The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American action comedy television series created by Gy Waldron that aired on CBS from January 26, 1979, to February 8, 1985, with a total of seven seasons consisting of 147 episodes.It was consistently among the top-rated television series in the late 1970s and early 1980s (at one point, ranking second only to Dallas, which immediately followed the show on CBS's Friday night schedule).Probation prevents the "Duke Boys" from owning guns, and they are armed with bows and arrows and clever plans to outwit a corrupt sheriff and greedy rich "city slickers."Their cousin Daisy Duke and other family (such as patriarch Uncle Jesse) live in a secluded country home in the woods, where they plan various escapades to expose and evade county commissioner Boss Hogg and law officer Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, about a bootlegger family, which Waldron wrote and directed and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.The Duke boys race around in their customized 1969 Dodge Charger stock car, dubbed (The) General Lee, evading crooked and corrupt county commissioner Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) and his bumbling and corrupt Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane (James Best) along with his deputy(s), and always managing to get caught in the middle of various local escapades and incidents.Enos Strate (Sonny Shroyer) is an honest but naive young deputy who, despite his friendship with the Dukes (and his crush on Daisy), is reluctantly forced to take part in Hogg and Rosco's crooked schemes.On such occasions, Bo and Luke usually have to rescue their adversaries as an inevitable precursor to defeating the bad guys; in other instances, the Dukes join forces with Hogg and Coltrane to tackle bigger threats to Hazzard or one of their respective parties.Created by Gy Waldron in collaboration with ex-moonshiner Jerry Rushing, this movie shares many identical and very similar names and concepts with the subsequent TV series.In the meantime, executives at Warner Bros. were impressed by the rough preview cuts of the completed episodes and saw potential in developing the show into a full-running series.Many of the episodes followed a similar structure "out-of-town crooks pull a robbery or commit a crime or scandal, Duke boys blamed, spend the rest of the hour clearing their names, the General Lee flies and the squad cars crash".[citation needed] Throughout its network television run, The Dukes of Hazzard had a consistent mix of up-and-comers and established stars make guest appearances.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).With that success came huge profits in merchandising, with a wide array of Dukes of Hazzard toys and products being licensed and becoming big sellers.Catherine Bach also considered walking out due to similar concerns, but Wopat and Schneider convinced her to stay, insisting that if she left, there might not be a show to come back to, and that settling the issue was up to them.[15]: 96 The new Dukes—previously unmentioned nephews of Uncle Jesse, who were said to have left the farm in 1976 before the show had started—were unpopular with the great majority of viewers, and the ratings immediately sank.Hit hard by the significant drop in ratings, Warner Bros. renegotiated with Wopat and Schneider, and eventually a settlement was reached, and the original Duke boys returned to the series in early 1983, four episodes from the conclusion of the fifth season.Initially, part of the press release announcing Wopat and Schneider's return suggested that Cherry and Mayer would remain as part of the cast (though presumably in a reduced role),[15]: 97 but it was quickly realized that "four Duke boys" would not work within the context of the series, and due to the huge unpopularity associated with their time on the show, they were quickly written out of the same episode in which Bo and Luke returned.[15]: 249 While the return of Bo and Luke was welcomed by ardent and casual viewers alike, and as a result ratings recovered slightly, the show never completely regained its former popularity.Traveler was originally intended to be the name of the Duke boys' stock car too, until producers agreed that General Lee had more punch to it.The car had been scrapped after being wrecked during the famous opening jump shoot, and was later discovered in a junkyard by the president of the North American General Lee fan club.Some of the 01 and Confederate flag motifs were initially hand painted, but as production sped up, these were replaced with vinyl decals for quick application (and removal), as needed.Instead, the Dukes drove around in a blue 1975 Plymouth Fury borrowed from Cooter that Luke later destroyed by shooting a flaming arrow at the car, whose trunk had been leaking due to the moonshine stowed in the back.A white 1970 Cadillac de Ville convertible was used as Boss Hogg's car, notably with large bull horns as a hood ornament.In early seasons, Hogg was almost always driven by a chauffeur, who was normally nameless and had little or no dialogue, but identified on occasion as being called "Alex"; and played by several uncredited actors, including stuntman Gary Baxley.Notably, television stations that aired the show in syndication include KCOP Los Angeles, WGN-TV Chicago, KBHK-TV San Francisco, WKBD Detroit, WTAF/WTXF Philadelphia, KTXL Sacramento, WVTV Milwaukee, KMSP Minneapolis–Saint Paul, WLOS Asheville, among others."[50] Peter Hartlaub, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle: "Unfortunately, the first Dukes season wasn't the best, with a low budget and characters who found their footing as the series continued (Cooter started out a numbskull type)."[51] Conversely, Danny Graydon (Empire) writes: "Today, Hazzard's considerable charm endures, even if the sheer predictability is wearing.[56] After the 2015 Charleston church shooting, renewed debate about the symbolism of the Confederate battle flag (which was prominently featured on the General Lee's roof, and the panel behind the rear window in the first five episodes) prompted TV Land to pull reruns of the original series.Covington and Conyers, Georgia, where the original five episodes were produced and filmed, have been two major tourist attractions for Dukes of Hazzard fans.
The Dukes of Hazzard (film)The Dukes of Hazzard (soundtrack)The Dukes of Hazzard (video game)Action comedyAdventureComedy dramaGy WaldronTom WopatJohn SchneiderCatherine BachDenver PyleRick HurstSonny ShroyerBen JonesJames BestSorrell BookeWaylon JenningsByron CherryChristopher MayerGood Ol' Boyslist of episodesSingle-cameraWarner Bros. TelevisionThe DukesMoonrunners147 episodesDallasLuke DukeGeorgiaprobationmoonshineDaisy DukeBoss HoggSheriff Rosco P. ColtraneDodge Chargerthe General Leebootleggerfilm of the same titleBo Dukestock car(The) General Leecounty commissionercompound bowsdynamiteget-rich-quick schemesdeputyhis own showmoonshinerJerry RushingWarner Bros.CovingtonConyersAtlantaWarner Bros. lotBurbank, CaliforniaHidden ValleyThousand Oaks, CaliforniaLake SherwoodParamount RanchAgoura HillsList of The Dukes of Hazzard episodesRecurringLucas K. "Luke" DukeUnited States Marine CorpsBeauregard "Bo" Dukeriding shotgunrebel yellcall signPlymouth Road RunnerridgerunnerFord F-100sheriffBasset HoundDick SargentBoss Jefferson Davis "J.D." HoggmortgagesCadillac Coupe de Villechauffeurmethod actorcooterChevyscar chaseB bodyDodge MonacoPlymouth FuryNASCARMerchant Marinerasidescliffhangeranimal shelterstuffedFloyd LawsonThe Andy Griffith ShowPeggy ReaAchilles' heelLindsay BloomErnie LivelyMickey JonesJeff AltmanVW BeetleCadillacPat StudstillPatrick CranshawNedra VolzDon Pedro ColleyParley Baerdisc jockeyM. C. GaineyRobert AldaCarlos Brown/Alan AutryAnthony De LongisJames AveryNorman AldenRayford BarnesPat ButtramDennis BurkleyClancy BrownRegis CordicCharles CyphersRoz KellyJi-Tu CumbukaBen DavidsonElinor DonahueJason EversJonathan FrakesJanie Fricke