The Dukes': Then and Now

Arts and Culture

Dukesfest at AMS celebrates '80s series

During the early 1980s, CBS' "The Dukes of Hazzard" was among the most popular series on television. The series will be feted this weekend during 'Dukesfest' at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. From left, the show's original cast members Ben Jones, Tom Wopat, John Schneider, Denver Pyle, Catherine Bach deal with a crooked cop played by Sonny Shroyer during an episode.

"The Dukes of Hazzard" blended comedy, action and campy drama. In this 1980 episode, Bo (John Schneider, foreground) receives a blow to the head and Luke (Tom Wopat) and Daisy Duke (Catherine Bach) administer aid.

The Dukes' main nemesis on the series was the conniving civic leader "Boss Hogg" played by Sorrell Brooke (right). In this '83 episode Boss Hogg tries to woo a comely new deputy with his cooking skills.

Reunited: Dukes of Hazzard cast members, from far left, James Best as Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane, Ben Jones as Cooter Davenport, Sonny Shroyer as Deputy Enos Strate, Catherine Bach as Daisy Duke, and Rick Hurst as Deputy Cletus Hogg, sing to the shows theme song during the 25th Anniversary DukesFest in Bristol, Tenn. in '04. Fans of the show came from as far away as Australia to meet cast members. The show, which critics loved to hate, aired from 1979 to 1985.

Boss Hogg was aided in his crooked schemes by two bumbling lawmen, Roscoe (James Best, left) and Cletus (Rick Hurst).

For one unenviable season, actors Chris Mayer (left) and Byron Cherry had to fill in as "Vance" and "Coy" Duke; replacing Wopat and Schneider. Wopat and Schneider returned to their roles for the final season.

John Schneider (Bo Duke) in a recent public appearance.

Tom Wopat (Luke Duke) in a recent public appearance.

Catherine Bach (Daisy Duke) in a recent public appearance.

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During the early 1980s, CBS' "The Dukes of Hazzard" was among the most popular series on television. The series will be feted this weekend during 'Dukesfest' at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. From left, the show's original cast members Ben Jones, Tom Wopat, John Schneider, Denver Pyle, Catherine Bach deal with a crooked cop played by Sonny Shroyer during an episode.

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