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On Thursday June 26th, 2025 we lost our good friend Rick Hurst.   Rick first appeared with Jimmie on "The Dukes of Hazzard" playing Boss Hogg's nephew Cletus Hogg.  Rick had an incredible sense of timing and his comedic physical comedy brought a lot to the series.  When Sonny Shroyer left to create the series "Enos" - Rick came to the show full time as Deputy Cletus Hogg.  Jimmie and Rick never skipped a beat - and Rick fit into the show as if he had been there from the beginning.  

Jimmie and Rick did many personal appearances together over the years - and in 2011 Rick was included as a cast member in "Return of the Killer Shrews".  Jimmie was excited to work with his buddy Rick again in front of the camera.  

Rick was so gracious with his fans.  He appeared often at the various "Cooter's Place" stores and greeted every fan with a smile.  Rick had a huge heart and will be missed dearly.  

No doubt Rick is reunited with Jimmie , Sorrell and Denver - and having a hot pursuit across the heavens.    

Rest in Peace Rick - you will be very missed. 

Rick Hurst has died.  He was a brilliant actor, an extraordinarily kind man, a very deep intellectual, and a loyal friend at a time when I needed it.

Fans probably know him best as "Cletus" from THE DUKES OF HAZZARD... he was brought in to play Deputy Cletus opposite James Best's Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane, when Deputy Enos (Sonny Shroyer) was spun off into his own TV series in the fall of 1980.  But Rick had  a strong and incredibly impressive acting pedigree going back to 1972 when he made his television debut on SANFORD & SON.  He did incredible work on television throughout the 1970s, on KUNG FU, GUNSMOKE, LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, MASH and starred in his own series ON THE ROCKS.  And he continued after the Dukes ended with more television and in feature films like STEEL MAGNOLIAS and IN THE LINE OF FIRE.  

At James Best's insistence, we cast Rick his sidekick in our 53-years-later sequel, RETURN OF THE KILLER SHREWS.  James Best was returning as hero Thorne Sherman and he wanted to share the screen with the best.  Rick Hurst was the best, and a dear friend of Jimmie's and producer Dorothy Best.  Rick was always a calming presence on a set, professional, focused and friendly, with his ever present smile and delightful sense of humor.  I had first witnessed this on the set of DUKES OF HAZZARD REUNION, in December of 1996.  And his comic timing in scenes with James Best was deft, and distinctly reminiscent of another great comic duo, Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy.

But I was just about to learn what a calming presence he would be.

RETURN OF THE KILLER SHREWS was shot on a tough, short ten day schedule in June of 2011.  Two days in Griffith Park's legendary Bronson Canyon, baking in that old rock quarry warmed by the hot sun, followed by seven brutal days at Sanna Ranch, off Soledad Canyon road way out east of Santa Clarita, in a jungle setting frequently used for Vietnam War films.  Making the simplest of films with a small cast on this kind of a schedule in the best of conditions is an almost overwhelming task.  But we were saddled with a large cast, an action and effects-heavy script and some wicked self-parody comedy.  And that all takes time.  Especially comedy. You can't force it.  Cast and crew have to be happy and in on the joke.  Do the math.  We had a 90+ page script.  Figure a minute of screen time for each page.  And had to wrap in 10 days.  That means we had to get 10 pages in the can.  A day.  Most major studio productions are happy if they get 2 pages a day.  So we're moving fast and we have to make our day.  We can't go back and reshoot a scene the next day if we didn't get it right the first time.  

Our first - and perhaps most challenging day - was at Marina Del Ray.  We had a picture boat, plus a camera boat, and were shooting the opening and closing of the movie.  Famed sci-fi B movie director Richard Cunha once said the secret to shooting a feature on a short schedule was to shoot the beginning and end of the movie on the first day, and get whatever else you can on the rest of the schedule.  Words to live by when you have to do ten pages a day.  

The day began at sea, with the second unit crew under the supervision of Line Producer and Second Unit Director Dan Golden filming Rick and James Best as they sailed toward Shrew Island.  The sea was rough that day, bouncing everyone around, two hours in that churning water.  By the time they returned to dock, cast and crew were frustrated, wet and exhausted.  It was close to 11am and we still had 9 pages to go.  We picked up the pace and brought in some of the rest of the cast, filming filming dialog, walk-and-talk scenes, introducing the characters and situation as the story began.  We made good time, as everyone was prepared, knew what Randolph Scott used to call "their lyrics" and hit their marks.  But about 3:00pm that afternoon tension began to mount.  While we were setting up some reverse angle shots on actor Jason Shane Scott, Dan Golden had Jimmie and Rick on the back of the boat, positioning them for some insert close-ups we were going to shoot, to match the second unit ocean sequences Dan had done that morning.  And then it happened.  Dan gave Jimmie a position for the shot. Best objected.  He'd done his first movie in 1948, knew camera technique better than anyone (Best taught Quentin Tarantino, Gary Busey and countless other actors), and was an experienced director himself.  And he remembered exactly what his on-camera position had been out at sea.  Dan Golden was also a very talented director and was trying to "cheat the shot" to give us extra coverage.  It wouldn't have to match perfectly.  But all too often on these types of schedules, nuanced communication and finesse go right out the window when you've got 6 pages to go and 3 hours left to shoot them.  James Best and Dan Golden, two experienced professionals, two gifted artists, both in the middle of a simple misunderstanding, and both exhausted from a tough first day.  And two "Type A" personalities.  They were both "lead, follow or get the hell out of the way" filmmakers and the communication breakdown was a perfect storm.  It rapidly exploded into an argument. Without hesitation, Rick stepped in with Jimmie, quickly defusing his friend's frustration.  And I followed Dan off the set, talking him down, getting things back on keel.   Both men were pros and within minutes we were up and running.

On a quick break before the next set up, Rick walked over to me.  "How are you doing."  I smiled,  "Thanks for asking."  At the time, both Rick and I were closet smokers, at least around Jimmie, who had been a reformed ex-smoker since 1970.  He offered me a cigarette and we both lit up, hidden from Jimmie by a van.  We didn't say much, at that moment.  I was still taking in the fact that it was the first day on a dream film James Best and I had talked about doing for 20 years and my Line Producer and star had already been at war.  I said, "Fun first day."  Rick grinned.  He said,' This is nothing.  You're doing great."

It was a life preserver tossed to this director.  "Back to one" and we finished the day.  And it became a happy set

The incident was quickly forgotten, we wrapped the day and the next day, our first at Bronson, began what for me was the best experience I ever had directing a film.  The cast and crew were happy, Jimmie joked with everyone, even doing "Rosco P. Coltrane" now and then for the crew, who were all big Dukes of Hazzard fans."  James Best and Dan Golden, arm in arm, addressed the crew, joked with themselves and set the delightful tone for the rest of the schedule.  From that point on we were all in our Happy Place.  By that time, Academy Award nominee Bruce Davison had joined the cast, having his own blast and doing some on-screen nods to his own horror classic WILLARD.  And John Schneider started a day after that, bringing his own comic timing and "A" game to the set, and completing our mini Dukes reunion.

Rick happily returned the next month for a day of pick-up scenes and inserts, helping us finalize principal photography.  We remained friends over the next few years, talking, exchanging emails, occasionally meeting for lunch.  Rick was also a serious filmmaker.  We talked at length about a serious project he'd been developing for years for HBO, a biopic about Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.  She was a pioneer in near-death studies and was author and developer of the Five Stages of Grief, also known as the "Kübler-Ross Model."  Rick had been friends with her, had the rights to her life story (with her blessing) and had plans to produce the film, though sadly, it never came to be.  And, of course, I geeked out some with Rick over the years, always asking him for stories about working with Peter Sellers.  Rick had done a series of Airline Ads with Sellers back in 1970s, Hurst going toe-to-toe with the legendary British screen comedian, both actors playing off each other with exquisite comic timing.

You will see more of Rick's comic timing in two RETURN OF THE KILLER SHREWS clips below that I will share in the comments section.

In 2018, when RETURN OF THE KILLER SHREWS was released to streaming platforms like Amazon Prime and iTunes, Rick happily jumped on board with me for a series of promotional interviews about the film.  He did one with 411's Brian Kristopowitz that fall, an amazing, career-spanning interview.  I'd like to share that now.  Rick Hurst in his own words:

Rick Hurst is a well-known character actor who has been working in Hollywood since the early 1970’s. He has worked extensively in both movies and television, appearing in such movies as Going Ape!, Jackals, The Karate Kid Part III, and Venomous, among others, and such TV shows as The Doris Day Show, Little House on the Prairie, M*A*S*H, and Murder, She Wrote, among so many others. Hurst is probably best known, though, as Cletus on the classic 1980’s series The Dukes of Hazzard. Currently, Hurst co-stars with fellow Dukes of Hazzard actor James Best in the low budget horror comedy Return of the Killer Shrews, directed by Steve Latshaw (check out my review of the movie here). In this interview, Hurst talks with this writer about Return of the Killer Shrews, his career, and more. 

**
Bryan Kristopowitz: How did you get involved with Return of the Killer Shrews?

Rick Hurst: I lost a bet. Just kidding! Jimmie asked if I would like to play Harold Rook, and I naturally jumped at the chance.

BK: How did you approach your character Harold Rook?

RH: From the left…the far left. I figured Thorne and Harold must be liberals or they wouldn’t be broke, right? Actually, I saw Rook as a longtime friend of Sherman. Figured they both had military service in common, Sherman from WWII, Rook from Viet Nam. I also thought Rook would feel somewhat protective of Sherman now since he is getting older.

BK: Were you a fan of the original The Killer Shrews before you got involved with the sequel?

RH: Yes. I distinctly remember seeing the original at the Tower Theater in Houston, TX. Probably watched it a second time since you could do that in those days because they ran the shows back-to-back.

BK: What was it like reuniting with your Dukes of Hazzard co-stars James Best and John Schneider? 

RH: It was great…like having our own mini repertory theater or summer stock company where you do a different play each week with the same actors. More fun than a barrel of monkeys.

BK: What was it like working with director Steve Latshaw?

RH: Working with Steve was wonderful. I have the utmost respect and admiration for this man, without whom this film could never have been made. Return of the Killer Shrews is the direct result of not only Steve’s long lasting passion, his constant discussions with Jimmie and wife Dorothy (who was the producer on the film), his many, many drafts of the script, the casting, shooting and editing, but also his exceptional talent and expertise when dealing with sparse finances and a ten day shooting schedule such as ours. Moreover, Steve is among the finest directors I’ve ever worked with in creating an atmosphere of trust and confidence with actors. 

BK: You’ve been working in Hollywood since the early 1970’s. How has Hollywood and the acting game changed since you started?

RH: I would say the acting “game” today has more players and less rules. By that I mean with the advent of platforms such as HBO, Showtime, Netflix, Amazon, etc. accompanied by their wide variety of viewing options, the demand for product/programs has never been greater.
In some ways this is good; more opportunities for writers, producers, crew members and, of course, actors. In some ways, not so much. The pool of available actors at any given time is larger now, making competition greater, salaries smaller.

The world of TV commercials right now is an example of changing “rules”. Thirty percent or more of commercials made today are non-union, performed by actors not in Sag-Aftra and not protected by union contracts with signatory employers. Such actors receive no residuals, no contributions to pension & health plans, no limit on hours worked (no overtime), no limit on length of use, no safety regulations, etc. They only receive a relatively small, one time, flat fee buyout.
Other “rule” changes however are welcome and, in some cases, long overdue. Ethnic diversity in casting, equality for women working in front and behind the camera, protection against abuse of power to name a few.

I have two sons who are actors. Ryan, who people might know from Remember the Titans or Sons of Anarchy and Collin who appears in this movie as Bobby, with the much desired, very sought after distinction of being the film’s first victim. Their “game” will certainly be different than mine.

BK: You’ve worked in both movies and television in your career. Did you ever have a preference for one over the other? It seems as though you’ve done more TV work than anything else. 

RH: ). I got my start in TV courtesy of literally hundreds of commercials, then branched out to TV guest star, series regular and film roles. I have no real preference between film and TV, although in TV you could usually stay closer to home.

BK: You’ve also worked in multiple genres, from comedy and drama to science fiction and action to horror. Was it always your goal, as an actor and performer, to essentially do as much as possible in as many different genres as possible, or was a project more dependent on what you were offered/what was available? 

RH: As a character actor, I was happy to work in as many genres as possible, the more the better. Jack Lemmon once said he would chose roles in which the character went through a change of some sort. Not having the luxury of choice to the extent Jack had, my criteria was slightly different. I always chose jobs for which I would get paid.

BK: What was it like make Going Ape!? 

RH: Going Ape, originally titled Love Max, a phrase Danny DeVito’s character repeats throughout the movie, was a very ambitious undertaking. Working with animals, no matter how well trained, is always unpredictable. I think Jeremy Joe Kronsberg (a fantastic guy by the way) did an amazing job working with Bobby Berosini’s orangutans, although not without incident.
During a day of shooting on a sound stage, one of the orangutans decided he would like to see what was up in the rafters. Way up in the rafters, much to the chagrin of the gaffers up there, not to mention all of us below. Long story short, it took all day to retrieve our simian co-star. I must say some of the stunt work I did during the scaffolding scenes got a little hairy, prompting one of the producers to offer to pay for my wife’s and my dinner at a fine restaurant. Danza, DeVito, Art Metrano and I were good friends, so, overall, doing this film was more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

BK: Any upcoming projects you can tell us about?

RH: Yes…
*Will be at Cooter’s Place in Gatlinburg, TN. December 26 – January 1.
*Writing a little book of poems, anecdotes and short stories.
*Remodeling my front bathroom.

BK: How has your association with The Dukes of Hazzard effected your career?

RH: Tremendously. Probably almost as much as going to the moon effected Neil Armstrong’s career. The cast is like family, we stay in touch and see each other at personal appearances around the country. I think we all are grateful and humbled we had such good fortune to be part of the Dukes of Hazzard.

BK: After making Return of the Killer Shrews and seeing how travelling to a deserted island worked out for the characters in the movie, would you ever, in real life, travel to a deserted island for any reason, or is that something you’d just rather not do? I mean, how do you know there aren’t killer shrews out there? 

RH: I would love to go a deserted island sometime! Any critters out there wouldn’t deter me. After all, we live with killer shrews every day in Hollywood. They’re called agents.

I was sitting in the shelter
When Rosco came to me
He said, “Basset Hound, I’ll turn your life around
And put you on TV!”

He took me to the studio
And walked me on the set,
He said, “This puppy is now a deputy,
Because Rosco needs a pet!”

Unfortunately, I knew no tricks
And couldn’t run too fast,
But I would quickly eat my doggie treat,
So, Rosco named me “Flash!”

I soon became a TV star
I’m still famous to this day,
All I had to do, was bark on cue,
And lay around all day.

If you ever want a doggie
Visit an animal shelter please
There are plenty like me, who want to see
A nice home like Rosco gave me.

Dedicated to the memory of James Best and his dogs
We love ya, Rosco, and miss you.
Poem composed by:
the admins of Dukes of Hazzard County facebook page

I will always be grateful for this show. It allowed for Jimmie and I to live the life we wanted to live. It brought a lot of love and laughs to many people. Even though Jimmie was known as a fine character actor, the Dukes of Hazzard made him a household name.

Dorothy Best

It's hard to imagine that in 1978 there was a bright orange 1969 Dodge Charger with a confederate flag painted on the roof driving around Conyers and Covington, Georgia  - and not a single person in the world had any idea what it was.   Thankfully they happened to be filming it for a television show - and today it is the most recognizable car in tv history.  Like it did for the actors and crew - that tv show changed my life.  Because of it - I have made untold friends and travelled a great many places I might have otherwise never experienced.  I was adopted by James and Dorothy Best (still waiting on the paperwork)  and it all happened because of the show that will never die - even if they won't actually play it on television.    The show may have brought us together - but surprisingly to most people - it wasn't really something Jimmie and I talked about.   We had tons of other common interests from painting to video games - but the show did what it needed to do for me.   It brought us together and  just like you I miss him daily.   Hollywood never understood what they had in "The Dukes of Hazzard" - and it is a magic that can never be recreated.   Long live the Dukes. 

Scott Romine - James Best Dukes Art co-painter