Regardless of the exact number, it is widely agreed that the car stunts in The Dukes of Hazzard were some of the most impressive and memorable in television history, and that the General Lee remains one of the most iconic cars in pop culture. The first car to be wrecked was a 1970 Charger that was crashed into a pond. Somewhere between 256 and 321 "General Lee" cars were created and mostly destroyed during the series. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons hes owned throughout his adult life. Nevertheless, the design remains a defining feature of the General Lee and is widely recognized as one of the most recognizable and memorable car designs in television history. "1977 Plymouth Fury in "The Dukes of Hazzard, 1979-1985"". The impact severely bent the body. The following year, Watson told Golfweek he was looking for a museum to donate the car to. Crazy Credits I bet you they used different cars for almost every Terms of Use P is for Purvis. The first car to be wrecked was a 1970 Charger that was crashed into a pond. Close-up shots showed a Tan-colored interior known as Saddle Tan. The factory option code for the saddle tan interior was C6T. (There is a town called Hazard, Kentucky, spelled with one 'z'. The pair ran off of Highway 165 in Hollister, outside Branson, on Sunday afternoon, seriously damaging the vehicle. So, it appears that the market value for an original is in the neighborhood of $110,000-$115,000. As reported by Springfield News-Leader, the police officers did not issue any citations at the time. To keep the Charger level during the jump, multiple bags of cement filled the trunk to help counterbalance the front end to prevent it from flipping. A 1969 Charger borrowed from this show appeared (without the 01 and flag) on the season 1 episode of Knight Rider; "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death". With the mind-blowing amount of General Lees that crossed the set, a few of the cars were different model year Chargers and others may have been incognito AMC Ambassadors. It got to the point where if producers saw a Charger on the street they would approach the owner and offer to buy it on the spot. According to an article from The Telegraph, "At least 132 cars were wrecked in the shows seven-year run, with the number of write-offs increasing as the stunts became more outlandish." WebThe 1974 AMC Matador [1] was one of many different Hazzard County police cars used on the series, mostly in the first season; they had light bars and working radios. Bizarrely enough, there is a crossover with sitcom, After the series was cancelled, and until. The show starred John Schneider and Tom Wopat as Bo and Luke Duke, two cousins who lived in the fictional Hazzard County, Georgia, and drove around in a customized orange 1969 Dodge Charger named the General Lee. The first season was more adult oriented with mild swearing and sexual jokes. These cars all vary in condition. Market data provided by Factset. His character would later change to a more clean shaven "good ol' boy" type character. Either way, a LOT Photos posted by the Western Taney County Fire Protection District show the iconic orange Dodge Charger on a grassy roadside embankment. The Confederate General Lee was a popular car during the American Civil War. "Ive heard that he took the flag off, but, honestly, I have no reason to believe that thats true," said Schneider, who was promoting his film "Christmas Cars" that featured a General Lee replica with the flag. Its unclear how long these cars will last, but its likely that they will all be gone within the next 10 to 20 years. Rosco is occasionally shown with a fishing pole, in real-life. sale. One of the most iconic cars in show biz, the General Lee took an intense beating thanks to the number of stunts and jumps that happened in the series. According to the Hagerty Insider APP (at the time of this writing), the average value for a 1969 Dodge Charger with a 383 motor is $37,400. (@rottingclassics) on May 11, 2020 at 12:01pm PDT. Boss Hogg, Uncle Jesse and Daisy were the show's only original or regular characters not to be replaced in any way during the show's run. 'Dukes of Hazzard' star John Schneider defends General Lee car. The Charger R/T also featured a range of performance enhancements, such as heavy-duty suspension, bigger brakes, and a more aerodynamic body. 10 Facts You Might Not Have Known About The Charger. This General Lee replica was driven off the road in Hollister, Mo. Fewer than 20 in various states of disrepair still exist. When production finally ended in 1985, only 17 of the Chargers survived in various states of condition. The action that appears in a television program has consequences in the real world. "The Dukes Of Hazzard" show was based on a movie that came out in 1975 called Moonrunners. "After an investigation on scene, it was determined the driver of the vehicle was traveling too fast for the road conditions and lost control of the vehicle he was operating," Schmidt said. The car was crashed into a tree and caught fire. Throughout the series, the Duke boys find themselves in various situations involving car chases, stunts, and attempts to save their family farm from the clutches of Boss Hogg. Replacing the police sedans was easy, but replacing the "General Lee" was much harder because Dodge stopped making the Charger. 1969 Dodge Chargers werent always available due to local supply shortages. Over half of the fan mail for the show was actually addressed to the General Lee. The Dukes of Hazzard: Welcome, Waylon Jennings, The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood, The Dukes of Hazzard: Baa, Baa White Sheep, The Dukes of Hazzard: Mason Dixon's Girls, The Dukes of Hazzard: Treasure of Hazzard, The Dukes of Hazzard: Return of the Ridge Raiders, The Dukes of Hazzard: Carnival of Thrills, The Dukes of Hazzard: 10 Million Dollar Sheriff Part 1, The Dukes of Hazzard: 10 Million Dollar Sheriff: Part 2, The Dukes of Hazzard: Undercover Dukes Part One, The Dukes of Hazzard: Undercover Dukes Part Two. On the other hand, some cars may have been written off as unrepairable after only a minor crash or after several seasons of hard use. Coy had a Blue shirt like Luke's and Vance had a Yellow shirt like Bo's. So if you ever see a General Lee with the number 01 on it, you know that its an original from the shows first season. Photo: Facebook/Western Taney County Fire Protection District, Among American car enthusiasts and collectors, an orange, The Curious Case of Someone Paying $225 for What's Left of a Lucid Air. During that time, Full profile. A lot of cars were crashed during production. Li-Cycle Gets $375 Million Government Loan As It Builds Battery Recycling Plant In New York, Digital Key Malfunction Leads To BMW Z4, 2-Series And 8-Series Recall, Massive Chain Reaction Crash On Icy Massachusetts Road Sends Several To Hospital. The series aired three two hour TV movies, which originally aired as part of CBS's Movie of the Week. Cooter Davenport in the early season's is portrayed as a wile outlaw type who "borrows" other peoples cars and would get into wild barroom fights. When Rosco and Enos wanted pay raises, Boss wouldn't give it to them, therefore, Jesse became the sheriff once. It is estimated that upwards of 300 Dukes of Hazzard cars were used through the TV series that ran from 1979 to 1985. Feed your obsession with new content, giveaways, and exclusives PLUS a FREE Report: 10 of the Most Powerful Muscle Cars Ever Made right to your inboxabsolutely free! The fourth car to be wrecked was a 1974 Charger that was driven by James Best (Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane). The Charger R/T was a popular Dodge Muscle Car in its time and remains highly sought after by car enthusiasts today. The orange 1969 Dodge Charger with the black 01 graphics on the doors is one of the most recognizable movie cars in history. Part of the ratings decline during the second half of the series run was attributed to the debut of the TV series, Daisy Duke's original yellow Plymouth Roadrunner lasted less than a year, after the series debuted on Friday, January 26th, 1979 with. This car was also fitted with a roll cage and was used in the episode One Armed Bandits. Editor's note: Actor and singer John Schneider defends the famous General Lee car and goes inside his new movie honoring its legacy on 'Fox & Friends.'. When Wopat and Schneider were replaced by Cherry and Mayer. How fast was this this thing? One of the most iconic cars in pop culture is the General Lee from the TV series "The Dukes of Hazzard." This 1969 Dodge Charger with screen time in the TV Show was not driven by the Duke Boys when it swerved off the road. General Lee Replica Dukes of Hazzard Style On Missouri Highway. Great! how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2 how many cars were destroyed What remains unclear is if these General Lees were ever on the actual television series, or if they were just built and sprayed orange to resemble the iconic car after the show ended. Sources: Western Taney County Fire Protection District via Facebook, Springfield News-Leader. The Dukes of Hazzard ran 147 episodes over 7 seasons and a large number of 1969 Chargers were destroyed in filming. Despite the show taking place in the south, Tom Wopat's portrayal of Luke often didn't mask his Wisconsin-native accent. Some of the wrecked cars were cut up for interior shots but more than 200 were crushed in junkyards. Legal Statement. The show was canceled, after a seven season run, due to low ratings. The producers flagged down the driver of the vehicle and paid $300 ($1,037.63 in todays dollars) for the five horns and all their component parts. Originally painted Chrysler color EV2 Hemi Orange, the remaining 300 or so Chargers were painted Code 70 Flame Red, originally used on 1975 Chevrolet Corvettes. CBS initially ordered only nine episodes as they were looking for a temporary series to fill mid-season programming holes. A 1970 Dodge Polara [2] and a 1975 Dodge Monaco [3] were used during the pilot episode "One Armed Bandits", these were also seen in the shows title sequence. There were between 256 and 321 Dodge Chargers destroyed over 174 episodes of the series. This was due to the expense of buying or repairing of the vehicles, and the fact that the show's ratings were dropping. Because of the controversy over the years due to the association of the Confederate battle flag with slavery and racism, the show has recently been removed from syndication from all television and cable networks. While most of the attention is given to the cars appearance, theres one detail on the car thats often misunderstood: the number 01. From the second season forward the 1977 Dodge Monaco[4] was mostly used. A couple of would be Duke boys ran out of luck and road when they wrecked their "General Lee" muscle car in Missouri on Sunday. But if the car is travelling slowly or is stuck in traffic, then shooting the tyres could be very effective in stopping it. (Western Taney County Fire). (Western Taney County Fire). During the first season of the series, the Hazzard County Sheriff's Department was much larger, with at least 5 to 6 additional deputies in addition to Roscoe and Enos. The iconic Dodge Charger movie car might be repairable, but this is certainly going to be an expensive visit to the body shop for the owner. On November 11, 1978, a stuntman on the Georgia set of The Dukes of Hazzard launches the shows iconic automobile, a 1969 Dodge Charger named the General Lee, One of Daisy Duke's outfits was on display at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. With Waylon Jennings as the balladeer. Sheriff Rosco Coltrane stated he was an honest law enforcement officer for 30 years, then they changed the budget, taking away his retirement, which forced him to change into the type of sheriff he was. A more serious example of this criminal group's function can be seen in films like, Enos and Cooter were the only regular characters with no familial relationships to any other regulars on the series. WebClick to read in-depth answer. When production finally ended in 1985, only 17 of the Chargers Actor and singer John Schneider defends the famous General Lee car and goes inside his new movie honoring its legacy on 'Fox & Friends.'. Once filming moved to the Warner Brothers lot, the horn was edited in during post-production. IMCDb.org. (Though Cooter was an "honorary" member of the Duke family, and his cousins appeared in his place during. Could a car really be stopped by shooting its tyres out? So what does the number 01 actually mean? Its worth noting that this particular General Lee is not a typical replica, but as noted by the Fire Department, one of the original units created for the Dukes of Hazard. After investigating the crash, Hollister Police Chief, Preston Schmidt determined that the driver of the vehicle was traveling too fast for the road conditions and lost control of the vehicle he was operating. In the movie: rtsbusman1997 2014-01 Overall, eleven Dodge Chargers were used in the show. And in some cases, this did work. The fifth car to be wrecked was a 1976 Charger that was driven by John Schneider (Bo Duke). Extremely short, form-fitting, denim cut-off shorts worn by women are often referred to as "Daisy Dukes" referencing the character from this show, which popularized this item of clothing. Retrieved 2010-04-27. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, "The Confederate flag was not used (in the show) for what people see it as today, so that's sad. haha i love that line: 1baker11 2010-03-24 19:58 "Yeah, and the black Charger was a base model with a bench seat and column shift automatic. An instantly recognizable "General Lee" car, which became a controversial symbol of The Dukes of Hazzard, was destroyed during Hurricane Ida, actor John Schneider has revealed. According to creator Gy Waldron, Uncle Jesse raised Bo, Luke, and Daisy after their parents died in a car crash. It included cast signatures on the passenger visor and was a recreation, not an original car used on the show. How many 69 Chargers did Dukes of Hazzard use? But due to the deteriorated condition of the rest of the cars, there's no telling if they were even Chargers or Ambassadors. On November 11, 1978, a stuntman launched one off a dirt ramp 16 feet high and 82 feet long. Roscoe was also a malcontent who was hell bent on shooting criminals and breaking the law. The Dukes of Hazzard ran 147 episodes over 7 seasons and a large number of 1969 Chargers were destroyed in filming. Drivers along Historic Highway 165 on Sunday afternoon may have thought they were in Hazzard County, Georgia, for a moment. Cookies Policy Mopars arent just for everyday enthusiasts. According to the Facebook post from theWestern Taney County Fire Protection District (above), this Charger was a General Lee actually from The Dukes of Hazzard TV show. Its aggressive styling, powerful engines, and high-performance capabilities have made it an iconic and beloved part of American automotive history. | In the first episode, "One Armed Bandits", a second General Lee can be spotted in the town square as the Dukes are being chased by the cops. 28.0m members in the todayilearned community. Uncle Jesse's CB handle was "Shepherd," Bo and Luke's handle was "Lost Sheep," and Daisy's handle was "Bo Peep.". The Dodge Charger suffered significant damage to the front. "All men ARE created equal, I believe that so I will be painting the American flag over the roof of the General Lee #USA," Watson wrote. WebSomewhere between 256 and 321 "General Lee" cars were created and mostly destroyed during the series. The shows popularity resulted in a number of Dodge Chargers being used in the series. Success! (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images), "No, I dont think that he would do that, I certainly have not done that and Im from New York.". According to Hollister Police Chief Preston Schmidt, no citations have been issued at this time. The Charger R/T is widely regarded as one of the best muscle cars ever produced and is considered a true classic of the genre. He sued for royalties, receiving an undisclosed settlement. The Roscoe character in the first season (and beginning of season 2) is portrayed as a corrupt Sheriff who's pretty much his own boss with his own schemes (though he still confides in Boss for advice). How many Dodge Chargers were used in Dukes of Hazzard? 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