Why did Ben Jones (Cooter) not appear in several episodes of season 5?

[justinpcoltrane]

I started season 5 not too long ago and I've noticed that Cooter is missing from several episodes in the early middle of the season. He is explained to be on vacation but why was Ben Jones not present for filming?

[justinpcoltrane]

It seems weird because in one he's not even mentioned, although he remains in the credits.

Edited March 3, 2016 by justinpcoltrane
Misspelling although

[Roth Potter]

Well, maybe the episode writer didn't write him into the story for that episode.

[justinpcoltrane]

That could be possible

[HossC]

I had a quick look in Ben Jones's 'Redneck Boy in the Promised Land' and 'The Dukes of Hazzard: The Unofficial Companion', but I didn't find any explanation.

[Hobie Hartkins]

I think it was some kind of argument. He got into it with the producers about wearing a beard or something like that and he held out....just like John and Tom did when they were getting ripped off out of their share of merchandise commissions. ( That's when we were introduced to Coy and Vance)

[justinpcoltrane]

The beard incident was in season 2 because it was around the same time as James Best's contract dispute.

[Hobie Hartkins]

Yea but I think it was an on going thing.....it finally blew up and he left and then came all his cousins, BB,

LB...etc. ...it became a joke really...then they finally decided obviously, that they needed him and got him back.

[justinpcoltrane]

There weren't no cousins in s5, only in s2.