Dukes of hazzard general lee

It may be the most iconic dukes of hazzard general lee in TV history, but you almost definitely don't know everything about the General Lee. For its famous jump — the one in the opening credits — the Dodge Charger "General Lee" had several hundred pounds of cement in its trunk. Earlier jumps had gone badly because the Charger was too front-heavy. The Dukes of Hazzard ran episodes over 7 seasons and a large number of Chargers were destroyed in filming.

It was consistently among the top-rated television series in the late s and early s at one point, ranking second only to Dallas , which immediately followed the show on CBS's Friday night schedule. The show is a retelling of the English folk tale Robin Hood and features two young male cousins, Bo and Luke Duke, who live in rural Georgia and are on probation for moonshine -running. Probation prevents the "Duke Boys" from owning guns and the duo are armed with bows and arrows and clever plans to outwit a corrupt sheriff and greedy rich "city slickers. The series was also inspired by the film Moonrunners , about a bootlegger family, which was written and directed by Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts. The show was the basis for a film of the same title in The Dukes of Hazzard follows the adventures of "the Duke boys", cousins Bo Duke John Schneider and Luke Duke Tom Wopat including Coy and Vance Duke for most of season 5 , who live on a family farm in fictional Hazzard County, Georgia the exact location of which was never specified, though Atlanta was mentioned several times as the nearest big city , with their female cousin Daisy Catherine Bach and their wise old Uncle Jesse Denver Pyle.

Dukes of hazzard general lee

The General Lee sometimes referred to as simply "the General" is an orange Dodge Charger driven in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard by the characters the Duke boys, Bo and Luke , along with cousins Coy and Vance in season 5. It is known for its signature horn, its police chases, stunts—especially its long jumps—and for having its doors welded shut, leaving the Dukes to climb in and out through the windows. The car appears in every episode but one "Mary Kaye's Baby". The car's name is a reference to Robert E. It bears a Confederate battle flag on its roof, and also has a horn which plays the first 12 notes of the song " Dixie ". The idea for the General Lee was developed from the bootlegger Jerry Rushing 's car, which was named for Lee's favorite horse, Traveller. Traveller was also the name of the car in Moonrunners , the movie precursor to The Dukes of Hazzard. Although the estimated number of General Lees used varies from different sources, according to former cast member Ben Jones " Cooter " in the show , as well as builders involved with the show, General Lees were used to film the series. Others claim about were used in the series. Approximately 17 originals still exist, although in various states of repair. On average, more than one General Lee was used up per show. When filming a jump, anywhere from to 1, pounds to kg of sand bags or concrete ballast was placed in the trunk to prevent the car from nosing over. Later in the series the mechanics would raise the front end of the car to keep it from scraping against the ramp causing it to lose speed, thereby providing a cushion for the driver upon landing.

The New York Times. Many episodes revolve around Hogg's attempts to engage in some such scheme, sometimes with the aid of hired criminal help. For a running entry, Bo and Luke also slide over the hood rather than walk around the front of the car.

From to , the General Lee was the biggest automotive star in the world. The Dukes of Hazzard wasn't a particularly well-written show, but it was no worse than anything else on TV at the time. It is however unlikely that millions of people would have tuned in every week to watch a show about some goofy hijinks in a small Southern town, without that amazing set of wheels. The thrilling stunts, gritty chases, and of course those amazing jumps are why the series was such a success. Like its human counterparts, the General Lee was an actor and a lot of what appeared on-screen was make-believe. The Mighty Mopar had stunt doubles and often relied on Hollywood special effects magic to pull off some of its more memorable feats.

It may be the most iconic car in TV history, but you almost definitely don't know everything about the General Lee. The Dukes of Hazzard ran episodes over 7 seasons and a large number of Chargers were destroyed in filming. Some sources place the figure at over Some people mistakenly think the show was based on Dirty Mary Crazy Larry which also featured a Charger. However, the show was based on Moonrunners , a throwaway which was based upon the "true" moonshining exploits of two brothers, their sexy cousin, and even Waylon Jennings as "Balladeer. At least once, a Charger was wrecked by accident due to an actor losing control of the car. Caught on film, the accident was worked into the plot and made the final cut. In the last years of the show, producers found they had created a shortage of Dodge Chargers. They used AMC Ambassadors, painted them orange and used fancy camera angles and editing techniques to try and hide the switch.

Dukes of hazzard general lee

Over the years, audiences found themselves getting attached to famous vehicles that became characters on their own rights, and one such car is General Lee: the iconic Dodge Charger used by cousins Bo John Schneider and Luke Tom Wopat Duke used in The Dukes of Hazzard. To this day, old-school fans of the show and newcomers alike admire the General Lee and spend vast amounts of money to acquire a replica or even a miniature of it. To celebrate the show nearing its 40 th anniversary, here are 10 bizarre facts about General Lee that you may not have heard before. Using the General Lee, the Duke boys pulled off amazing stunts that would make professional racers envious. Some of its modifications include: custom wheels and tires, heavy-duty suspensions, a powerful Magnum V8 engine, and loosened brakes to make the car capable of making degree turns. Each General Lee was fitted with interior steel roll bars and cages to give the driver and passengers added protection. Every time the General Lee made one of hundreds of daredevil jumps, it soared in the air and landed rear-wheels first.

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These instances became more frequent as the show progressed, and later seasons saw a number of stories where the Dukes and Hogg and Coltrane temporarily work together. Catherine Bach also considered walking out due to similar concerns, but Wopat and Schneider convinced her to stay, insisting that if she left, there might not be a show to come back to, and that settling the issue was up to them. Loretta Lynn was kidnapped by criminals wanting to break into the music business. Dressed in an all-white suit just like his Uncle Boss, Hughie drove or was chauffeured around in a white VW Beetle with bull horns on the hood, similar to Boss Hogg's Cadillac. Rushing appeared as shady used car dealer Ace Parker in the third episode, "Repo Men" the fourth to be broadcast. The design of the roll cage also varied across the seasons. The jump covered 82 feet and hit a peak of 16 feet. Played by Elmore Vincent on the character's first appearance, in the fourth-season episode "Dear Diary", before Parley Baer took over the role in subsequent appearances. Retrieved June 24, By that time, the car was the star of the show and Warner Bros. Retrieved January 9, By this time, there was also a rivalry for "TV's greatest car" with the Knight Rider series, leading to the models being used more and more for greater jumps to try to out-do that series. Retrieved November 2, These Jeeps were leased to the producers of the show by American Motors Corporation in exchange for a brief mention in the closing credits of the show.

The adventures of the fast-drivin', rubber-burnin' Duke boys of Hazzard County.

One of Hughie's loyal duo of henchmen. However, over the course of the show's fourth season, series stars Tom Wopat and John Schneider—who had already previously voiced their concern and discontent about increasingly inferior scripts being written for episodes—became increasingly concerned about a contract dispute over their salaries and merchandising royalties owed to them from the high sales of Dukes products. The show is a retelling of the English folk tale Robin Hood and features two young male cousins, Bo and Luke Duke, who live in rural Georgia and are on probation for moonshine -running. Instead, the Dukes drove around in a blue Plymouth Fury borrowed from Cooter that Luke later destroyed by shooting a flaming arrow at the car, whose trunk had been leaking due to the moonshine stowed in the back. They were discontinued due to the continuity of the General Lee graphics, making it one less thing to be used. Originally, there were only three General Lee cars for filming. Boss Hogg is one of only two characters to appear in every episode of the series, the other being Uncle Jesse Duke. Retrieved May 16, The made to car then had the engine removed, got the General Lee treatment then weight added to balance the car for the main Freeway jump. For the song, see The General Lee song. Despite the ballast, the landing altitude of the car was somewhat unpredictable, resulting in moderate to extremely violent forces, depending on how it landed. July 2,