Dukes of Hazzard stars John Schneider and Tom Wopat have responded to reports that their former co-star Rick Hurst has passed away at the age of 79. Hurst played Cletus Hogg on the popular series.
Schneider wrote on Facebook, “You were [a] remarkable force for humanity, sanity and comedy my friend. Heaven is a safer and more organized place with you in it.”
He added, “We’ll keep the race going and people laughing until we meet again!”
Wopat called Hurst a “true friend, a fine actor and an all around good guy” in his tribute on Instagram.
“He was handed the unenviable task of replacing Sonny Shroyer as Sheriff Rosco’s sidekick,” Wopat continued. “He did an amazing job of accomplishing this with panache and characteristic humility. Rick will be deeply missed.”
Hurst’s death was first announced by Dukes of Hazzard co-star Ben Jones. He shared the news on the Facebook page of his Dukes of Hazzard museum, Cooter’s Place, named after his character.
“It doesn’t seem right that Rick Hurst passed away this afternoon,” Jones wrote on Thursday. “When something so unexpected happens, it is ‘harder to process’, as the current expression goes.”
He added, “We have always thought of our Cooter’s friends as ‘Hazzard Nation’, Well, Hazzard Nation is sure going to miss Rick Hurst down here around ‘Cooters’, but his presence will always be near us. Rest in Peace, old friend!”
Dukes of Hazzard, which ran on CBS from 1979 to 1985, followed cousins Bo and Luke Duke, played by Schneider and Wopat, respectively, who live in rural Georgia and drive a customized 1969 Dodge Charger nicknamed the General Lee. Hurst’s character, Cletus, was a deputy and the cousin of the town’s corrupt county commissioner Boss Hogg, played by Sorrell Booke.
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