HazzardNet

Daisy Duke has competition! This pretty gal in the photo is Alyssa, the 2011 Rock Island County Fair Queen. Unable to resist a man in Hazzard County uniform, she’s seen here with Sonny Shroyer, otherwise known as Deputy Enos Strate, during his appearance in East Moline, Illinois on July 19.  Sonny was accompanied by a General Lee and a Hazzard County patrol car. It was all part of “Dukes of Hazzard Night”  at the Quad City Speedway.

Sonny’s a genuine good ol’ boy, and his charm lights up a room wherever he goes. If you didn’t get a chance to meet him yet, you’ll have another opportunity at Hazzard Homecoming on August 13 & 14 in Sperryville, Virgina. More on that soon!

Have a General Lee, a Hazzard County patrol car, or a classic car you’d like to show off? There’s an outfit in Georgia who would love to see you.

Operation Sandbox is a non-profit group that makes care packages for our troops serving overseas. This group benefits by an upcoming car show called “Hazzard County Supports Our Troops”, in Covington, GA, on July 30 from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

There is no registration fee. The event is free to the public. There is no advance registration for car owners, just come with your car and sign in before 4:00 p.m.  

Here’s how the show benefits the troops. Instead of cash fees or admissions, donations of food and hygiene products are requested for care packages. Food suggestions include single-serving drink mixes, microwavable mac n’ cheese cups,  microwave popcorn,  trail mixes, dried fruit snacks, gum, beef jerky, and similar items. Hygiene product suggestions are travel-sized shampoos/conditioners and all the usual travel-sized stuff you’d need yourself on a trip.

It’s appropriate to have a Dukes of Hazzard themed car show in Covington. This area of Georgia is where The Dukes of Hazzard began; the first five episodes of the first season were filmed here. The Covington town square is recognizable to any long-time Dukes fan, and General Lees are a natural complement to the scenery.

If you can’t make the show, consider supporting Operation Sandbox with a donation, or even a card with kind words for a military service member. Visit their website for more information about what they do.  Our gratitude goes out to all of those who are serving our country.

You can’t say we haven’t been patient. The Enos series first aired on November 12, 1980. It lasted 18 episodes, ending on May 20, 1981.  Despite guest appearances by several Dukes of Hazzard cast members,  Enos didn’t place high enough in the ratings to please CBS. The short-lived spinoff was canceled and never seen again.

Many long-time Dukes of Hazzard fans have asked about the Enos series. When Warner Bros. released The Dukes of Hazzard on DVD, there was hope that Enos would follow. It didn’t. But in 2010, WB unexpectedly released The Dukes animated series via DVD-on-demand.  Happy as we are to have The Dukes available, we’re still looking for Enos.

Recently, we reached out to Warner Bros. and asked them if Enos would be available in the  future. WB would only say this:  “While we can’t comment on release plans for specific titles, we can tell you that each month, more and more films and TV series will be made available.”

Possum on a gumbush!  No promises, but there’s hope. We’d love to see WB offer a DVD-on-demand release for Enos that would include Sonny Shroyer’s autograph.  The first 500 copies of The Dukes animated series featured an autograph by James Best, and this allotment sold out quickly. (You can still order The Dukes, without the autograph.)  A similar marketing promotion for Enos would make sense.

We’ll keep our ears on for Enos news. Meanwhile, console yourself by meeting Sonny Shroyer in person at the Johnny Lightning Fest in Dyersville, Iowa!  He’s scheduled to appear July 16 only from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  The event is free, but autographs usually run five or ten bucks depending on the item.  Remember to watch our Forums and homepage for more cast news and upcoming events. You can also catch us sleeping on Facebook and one of these days we’ll make real use of Twitter, ya never know!

CMT continues the late-night airings of the Dukes of Hazzard, but this week they’ve shook up the broadcast days. No Dukes Monday or Tuesday, but you’ll have Dukes Wednesday through Friday, with a double feature o’ Dukes on Thursday.

Set your TiVo, or pull an all-nighter, and watch the following episodes:

The Canterbury Crock
Wed, July 06, 1:00 a.m. Eastern

Mrs. Daisy Hogg, & Double Dukes
Thurs, July 07, 1:00 a.m + 2:00 a.m. Eastern

Diamonds in the Rough
Fri,  July 08, 1:00 a.m. Eastern

Notable in this week’s episodes: “The Canterbury Crock” features one of the zaniest chase scenes in the Dukes of Hazzard series, where everyone switches cars and then the chase runs backwards. If you’ve never seen Rosco drive the General Lee, you won’t want to miss this episode. Does Rosco crash the General? Watch and find out!

The episode “Diamonds in the Rough” was directed by James Best, ol’ Rosco P. Coltrane himself. Does the episode itself crash? You’ll have to watch and decide on your own!

We should also mention that in the episode “Mrs. Daisy Hogg,”  Daisy Duke has another romance go completely down the tubes. You’d think a girl this pretty would have better luck landing a man.

Meanwhile, we continue to hope that CMT will air The Dukes of Hazzard during a family viewing hour. So far, they’re airing the Dukes very randomly and the pleas of fans have fallen on deaf ears.  We are making our own appeal to CMT concerning this and we’ll let you know if we get a response.

Officially, summer just started, but it already feels like it’s flying by! One thing you don’t want to skip this summer is the good ol’ fashioned family road trip, especially when you can meet some of the original cast members of The Dukes of Hazzard! Here’s a quick list of what’s going on and who’s gonna be there:

July 01 – Rick Hurst, otherwise known as Deputy Cletus Hogg, will be at Cooter’s Place in Gatlinburg TN!

July 02 – Catherine Bach, Daisy Duke herself, will be at Cooter’s Place in Gatlinburg TN!

July 04 – Ben “Cooter” Jones will be at…no, not Cooter’s Place! Fooled ya. He’ll be at the community 4th of July shindig in Sperryville VA!

July 08-10 – John Schneider, known around here as Bo Duke, will be at the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals in Carlisle, PA!

July 16 – Sonny Shroyer, a/k/a Deputy Enos Strate, will be at the Johnny Lightning collectibles shindig in Dyersville, IA!

July 30-31 – John Schneider will be at the Marilla Car, Truck & Cycle Show in Marilla, NY!

Aug 13-14 – James Best, ol’ Rosco P.Coltrane, makes his only summer appearance scheduled thus far, at the Hazzard Homecoming in Sperryville, VA! Hazzard Homecoming is the big Dukes shindig of the summer, organized by Ben Jones and the lovely Miss Alma. Catherine Bach, Sonny Shroyer, and Rick Hurst will also be joining Ben Jones at this event. This is the place to see a General Lee, and to enjoy bluegrass music, all surrounded in the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

*UPDATE*  John Schneider will also be at Hazzard Homecoming but *ONLY* on Sunday, August 14th!

What about Tom Wopat, of Luke Duke fame? He’s given his regards – and time – to Broadway! You can see him in the Tony-award winning musical, “Catch Me if You Can.”

Note, many of the above events, such as Hazzard Homecoming, and the car shows, require an admission fee. We will be adding more event details and links to our Forums section for each cast member. Also, please be aware that cast members generally do not give “free” autographs. An autograph may be included if you make a merchandise purchase from them, but if you bring an item of your own to have signed, be prepared to pay. Cast members each have their own rules n’ deals on these matters, and generally reserve the right to restrict their autographs to approved merchandise.

Have you ever seen Tom Wopat in concert? Or listened to his music? If not, you’re missing out on his vocal talent. Fortunately, you can tune in via the web for his upcoming show!

Tom Wopat and his band will be performing LIVE at the legendary Birdland Jazz Club in New York City this Monday, June 20th!

The performance will be streaming live online, so mark your calendars, set your reminders, and tune in at 7 pm EST to Birdland’s Livestream channel.

Remember, that’s this Monday June 20th, 7pm EST / 6pm CST / 4pm PST.

Tune in and jazz yourself up.

Here are the upcoming broadcasts for The Dukes of Hazzard on CMT:

Carnival of Thrills, Part 2
Mon, June 13, 11:00 p.m. Eastern

Enos Strate to the Top
Tues, June 14, 11:00 p.m. Eastern

The Hazzardville Horror
Wed, June 15, 1:00 a.m. Eastern

And in This Corner, Luke Duke
Thurs, June 16, 11:00 p.m. Eastern

As usual, the air times are kinda late. But hey, it’s summer, so it’s ok for the kids to be up all night! Otherwise, set your TiVo! Carnival of Thrills Part 2 has one of the best General Lee stunts of the series, you won’t want to miss it. Even if you’ve seen it before! Check your local cable listings and watch the Dukes of Hazzard!

Saturday June 11th, the Barberton Speedway is hosting the NorthEast Ohio Dukes stunt show! There’s also a full night of great auto racing on the schedule. This is your chance to support local racing and enjoy a spectacular show by the Northeast Ohio Dukes stunt team! Admission is $15.00, and the grandstand opens at 4:30 p.m. Qualifying, or “time trials” as we call it some places, start at 5:30 p.m. Actual racing starts at 7:00 p.m., but we’d recommend getting there early and staking out a good seat.

Ray Kohn, stunt man, General Lee pilot and all-around good ol’ boy, is a textbook example of what we mean by a passionate fan of The Dukes of Hazzard. Talk about livin’ the dream, take a look at this video of the Northeast Ohio Dukes stunt team in action! Then, haul yourself to Ohio and see the General Lee stunts live!

Northeast Ohio Dukes Stunt Show

This gem from YouTube shows the passion and dedication of Dukes of Hazzard fans who gathered in Hazard, Kentucky, in 1981. Some folks call this the first, true Dukes fan event and they may be correct.

Much has changed since 1981. Sorrell “Boss Hogg” Booke is no longer with us. Nor is the terminally ill child in this video, who referred to herself as “JoJo P. Coltrane.”

What remains, is the passion and dedication of Dukes of Hazzard fans around the world, of all ages, of all walks of life. We are fortunate that we have many cast members still with us, who are willing to meet and greet fans at appearances and events. People like Ben Jones, James Best, Rick Hurst, Catherine Bach, Sonny Shroyer, John Schneider and Tom Wopat. Who would have thought, that 32 years after The Dukes of Hazzard hit the air, people would still be talking about Cooter, Rosco, Cletus, Daisy, Enos, Bo and Luke? Or lining up to meet them whenever the opportunity arose?

In the upcoming days we will be posting more news and info about upcoming cast appearances. For now, enjoy this look back in time. This is what it was like – and is like – to be a Dukes of Hazzard fan.

The Dukes of Hazzard has been put back on the late-night time slots again. CMT seems to be using Dukes of Hazzard as a fill-in for hours that they don’t know what to do with. Break out the TiVo, or pull an all-nighter to watch these upcoming episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard:

Mason Dixon’s Girls
Mon, Jun. 6 11:00 PM Eastern

R.I.P. Henry Flatt
Tue, Jun. 7 11:00 PM Eastern

Southern Comfurts
Fri, Jun. 10 1:00 AM Eastern

Carnival of Thrills, Part 1
Fri, Jun. 10 2:00 AM Eastern

The air times are jumping around enough that there’s no telling what days of the week, or what time slots, the show will have from one week to the next. Check your local cable listings for the CMT channel and plan ahead!