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Trivia / The Dukes of Hazzard

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The series

  • Actor-Inspired Element: Several of Rosco's character traits, notably his "kew-kew" laugh and middle initial P, were created and improvised by James Best. In addition, Rosco's dog Flash was also taken from a suggestion by Best.
  • California Doubling: Apart from the first few episodes, which were shot on location in Georgia.
  • The Character Died with Him:
    • Sorrell Booke died in 1994, three years before the first reunion movie aired. Rather than hire another actor who could reasonably play Boss Hogg, it was decided to also reveal that Boss had passed on. A tender scene is seen early in the film, where Rosco sees a large portrait of Boss hanging in his office and gets emotional. It is revealed that Boss had died not long before the events of the first reunion movie, the circumstances of which are not told.
    • Denver Pyle died in 1997, just months after the first reunion movie aired. The writers of the second reunion movie, aired in 2000 — which depicts, in part, a homecoming celebration in Hazzard — make several references to Uncle Jesse being deceased but well thought of, some two years after the Duke patriarch's passing.
  • Copiously Credited Creator: Whenever one of the main cast also plays another character, they get credited in the closing "guest star" credits:
    • In "Baa Baa White Sheep" Sorrell Booke is credited in the closing credits playing "Abraham Lincoln Hogg" in addition to playing JD Hogg.
    • "Too Many Roscos" credits James Best as his look-alike Woody in addition to playing Rosco.
    • In "Welcome Waylon Jennings" Waylon is credited twice, once in the opening credits as "The Balladeer" and then As Himself in the closing credits.
  • Creator Backlash:
    • Most of the cast were of the view that the scripts could have been generally better (the writers, in turn, said they were straitjacketed by executive producer Paul Picard's guidelines — that's why, for instance, it almost never gets dark in Hazzard County). Tom Wopat felt the cartoon had better writing ("Some of them are pretty funny. And the car flies!").
    • They also weren't too keen on Warner Bros. mandating the use of miniature work to make the car sequences ever more spectacular in the later seasons note . Neither were the stunt personnel.
  • Dawson Casting:
    • Enos Strate was introduced as a recent police academy graduate and younger than Bo and Luke (probably around 19-22), and it was mentioned several times that Enos was childhood friends with the Duke cousins, but Sonny Shroyer was in his mid-forties at the time, and about 20 years older than any of the Dukes. Shroyer has always looked much younger than he actually is, though, so the casting worked.
    • John Schneider was 18 when he was hired to play Bo, whose character is said to be in his mid-20s when the series began. (Indeed, the casting directors were looking for a mid-20s man, and Schneider has recalled in interviews where he lied about his age (and background) to audition for the part.)
  • Directed by Cast Member: Multiple instances, with episodes directed by James Best, Sorrell Booke, Denver Pyle, John Schneider and Tom Wopat (Schneider directed the Series Finale, which he also co-wrote - he was the only cast member to write an episode).
  • Distanced from Current Events: Don't expect to see this on television again any time soon after the Charleston church massacre perpetrated by white supremacist and Confederate sympathizer Dylann Storm Roof. The outpouring of white nationalism from the alt. right, which includes both confederate sympathizers and neo-Nazis, two years later overshadowed the charm of the show's southern pride even further. Despite episodes and merchandise having already been pulled from many outlets, and the fact that the Confederate Flag on General Lee's roof has been removed recently, the death of George Floyd further torpedoed the show's reputation to the point where the Forza video game series—where General Lee styled liveries were a common sight—banned any use of the Confederate battle flag, and American society saw driving a General Lee (real or virtual) as akin to driving a car with a Nazi swastika on the body panels called the General Rommel. The show is however widely available on streaming platforms.
  • Dueling Shows: Part of the ratings decline during the second half of the series run was attributed to the presence of Knight Rider on NBC. While not airing directly against each other, both shows vied for the attention of a largely younger audience with an interest in souped up cars. As a result producers began to increase stunt and jump sequences featuring the General Lee. The rivalry between the series was played up both in print (a satirical cross over story between the two shows in a 1983 issue of Cracked magazine) and on Knight Rider (an episode where an orange Dodge Charger, painted to resemble the General Lee, crashes and bursts into flames (during a race between cars running on alternative fuels, this car running on moonshine), killing two stereotypical Southern boys dressed like Bo and Luke).
  • Fake Nationality: Sort of.
    • Despite all the southern charm (and southern stereotypes) of the show, none of the four main actors were actually from Dixie. (John Schneider was from New York, Tom Wopat was from Wisconsin, Catherine Bach was from Ohio and the '69 Dodge Charger was from Michigan.) Due to the popularity of the series, they have been accepted as honorary Southerners, however.
    • Meanwhile, Denver Pyle (Uncle Jesse) was from Colorado and Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg) was from Buffalo, New York. (Booke was actually a graduate of Yale.)
    • In fact, only James Best (Kentucky), Ben Jones (North Carolina), and Sonny Shroyer (Georgia) were southerners among the main cast.
  • Fatal Method Acting: Assistant cameraman Rodney Mitchell was killed and eight other crew members were injured when their camera truck flipped while rehearsing a chase scene.
  • Follow the Leader: Owes just as much to Smokey and the Bandit as it does to Moonrunners.
  • Harpo Does Something Funny: In later seasons Sorrell Booke and James Best were often allowed to ad lib once the producers realized the duo's comedic chemistry. Both Best and Booke submitted ideas to the writers, which were almost always used; several of these acts were used in their real-life birthday party package.
  • He Also Did:
    • Schneider and Wopat both had somewhat fruitful careers as Country Music singers.
    • Ben Jones (Cooter) later served 2 terms as a fairly moderate to conservative Democratic Congressman from 1989-93 representing part of the Atlanta area.
    • Sorrell Booke served in the Korean War as a counter-intelligence officer and he was fluent in 12 languages and "conversant" in at least 6 others. James Best once told the story that when Andrew Robinson made a guest appearance, he and Booke would speak to each other in Japanese as a prank in order to confuse the cast and crew.
  • Playing Against Type: Sorrell Booke was a versatile character actor, but before he was cast as Boss Hogg he usually specialized in playing white collar New Yorkers.
  • Recycled: The Series:
    • The show is a combination of this and Spiritual Licensee to the film Moonrunners, right down to having Waylon Jennings narrating both productions.
    • Jerry Rushing, a real life ex-moonshiner whose reminisces were used as the basis for Moonrunners (and who had a Real-Person Cameo in that film), went on to sue Warner Bros. for developing Dukes without giving him credit.
  • The Red Stapler: "Daisy Duke" shorts, tight jeans cut off just below the buttocks, remain in fashion among teenage girls (though the name hasn't been in use since the early 90's), becoming stock jailbait attire.
  • Referenced by...: In Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), while fleeing the roadside bar, Sonic slides across the police car's hood like Bo and Luke do.
  • Wag the Director: Sorrell Booke was adamant that Boss Hogg never be seen dealing drugs or killing people.
  • What Could Have Been: P.J. Soles auditioned for Daisy Duke. Her then-husband, Dennis Quaid, was considered for the part of Bo but he turned it down.
  • Word of God: While never spoken of in any episodes:
    • Creator Gy Waldron has given a back story explaining that Uncle Jesse took in and raised Bo, Luke and Daisy upon their parents' death in a car crash.
    • Uncle Jesse has admonished Bo and Luke that, despite their family being bitter enemies of Boss and Rosco, they might be called upon to save them from a dangerous situation, such as an enemy the series de-facto villains have gotten on the wrong side of ... and if they refuse and Boss and Rosco are killed as a direct result, he will disown and disinherit them.
  • Written by Cast Member: John Schneider co-wrote and directed "Opening Night At The Boar's Nest," the Series Finale.

The film

  • Cowboy BeBop at His Computer: Roger Ebert referred to the original show as a sitcom in his review, which it really isn't.
  • Creator Backlash: The film garnered considerable backlash from those involved in both the series and the film itself.
    • Most of the cast of the film doesn't look back fondly on it. Seann William Scott said he enjoyed filming it and is still friends with his castmates (particularly Johnny Knoxville), but didn't like the final product. Even his family was embarrassed for him when he invited them to the film's premiere.
    • When Johnny Knoxville appeared on the Henry Rollins Show, Henry told him that he'd just seen the movie. Johnny replied by taking seven dollars out of his pocket, handing it over and saying "Sorry about that".
  • The Danza: In the Latin American Spanish dub, Jesse Conde voice Uncle Jesse Duke.
  • Disowned Adaptation:
    • Ben Jones (who played Cooter in the original TV show) famously hated the film, due to the fact that the series was a family show while the movie contained enough vulgar humor that it nearly received an R rating.
    • Although initially he commented that he enjoyed the new style of relationship between the movie versions of Bo and Luke, John Schneider, who played Bo Duke in the original series, was later asked if he saw the film and said: "My gosh... it was terrible! It wasn't Dukes. It was true to whatever it was; I just don't know what that was!"
  • Dyeing for Your Art: Jessica Simpson adopted a strict diet and fitness regimen to get into the best shape of her life.
  • What Could Have Been:

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