Cletus

[blah]

Does anyone know why Cletus (Rick Hurst) left the show early on in season 5?

[Brian Coltrane]

Yes, there were a couple reasons. First, Sonny (Enos ) had a return clause in his contract, if his own spin-off series "Enos" failed. It did. So for the first few eps of Season Five, Enos returns while Cletus is still around, and we get to see them on duty together.

The episode, "Coy Meets Girl" is the last episode to include Cletus. Rick Hurst left Dukes in order to take a role on a new CBS series. Unfortunately Rick's new gig cancelled within 3 months.

I always thought Cletus was a lot of fun to watch. It's a shame the Hazzard payroll didn't allow both deputies to remain.

Brian

[blah]

Thanks, although I don't recall asking for all that other info... Anyways contract clause or not I think they would have brought Enos back anyways because unlike Cletus his character actually had a story, he was original, he was friends with people on the show and he was popular enough to get his own show, so obviously when that failed he'd be broughten back... Cletus wasn't a good enough of a replacement to block Sonny's return, like Don Knotts was in Three's Company... I hated Cletus as a kid because it meant my fav (Enos) was gone... And am I just crazy or wasn't there a few episodes when Cletus and Enos didn't share the same patrol car? I haven't seen most of season 5 since it was on TNN in the 90s so... I love how in the first ep Boss says there isn't enough money in the budget for seperate patrol cars, eventho it seemed like there was an endless supply of squad cars... And they had 3 cars in Officer Daisy Duke...

[MonacoMan]

On 12/28/2005 at 8:41 PM, blah said:

Thanks, although I don't recall asking for all that other info... Anyways contract clause or not I think they would have brought Enos back anyways because unlike Cletus his character actually had a story, he was original, he was friends with people on the show and he was popular enough to get his own show, so obviously when that failed he'd be broughten back... Cletus wasn't a good enough of a replacement to block Sonny's return, like Don Knotts was in Three's Company... I hated Cletus as a kid because it meant my fav (Enos) was gone... And am I just crazy or wasn't there a few episodes when Cletus and Enos didn't share the same patrol car? I haven't seen most of season 5 since it was on TNN in the 90s so... I love how in the first ep Boss says there isn't enough money in the budget for seperate patrol cars, eventho it seemed like there was an endless supply of squad cars... And they had 3 cars in Officer Daisy Duke...

(20 years later )…Actually you did ask for the info, by your initial question.  I love both Enos & Cletus, as both had important & integral parts in the show. I’m currently going through the series again, and have enjoyed watching Cletus episodes…especially since his recent untimely passing. 

[MonacoMan]

On 12/27/2005 at 11:06 PM, Brian Coltrane said:

Yes, there were a couple reasons. First, Sonny (Enos ) had a return clause in his contract, if his own spin-off series "Enos" failed. It did. So for the first few eps of Season Five, Enos returns while Cletus is still around, and we get to see them on duty together.

The episode, "Coy Meets Girl" is the last episode to include Cletus. Rick Hurst left Dukes in order to take a role on a new CBS series. Unfortunately Rick's new gig cancelled within 3 months.

I always thought Cletus was a lot of fun to watch. It's a shame the Hazzard payroll didn't allow both deputies to remain.

Brian

Agreed…they should have had more episodes with Enos & Cletus together, especially once Rick Hurst’s other series didn’t last. 

But, at least Cletus was back in the reunion movies. 

[Hobie Hartkins]

15 hours ago, MonacoMan said:

Agreed…they should have had more episodes with Enos & Cletus together, especially once Rick Hurst’s other series didn’t last. 

But, at least Cletus was back in the reunion movies. 

Do you mean  Sonny Schroer 's  other series?

[Hobie Hartkins]

2 minutes ago, Hobie Hartkins said:

Do you mean  Sonny Schroer 's  other series?

I'm being unduly influenced  by the spirits.......so please forgive the spelling!  

[MonacoMan]

57 minutes ago, Hobie Hartkins said:

Do you mean  Sonny Schroer 's  other series?

No, I was referring to Brian Coltrane’s original comment that Rick Hurst had left DOH to do another series as well, that also got canceled.

Edited 11 hours ago by MonacoMan

[HossC]

9 hours ago, MonacoMan said:

No, I was referring to Brian Coltrane’s original comment that Rick Hurst had left DOH to do another series as well, that also got canceled.

The show that Rick left for was "Amanda's". He played the chef, Earl Nash, at Amanda's by the Sea - a hotel run by Bea Arthur's character Amanda. The show was based on the iconic British sitcom "Fawlty Towers", but was cancelled after 13 episodes. The show also starred Fred McCarren, who was Neil Bishop in "The Big Heist".

"Fawlty Towers" famously (at least on this side of The Pond) only ran for two seasons of six episodes each (six episodes is the standard season length for British sitcoms), and they were four years apart due to the stars/writers getting divorced in-between.

Here's the first episode of "Amanda's". I assume by the picture quality that it hasn't been released on DVD or repeated lately. Rick appears at just over eight minutes in.