Let’s face it, the late seventies and early eighties would not have been the same without the TV sensation The Dukes of Hazzard. Love it or hate it the show was a ratings juggernaut and fans just ate it up. I was just about at the right age to really dig it, though watching it today leads me to seriously wonder why.
If you haven’t seen it, or if you have but not in the last ten years, one thing that is amazing about this series is that every week it was basically the exact same story. Yep for seven seasons totalling some 145 episodes those Duke boys would drive off somewhere to help some one with something, then the every greedy and self serving Boss Hogg would send the police out to stop whatever it was. Then there would be a big car chase down the by-ways and highways of Hazzard County where invariably their car, the General Lee, would make some impossible jump over a stream or broken bridge, or something like that, to freedom while the cop car would spin out. Banjos and fiddles playing the whole time the boys eventually would make it back to safety and every one would be glad. The end. Oh yes and let me not forget that the sassy yet beautiful cousin Daisy would spend time on screen looking hot in her micro jean shorts and get the viewers all hot and bothered. Formulaic, sure but what the heck it was a simpler time.
Believe it or not this show was one of the biggest merchandising francises ever at the time, yes bigger even than Star Wars! Who would ever have imagined such a thing. As a result it is possible to find pretty much anything you like that has be Hazzardified (or should it be Dukified, I’m not sure).
Today I have a few interesting items I grabbed recently on one of my collecting adventures. Everything I am going to show here today was purchased for the grand total of… $3. Yep three whole American dollars. At that price I thought why not, and when you see them I am sure you will see that you would probably have grabbed them too.
First up is this neat little kids’ backpack.
This is so old school, no cheapo plastic junk here, no siree this is cheapo cotton canvas junk. Made in 1981 it measures 11″ x 9″ x 5″, very wee indeed. Even with the straps adjusted to their longest I was only just able to get this over my arms and on to my back… of course I tried it D’UH! And before you ask, yes I did wear it out in public too so there.
I particularly like the General Lee graphic they printed on the front.
Believe it or not this 1969 Dodge Charger was the biggest star in the show receiving at least 50% of all fan mail that was sent in to the studio (I wish I was kidding here).
To go with this backpack what else would a Dukes of Hazzard fan need? How about a hat?
Once again the focus here is the General Lee. This trucker cap is one of those ultra cheapo ones where the mesh in the back is that rough kind with the front panel being made of that nasty foamy material. 100% class for sure. Unfortunately this is too small for my jumbo sized noggin… bummer because I was so going to wear it.
The last item in my $3 Dukes bonanza was this.
As if one hat could really be enough. Nope every self respecting redneck has got to have this bright red sun visor. Still featuring the General Lee you can see this hat was produced by Universal Industries. Interestingly this company is located in New Bedford, Massachusetts which is not too far from where I live, but certainly it is an eternity away from the fictional Hazzard county in Georgia.
In terms of an actual value for these… well I am guessing that I did OK.
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Hazzarded or Dukified.
I wish I could FORGET seeing you wearing that backpack in public.
Jealousy is one of your least attractive traits Erin
The car really was the star of that show so it makes sense that alot of the collectibles would feature it. In today’s ultra PC world however, I wonder how The General with it’s big Confederate flag on the roof would go over. Sweet trucker’s hat by the way.
I’m not surprised to hear that people sent a car fan mail. I mean, it’s an iconic and totally sweet car and all. But…it’s inanimate!
Too bad the hat did not fit. You would have been an instant Indie Hipster in that hat.
Totally agree with you The Goog
I have heard several times that the car was the star of the show, but I just don’t get it. Sure very cool, but it drives around because someone drives it. The car did have that sweet horn but how that makes it a star I don’t know. Should we consider the Millennium Falcon the star of Star Wars? The viper in Battlestar Galactica or even the Mystery Machine in Scooby Doo? I don’t think so. Just sayin.
It only takes a hat to be a hipster?
Okay, your response to my comment totally made me laugh. To the “car is the star” comment, I think the only case where that truly applies is Knight Rider, right?
As far as I’m concerned the Knight Rider car would totally count. I’m sure there is bound to be another example. Ideas people?
There have been other vehicles besides cars that were the focal point of the show. For example, Airwolf starring Jan Michael Vincent as the pilot of a hi-tech helicopter. For cars, Herbie the Love Bug and The 1950’s tv show My Mother the Car.
The General Lee was easily a co-star of the show. If Cooter couldn’t keep the General running every weeek the show would’ve been cancelled.
What about “My Mother the Car”? Gladys was definitely the star of that show.
On “Viper” the car was the star & the best actor.
Other car stars could be K.I.T.T. from “Knight Rider”, the Ferrari on “Magnum, P.I.”, the Batmobile on “Batman”, Black Beauty on “the Green Hornet”, the Mach 5 on “Speed Racer”, & B.A.’s GMC van on “the A-Team”. A few of these cars have even been featured in the ToyNerd blog.
“car is the star”…hmmm…I am going to say Optimus Prime ;-p
As far as characters go and therefore eligible to be counted as a star: Herbie - absolutely, My Mother the Car - sure (actually from the mid 60s), Airwolf - cool but not so much
Garth, all of these are cool but unless they talk or overtly communicate a part of the story (take Herbie for example) they can never be anything more other than super sweet props. Iconic? Sure. The star? Nah
Nice one
OK, I see your point that if the vehicle can’t emote in some way whether through words like K.I.T.T. or actions like Herbie then they can’t be really considered a character & could be considered merely a prop not a star.
I realized that I had omitted one very important vehicle from my list who is very much a star of the show.
Heat Vision the talking motorcycle from Heat Vision & Jack!
Yes, there’s only the unaired pilot out there (which you can watch on VEOH) but I think it still counts. You can even go watch the pilot in “the Other Network” at Club Oberon in Cambridge on Tuesday July 20th.
This pilot from 1999 was directed by Ben Stiller & starred Jack Black as Jack Austin (former astronaut & world’s smartest man during the day) & Owen Wilson as Heat Vision (Jack’s unemployed roommate Doug merged with a motorcycle). The show was written & produced by Dan Harmon (Community & The Sarah Silverman Show) & Rob Schrab (Scud: the Disposable Assassin & The Sarah Silverman Show).
Here’s a fan made trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC8zC8vORqI