1979- ‘The Dukes of Hazzard” premeires.

On this day in 1979, the TV show “The Dukes of Hazzard” was premeired. The show starred John Schneider as Bo Duke, Tom Wopat as Luke Duke (Bo’s cousin), Catherine Bach as Daisy Duke, Bo and Luke Duke’s cousin, Denver Pyle as Uncle Jesse, Sorrell Booke as the county commissioner “Boss” Jefferson Davis Hogg,  James Best as the bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane, and Ben Jones as Cooter Davenport, the local mechanic.

Bo and Luke Duke drove a 1969 Dodge Charger called the General Lee. The car was painted orange with a giant “01” painted on the side of its welded-shut doors and a confederate across the top. The General Lee’s horn played the first 12 nokes of “Dixie.” The Dukes used CB radios (Citizen Band radios) to communicate, their handles (nicknames) being Lost Sheep #1 and Lost Sheep #2, This helped premote the usage of CB radios in the 1970s to 1980s.

Boss Hogg drove a white Cadillc Deville convertable, Uncle Jesse drove a Ford pickup, Daisy Duke drove a yellow Plymouth Roadrunner with black striped, then a Jeep with a gold eagle on the hood and “Dixie” written on the doors. Cooter, the mechanic, provided various different types of trucks and cars throughout the series.

The last episode aired on August 16, 1985. There were also many TV specials and a movie in 2005 starring Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott and Jesica Simpson.

(Taken from: www.history.com)