good time girls' in the second episode, "Daisy's Song"; and use, by both Boss Hogg and Rosco, of the phrase "Jackass", which would evolve into Rosco's "Dipstick".
There are several noticeable differences in character in the very early episodes, including Rosco as an embittered, once honest law-man who turned crooked after being cheated out of his pension; and Cooter, far from being the clean-cut good ol' boy mechanic that he would become, instead being very much a petty criminal, stealing the Sheriffs car at the start of the first episode ("One Armed Bandits"), running moonshine for Boss Hogg in another ("Mary Kaye's Baby"), and even borrowing the Presidents limo for a joyride in "Limo One Is Missing". All of the characters in general are more serious and grittier than the caricatures that they would develop into.
The two-hour / two-part story "Carnival Of Thrills", (produced at the end of the second season, broadcast at the start of the third season), was adapted into a set of reels for children's 3D toy View-Master. The fourth season episode "Pin The Tail On The Dukes" was later adapted into a second set.
At the start of the third season, at the suggestion of James Best, Sheriff Rosco gains a dog, a lazy basset hound called Flash, who always barks at Boss Hogg but likes the Dukes. (Flash is never 'introduced' to the series as such, first appearing in the episode "Enos Strate To The Top" with no fanfare).
Denver Pyle (Uncle Jesse), James Best (Rosco), Tom Wopat (Luke), Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg) and John Schneider (Bo) all directed episodes of the series.
In the last couple of seasons, pushed to out-do previous stunts, and also with some rivalry with the array of stunts seen by new TV super-car K.I.T.T. in Knight Rider, model miniatures were employed, to allow the General Lee to supposedly perform even greater jumps and stunts. However, many did not like these fake-looking stunts, and when directing an episode, Tom Wopat (Luke) disliked them so much that he deliberately wrote them out of the script.
At the end of the seventh season, the cast and crew knew that the series had not been renewed for another season and that it was the end of the series. Instead of a 'closure' episode, things ended with a standard episode, "Opening Night at the Boar's Nest", the only notable thing about this episode being that it was written and directed by John Schneider (Bo).
Bo and Luke's probation generally indicated that they weren't allowed to leave Hazzard County; However, the exact details of this agreement varied in different episodes. Sometimes it seemed that if they simply set foot outside of Hazzard they would be breaking probation, whereas other times they seemed able to leave as long as they were back by a certain time. And just how they were able to leave to race on the NASCAR circuit in the fifth season was never explained, but their probation was back in place when they returned.
The shot of a guitar being held and played at the start of the first season opening credits wasn't of Waylon Jennings. The shot was updated to a shot that was actually of him at the start of the second season, remaining for the rest of the show's run.
John Schneider (Bo)'s famous "Yee-Haa" call was actually used for both Bo and Luke. For example, at the end of the opening credits, where it sounds like both Bo and Luke are calling it, it is actually Bo's used twice. Tom Wopat (Luke) didn't start to master it for himself until the mid-second season.
As well as the two spin-offs, Enos and the animated The Dukes, two second season episodes, "Jude Emery" (about a Texas ranger), and "Mason Dixon's Girls" (about a Private Investigator and his two attractive associates) were both pilots for possible new shows, but neither one became an actual series.
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Parodies
A show called The Damn! Show did a very raunchy parody on their DVD called The Gooks of Hazzard which included many Asian jokes, and the two guys in the Bo and Luke role drove in a Subaru XT coupe painted in orange with the japanese flag on the roof and "01" on the doors in an oriental font.
The show was also recently parodied for a Lotto Super 7 TV commercial in Canada; in the ad, the parody was called The Dukes of Windsor, starring Lucas (Luke) and Beauregard (Bo), a pair of rich and rebellious bon vivants being pursued by The CEO (Boss Hogg).
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