Fun TV Facts "The Dukes of Hazzard"

The "Dukes of Hazzard" was a very popular family television show from 1979 until 1985. The show, which aired Friday nights at 9 EST, told the story of the Duke cousins, their Uncle Jesse, Boss Hogg and other people from Hazzard County.

The Cousins and Uncle Jesse

Bo, Luke, and Daisy Duke lived with their Uncle Jesse on his farm. In the fifth season, cousins Coy and Vance came to live on the farm while Bo and Luke went away. It was never revealed in the show why the parents of Bo, Luke, Daisy, Coy, and Vance were never mentioned but on the DVD release, it is revealed that all of these parents died in a car crash. Uncle Jesse never had any children of his own but instead he took in his nephews and his niece after all the parents perished.

Departures

Bo and Luke left the show to pursue other things, but in reality, it was a contract dispute, which caused the stir. Once ratings plummeted the show's producers made a settlement with John Schneider and Tom Wopat and they returned to the show. Many people do not realize that Catherine Back who played Daisy almost left the show but Wopat and Schneider convinced her to stay.

Ben Jones who played Crazy Cooter in "The Dukes of Hazzard" also left the show in the second season. His reasons were finically related, but it still caused a dilemma as the producers scrambled to find actors to fill his role as the mechanic in town. He left the show over a dispute as to if his character should be clean-shaven, unshaven or have a full beard. Jones wished to be clean-shaven and finally in the third season that is the way the fans seen him.

Celebrity Speed Trap

This was an idea the writers thought about in the second season, and in the third season, this segment appeared at the end of every episode of "The Dukes of Hazzard". Country music stars such as Hoyt Axton, Freddy Fender, Buck Owens, Donna Fargo, Dottie West, and Johnny Paycheck among others were caught in the speed trap set by Sherriff Roscoe. Boss Hogg cut them all a deal, he promised to rip up the ticket if they sang a free concert down at the Boar's Nest.

General Lee

The General Lee was the orange 1968 Charger, with 01 on the doors and the confederate flag on the roof. At first, the producers wanted to name the car 'Traveler" after General Lee's horse but realized the General's name sounded better so that is what they named the car.

There were 309 General Lee's used during the "The Duke's of Hazzard" run, in 2009 only 23 of them remain in some form or another. With the jumps these cars often made, at least one car was destroyed in each show. In 2008, John Schneider sold the one he had at an auction and it sold for "450,000." This was a special car, as the entire cast of the 1997 movie signed it.

Reruns and DVD

The Dukes of Hazzard fans of all ages can watch the show's reruns on CMT and around the world. Fans can also purchase all seven seasons on DVD, as well as both of the movies.

Resources:

http://www2.warnerbros.com/dukesofhazzard/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078607/

http://www.funtrivia.com/en/Television/Dukes-of-Hazzard-2297.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dukes_of_Hazzard