John's No 1 Fan Posted March 6, 2009 Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 Hi everyone, I have some horrible news to tell you. All Dukes fans love John, Tom, Cathy, Ben, James, Sonny, Rick, the late Denver and Sorrell, and of course Flash and the General Lee. We all realize though that the show would have never existed without the stunt team. What would that show have been without the stunts performed in the General Lee? It wouldn't have been worth watching. You know that as well as I do. The Hazzard County Stunt Team is tremendous and still performs to this day, 30 years after the beginning of the series. One of the "pilots" of that General Lee those seven seasons was Al Wyatt, Jr. You've probably heard the name. If you've been to DukesFest you may have even met him. He's one of the best....that's the only way to describe him. Right now Al Wyatt, Jr. needs our help. For those of you who haven't heard of his medical problem the last couple of months I will start at the beginning. If you know the beginning, please bear with me.Al does not wear shoes. He wears flip flops and jumped the General Lee in flip flops. Because of this he got a cut on his foot. That cut developed a staph infection. As a result he was in the hospital in early January for quite some time. After being released he was readmitted in February for a few days. I hoped that the infection was cured when he was released that second time but a friend of mine was today contacted by Tom Sarmento from the stunt team with horrible news. Al Wyatt, Jr. has been readmitted to the hospital again. This time it is far worse than the previous times. The staph infection has gone all the way up the leg and fears are it will go into the back, which would be real bad news. Doctors are going to take the entire knee out in order to try to stop this infection. The knee is currently swollen five times its size. He is in intensive care in critical condition. The only thing he wants to do is make it to the stunt show this summer in North Carolina and see his son, Lee Smith, do one of the stunts and meet the fans who have been wishing him a speedy recovery for two months now. The only thing which helps to lift Al's spirits is receiving cards and letters from Dukes fans. When some fans sent him well wishes in January he described it as one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for him in his whole life. It needs to be repeated now, only on a much larger scale. Please take the time to send a letter, a card, or even a postcard. It makes Al smile and feel better if only for a few minutes. He needs to know we care. Send wishes to:Alan Wyatt, Jr.PO Box 6596Malibu, CA 90264The mail will be picked up by Susan and delivered to Al. Thanks in advance from Tom, Lee, and Susan. Please get something in the mail as soon as possible and pass this on to all your friends and family members. Keep Al Wyatt, Jr. in your thoughts and prayers, please. Thanks,Phyllis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james best Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 I am so concerned about Al wyatt Jr. He has been a friend for many years as was his dad. His dad was one of the best stunt men in he industry Al Jr. followed in his dad's footsteps and perhaps even surpassed his fathers greatness. Al deserves your prayers and concern. He was so much the glory and greatness of the series and with total dedication to bringing to the show the most awesome stunts and dangerous thrlls and spills that could have been presented to the fans for their pleasure. He never to my knowledge turned down a stunt no matter the element of risk involved. He was tottaly fearless and on top of that modest and a great guy. to know him was to love the man. and he was that .....one heck of man. God love him cause I do.james best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artykidd Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Any updates on Al? I hope his condition is improving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John's No 1 Fan Posted March 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 Hi everyone,I have an update on the health of Al Wyatt, Jr. thanks to my friend, Ryan. Al is doing a little better; however, because of the staph infection doctors can only replace half of the knee at the current time. This operation is going to be performed immediately and then he will be released from the hospital on Thursday or Friday. He will be home for 7-10 days and then return for an exam to see if the staph infection is increasing or decreasing. After that they will operate again and replace the other half of the knee. He is still in a lot of pain but is excited about all of the mail he has been receiving. He's still opening some of the mail and is looking forward to reading all of it before he is discharged later this week. He wants to say "thank you very very much" for all the mail he has received. It means the world to him and he is excited about seeing the Dukes fans at the stunt show in North Carolina this summer.Susan and Lee also wish to thank everyone for the outpouring of love sent to Al. If you haven't sent that card or letter yet or want to send something else the address is still being used. Alan Wyatt, Jr.PO Box 6596Malibu, CA 90264Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks, everyone.Phyllis Skipper Duke 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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