The viewers of The Dukes of Hazzard are mourning another tragic death of an actor who played a fan favorite. Rick Hurst, the star of the much-beloved loving Deputy Cletus Hogg on the classic show, is dead, at the age of 79.
Candace Kaniecki, the wife of Rick, confirmed this sad news to TMZ wherein it was revealed that Hurst died unexpectedly on a Thursday. His death arrives only a week before he was to be present at a fan get-together in of the Dukes of Hazzard-themed museum, Cooter s Place in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
The museum initially posted that the event was delayed, as reasoned by some ‘unforeseen factors, but the message has been removed. Hurst was later that day given a lovely tribute by the Nashville based branch of Cooter s Place.
His wife claims that no one knows the exact cause of the death of Rick.
We are families yet awhile 15
Rick Hurst was born on January 1st 1946 in Houston, Texas. He was an academician who worked hard to achieve higher education and graduated with a degree in bachelor of arts in 1968 at Tulane University. He would later acquire a Masters in Fine Arts degree at Temple university just two years after, in the year 1970.
He was added on to The Dukes of Hazzard when it was still at the beginning of its run in 1979. Deputy Cletus Hogg, a cousin of the blundering villain, Boss Hogg, he had warmth and comedy to the small-town affair of comedy in Hazzard County.
Although he was a recurring character, he was introduced as a regular character in Season 3 with the departure of fellow deputy Sonny Shroyer (Enos Strate) to star in his own (moderately successful) spin-off, Enos. When Shroyer came back in 1982, Hurst was reduced to guest shots, and then he left the series prior to its last two seasons.
Regardless of the fluctuations of casting replacement, the friendship between the leading actors in the show remained unbreakable.
Co-star John Schneider expressed the sentiment in a 2014 interview: we are still a family, after all these years, and that is very odd. When it is over shows tend to end. The Dukes of Hazzard is not over to the fans, and it is not over to the cast or to the crew and I am very proud to have been a part of that.”
That bond of sitting in the audience made the death of Hurst even more heart wrenching to those who knew him and the multitudes of fans who still adore the show.
The Karate Kid and the Steel Magnolias
Although in the first season Cletus was simply a henchmen to Boss Hogg, he was first deputized in Season 2 and put his name in the history of Dukes. He subsequently re-joined his TV-movie co-stars in The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! (1997) and The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood (2000), demonstrating that the fans never lost their interest in the program, as well as the characters that it featured.
Hurst warmed and witted many TV parts during his long career. He made a niche in TV history by small bit parts in Happy Days, Little House on the Prairie and Sanford and Son, to bigger roles in MASH* and The Blue Knight. He was also the headliner on the short-lived Amanda series with Bea Arthur before she became The Golden Girls as the bumbling chef Earl Nash.
Hurst said credits were equally impressive on the big screen. His appearance in other films include Executive Action (1973), The Cat From Outer Space (1978), The Karate Kid trilogy, Steel Magnolias (1989) and In The Line Of Fire (1993).
The Dukes of Hazzard once again hit the news just a few months ago, when co-star John Schneider blasted Warner Bros. and the so-called woke critics who canceled the show out of network back-order and stopped toy production of its famous automobile, The General Lee, based on the Southern Confederate theme.
To the fans, though, The Dukes of Hazzard never involved any politics, but rather involved the aspects of happiness, fun, and family.
Bereaves another corpse
The series was something timeless. Its gritty attitude, faithfulness in using a few words, and unadulterated fun made it an essential watch among millions.
And now another of that close-knit Hazzard family is no more.
Hurst leaves behind his wife Candace and son, Ryan Hurst, a man with an impressive resume in the entertainment industry at large; he is an award-winning actor with notable roles as Gerry in the movie Remember the Titans and Opie Winston in hit television drama series Sons of Anarchy. Ryan acted in other prominent roles in Bates Motel, Bosch, and The Walking Dead.
With the passing of another member of the Dukes family, Rick Hurst joins the list of the deceased (late Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg), Denver Pyle (Uncle Jesse), Waylon Jennings (The Balladee), and James Best (Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane)) that fans all over the world are remembering not only through the jokes he brought, but through being a part of something that has become part of history generations over.
R.I.P. deputy Cletus. Hazzard County will never be the same.
