Rob Klein

Hello, I wanted to add a few details that I thought any fan of the Dukes would find fascinating. I worked on the Dukes Ranch in the summer of 1993. I had just graduated from film school, and got a job on film starring Corey Eubanks called: "Forced to Kill (somewhere I have the call sheet) the day we did 2nd unit shots on the Dukes Ranch in Valencia. I was the first AD for this shoot day. I had gone to film school at Cal Arts literally 1/2 mile away from the Dukes Ranch and never knew it was there until I was working on Corey's film. Had I had known about the Dukes Ranch back when in 1989 when I started going to Cal Arts I would have been able to see all the General Lees that sat out in the field outside of the famous motor pool. By the time I was working on the Ranch I was blown away as all the Dukes sets were still standing. I went all through the practical Duke Farm House, the barn, The Boar's Nest, and the motor pool cement slab, that was covered by an aluminum roof was still there. Out side in the weeds was one Hazzard County Sherriff's squad car and Boss Hogg's famous white convertable Caddalac. I couldn't believe it as it was being destroyed by the weather. I also found a General Push Bar lying behind another impressive set that was built for the film "Nothing But Trouble." It was the huge mansion facade built for the film. If you watch the film "Forced to Kill" the end scene where Michael Ironside's 4x4 blows up was shot directly in front of the Boar's Nest. I can't remember if you see the set in the film or not. However, when I went inside the Boar's Nest building it was a practical set in that you could use it for interiors and exteriors. On the far left side there were a ton of Hazzard set decoration crammed inside. A bunch of full color billboards from the show, I remember a Lulu Hogg bilboard and a Boss Hogg one. There were several other though I can't remember the details. I was aware the Warner Brothers had an archives department and figurred they were storing these there for safe keeping. These were days way before the digital camera, so even though I did not have my 35mm with me, I did not take any photos. As I was the 1st AD I could have photographed anything I wanted to, but the film's set photographer was there, his name was Greg Leon. He did shoot lots of images of the Dukes Ranch that day. I have tried to contact him a few times since but he didn't seem motivated to pull the slides out of storage. Years later, I heard the Dukes Ranch was sold for development and I always wondered what happened to the billboards I mentioned and Boss' Cady, and the Hazzard police car. I hope they were saved. I had already acquiered many original Hazzard props and used to tell Corey Eubanks about them during the film shoot. He did share many Dukes stories with me that day on the Ranch as he knew I was fan of the show. Some, I dont think would veer be able to be told publically. I did one more movie with Corey a year later and then we lost touch. But he was a great guy and he has gone on to even more fame with Dukes fans as I saw his wonderful jumps he did for Dukes Fest. One thing I will always remember was how loyal Corey was to his fellow Dukes Stunt team as he had hired many of them on these two films that I worked on of his. I got a ton of stories out of Alan Wyatt Jr. and other members of the Duke's `stunt team. As a documentary film maker myself and a film archivist I would hope to be able to share my first hand experiences and stories with the fans of Dukes of Hazzard with my time working on the Dukes Ranch and the artifacts I have come across from the show. I have parted with many over the years, but I still have a few, and will always have these memories. Long Live The Dukes of Hazzard!!!! If anyone is ever interested in making a Dukes documentary I would be happy to share what I have learned about this special show.