Characters / The Dukes of Hazzard

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The Duke Boys

Played by: John Schneider (Bo) and Tom Wopat (Luke) in the original series, Seann William Scott (Bo) and Johnny Knoxville (Luke) in the 2005 movie, Jonathan Bennett (Bo) and Randy Wayne in the 2007 movie

• Badass Driver: Both of them. In fact, they briefly left Hazzard County to become NASCAR drivers.
• The Casanova: Bo, frequently.
• Chivalrous Pervert: Not exactly a pervert per se, but Bo is an incurable skirt chaser. Despite this, he is always very gentlemanly to the girls he pursues.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Downplayed with Bo. He can be a hot head at times, but he's not usually an angry person overall.
• Limited Wardrobe: Bo was nearly always seen wearing the same style of clothes, with a yellow shirt (with a blue T-shirt underneath for the first two seasons and some of third; this T-shirt is brown in the pilot episode), and light blue jeans. The exact hue of the shirt varied across the seasons - early on it was a deeper yellow; mid-run it was more of a cream color, and late examples saw it being more of a grey tone. The second episode produced and broadcast, "Daisy's Song", is notable for Bo instead wearing a red shirt for much of the story. A sequence in the fifth episode, "High Octane", sees Bo dressed in a light blue shirt, and many early publicity shots see the character dressed in a darker blue denim shirt.
• The McCoy: Bo is most often swayed by his feelings, and tends to be impulsive and hot headed.
• Nice Guy: Both of them care deeply about their loved ones and can be quite friendly and gentlemanly.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Their real names are Beauregarde and Lucas.
• The Smart Guy: Luke. He is usually the one to come up with a plan to get himself and Bo out of trouble.
• The Spock: Luke usually plays the Spock to Bo's McCoy, as he is the more mature and intelligent one. Either Daisy or Uncle Jesse will usually take the role of The Kirk to them.

Daisy Duke

Played by: Catherine Bach in the original series, Jessica Simpson in the 2005 movie, and April Scott in the 2007 movie

• Action Girl: She can more than hold her own when the chips are down, and displays on a number of occasions that she can turn her skills to any problem at hand. For instance, during one adventure with a stolen armored personnel carrier (the second season's "Follow That Still"), Daisy is able to accurately fire its main gun while the vehicle is in motion with barely any instruction from her Vietnam War veteran cousin, and Uncle Jesse cheerfully decorates her as "Sharpshooter of the Week" for the feat. She also displays horse riding, archery, and numerous other skills in various episodes
• Adaptational Dye-Job: Brunette in the series, blonde in the movie.
• Alliterative Name: Daisy Duke.
• Badass Driver: She occasionally drives the General Lee during various adventures, and on some occasions it is suggested that Daisy may even be a better driver than her talented cousins (such as the first-season episode "The Big Heist," in which Sheriff Rosco, believing that Bo and Luke are driving the General, comments that they are "driving particularly well today").
• Beware the Nice Ones: Daisy is a sweet girl but she is tougher than she looks. Daisy will not tolerate unwanted advances from men, or anyone threatening her family.
• Distracted by the Sexy: Frequently exploits this against the male villains.
• George Jetson Job Security: Daisy is often fired from her job as waitress at the Boar's Nest on several occasions by its owner, Boss Hogg, for various reasons; though usually she ends up being rehired by the end of the episode.
• Modesty Shorts: A variation, during the TV series she usually wore flesh-coloured tights under those short-shorts to avoid the risk of Wardrobe Malfunction.
• Ms. Fanservice: Both in and out of universe
• Nice Girl: She's very friendly and polite.

Uncle Jesse

Played by: Denver Pyle in the original series, and Willie Nelson in the 2005 and 2007 movies

• As the Good Book Says...: A devout Christian and has been known to quote from the Bible every now and then.
• Catchphrase: "J.D., I ain't ever asked you for anything before, but..." (oddly he says this many, many times in the series)
• Cool Old Guy: He's very wise, fatherly, caring, and has a good sense of humor.
• Drugs Are Bad: Firmly believes this. He chews the boys out when they get caught with marijuana.
• Hillbilly Moonshiner: Unless the drug in question is illicitly-distilled homemade hooch.
• Like Uncle, Like Nephew: He implies that, in his youth, he was a lot like Bo.
• Nice Guy: Uncle Jesse is a loving, caring, and selfless badass Cool Old Guy.
• Southern Gentleman: One of the most gentlemanly men on the show.

Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane

Played by: James Best in the original series, MC Gainey in the 2005 movie, and Harland Williams in the 2007 movie.

• Anti-Villain: Type IV, often bordering on Hero Antagonist.
• Adaptational Villainy: In the original series, he is a childlike Harmless Villain who is completely devoid of any actual evil or malice. In the movies, he is an outright evil man who genuinely hates the Duke Boys.
• Affectionate Nickname: "Velvet Ears", for his loyal dog Flash.
• And a Diet Coke: Happens in "Ghost of General Lee":
  Enos: A double order of catfish, hush puppies, pickles and onions, large order of fries, and extra thick chocolate milk and two slices of pecan pie. Is that right?
  Rosco: Yeah, and get something for yourself, Enos.
  Enos: You want that pie a la mode?
  Rosco: No, Enos, I don't want it a la mode. I gotta watch my calories!
• Catchphrase: Several.
  • "I'm in hot pursuit!"
  • "Good news, good news!" (Or, "Bad news, bad news!")
  • "Aw, tiddly tuddly!"
  • "Oohh, you see, that there's a naughty-naughty!" (indicating grounds to charge)
  • On the police radio: "This is Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane."
  • "Freeeeeeeeze!!!"
  • And his giggling "Oh Goo-goo-good! I love it! I love it!"
  • "Hush!"
  • "What a horrendous crash!" (Also: "That would have killed ten ordinary men!" )
  • "Say hello from Rosco!" (whenever Boss is on the phone, regardless of who he's talking to)
  • "Shame, shame, everybody knows your name!"
• Characterization Marches On: In the early episodes, it was mentioned that Rosco spent the first 30 years of his career as a mostly honest lawman, but after the county voted away his pension Rosco joined Hogg in an effort to fund his retirement in his last couple of years as sheriff. Early episodes also portrayed him as a fairly hard-nosed, somewhat darker policeman character, who even shot a criminal during the first season. As the series progressed and producers recognized how popular it had become with children, James Best altered his portrayal into a more bumbling, comical character. By the end of the first season, his origin had been virtually forgotten (and his job as sheriff appeared to become open ended).
• The Ditz: He tends to get confused easily.
• Drunk on Milk: In the episode "Robot P Coltrane", he temporarily loses his job as Sherriff, so he goes to the Boar's Nest to drown his sorrows...in buttermilk.
• Embarrassing Middle Name: The P stands for "Purvis."
• Friendly Rivalry: After the first season, he becomes too childlike to be seriously hostile to the Dukes and his many attempts at "Hot Pursuit" become more like a game of tag to him and the Duke Boys.
• Giggling Anti-Villain: With his trademark laugh, "Kew kew kew!"
• Harmless Villain: The only reason he's even considered a villain is because he works for Boss Hogg. He's really just a goofy, innocent Manchild who wouldn't hurt a fly.
• Hot-Blooded: Gets excited easily, says whatever comes to his mind, and tends to have larger than life reactions to things.
• Innocent Blue Eyes: He has light blue eyes and is a goofy naive Manchild.
• Large Ham: Often expresses himself in over-the-top ways.
• Manchild: Goofy, innocent, giggly, hyperactive, gullible, believes in fairy tales, simple-minded, and overall an overgrown 7 year old. However, he pulls no punches in regards to enforcing the law.

Enos Strate

Played by Sonny Shroyer in the original series, Michael Weston in the 2005 movie, and Adam Shulman in the 2007 movie

• Anti-Villain: Type IV.
  • Enos is never really portrayed as corrupt or evil, and, despite being on the same side as Boss Hogg, he becomes quite sympathetic and likable over the course of the show.
    • Enos is plagued by a strong sense of duty. He's a deputy, and sworn to uphold the law. Unfortunately for him, Boss Hogg controls the law. At times, one has to wonder if his goofing up isn't at least somewhat intentional as a way of helping the Dukes. Especially considering that he was able to become the head of the Los Angeles SWAT team.
    • What's more, Enos is never viewed by the Dukes themselves as being one of Boss Hogg's cronies. They realize that he's just doing his job and is simply too honest to be a part of anything crooked that Boss has come up with. Even when he's chasing them, they hold no malice towards him. In fact, they consider him to be probably the most honest man in the County and -they say it out loud more than once- the only real law in Hazzard. Whenever they need actual help from the law, it's Enos that they turn to. The fact that Enos grew up with Bo and Luke and has a huge crush on Daisy also means that he's very reluctant to harm the Dukes, and makes it hard for them to view him as an enemy.
• Apologizes a Lot: Almost every time he has to arrest the Duke boys, he will say something like "I'm real sorry 'bout this."
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness
• The Ingenue: A male version. He's very naive, trusting, innocent, polite, shy, and is known as "Hazzard County's Oldest Virgin".
• Meaningful Name: Enos Strate is the only straight cop in Hazzard county.
• Nice Guy: Extremely nice, and very gentlemanly.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Towards Daisy.
• Token Good Cop: Seems to be the lone honest cop in the whole county, despite working for the corrupt Boss Hogg and the equally corrupt, bumbling Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane. More than once, he's referred to as the only real law in Hazzard, and when the Dukes need help from the authorities for a change, it's Enos they go to.

Jefferson Davis Hogg (A.K.A "JD," or "Boss")

Played by Sorrell Booke in the original series, Burt Reynolds in the 2005 movie, and Christopher McDonald in the 2007 movie

• Adaptational Attractiveness: He was a short, fat, balding man in the series. In the film he's...Burt Reynolds.
• Anti-Villain: Type I. He's not evil so much as greedy and dishonest.
• Big Eater: If he's not duking it out with the boys, he's probably pigging out.
• Characterization Marches On: He was initially created as a corrupt, gruff nemesis for the Duke family to battle, but as the series evolved over its first and subsequent seasons, Hogg developed more into a comical money-grabbing villain, more intent on various get-rich-quick schemes and shady plots than ever knowingly causing anyone serious harm.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: He keeps his mother's ashes and is very protective of them, and lauds his mother for being "a good Baptist woman".
• Even Evil Has Standards: He never actually physically hurts anyone. In one episode, he refuses to get involved in selling drugs, despite his history as a moonshiner. And he will in fact often sacrifice tremendous profits, and even betray his partners in crime, when he sees that the scheme is endangering someone's life.
  • When a rich asshole from Savannah with a stick the size of Texas up his ass tries to wrest custody of his grandson from the child's mother simply because she happened to grow up in backwater Hazzard, Boss is as pissed off as the Dukes.
  • One episode spells it out plainly, where the Balladeer intones that while Boss is totally crooked he will NOT tolerate violence and will not get involved in any scheme where someone could get hurt. Boss is greedy for money, but will not have anyone physically hurt to get it.
  • Even calling him evil is a huge stretch. He's crooked, not evil at all.
    Boss Hogg: Now, I've got nothin' against moonshining, income tax evasion, swindling land...that's just good clean fun. But when it comes to selling drugs to poison the minds of young children, there I simply MUST draw the line!
• Evil Twin: To Abraham Lincoln Hogg, who is so nice and honest he once just gave away his car, which he actually needed to go out of Hazzard.
• Familial Foe: Boss is constantly trying to con members of the Duke clan (his old rival Jesse Duke, five nephews and a niece-only three of whom appear in most of the episodes- and some distant cousins who appear in one episode) or frame them for his crimes. Even when Boss isn't directly out to get the Dukes, they still interfere with his money-making schemes out of a sense of justice or because It Amused Me. Boss Hogg and the Dukes have regular Friendly Enemies or Enemy Mine interactions, but always go back to fighting each other before long.
• Fat, Sweaty Southerner in a White Suit: Possibly the Trope Codifier.
• Giggling Villain: In the series, he would become positively giddy thinking about ways to enrich himself or screw with Jesse Duke.
• Greed: His primary vice.
• I Gave My Word: Jerk and schemer though he may be, if Boss Hogg "spits and shakes" (that is, spits into his palm and shakes hands with the person he's talking to) that he'll do something, you can be sure that he will keep his promise.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In spite of his vices, he does have standards, and does not wish to actually harm anyone.
• Large Ham: In the series, complete with a trademark Evil Laugh.
• Meaningful Name: Jefferson Davis Hogg and Abraham Lincoln Hogg. Both were the names of the rival factions' leaders in the American Civil War; Davis was the "bad" guy (i.e. President of the secessionist, pro-slavery Confederate States of America, a.k.a. the "Confederacy") and Lincoln the "good" guy (i.e. President of the United States of America a.k.a. the anti-slavery "Union").
• Small-Town Tyrant: A lighter, softer Harmless Villain version.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Uncle Jesse essentially evolve into this over the course of the series. Going by his and Jessie's talk of their shared past, they were once fellow moonshine runners and True Companions.
  • He and Rosco start out as this, although as the series goes on, the vitriolic part disappears.

Cletus Hogg

Played by Rick Hurst in the original series, Jack Polick in the 2005 movie

• Anti-Villain: Type IV.
• Ascended Extra: He joins the regular cast in Season 3 after making a few guest appearances in the first two seasons.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He disappears without explanation a few episodes into Season 5 (Rick Hurst having taken a role in the short-lived sitcom Amanda's), although he returns for the reunion movies.
• Clueless Deputy: Often.

Cooter Davenport

Played by Ben Jones in the original series, David Koechner in the 2005 movie, and Joel David Moore in the 2007 movie

• Grease Monkey: The Dukes' go-to mechanic.