Today I learned:
1) One of my all-time favorite TV shows, “The Dukes of Hazzard,” was actually based on a 1975 movie called “Moonrunners” which starred James Mitchum as an outlaw moonshine bootlegger. That movie was in turn inspired by another 1958 film, also starring James Mitchum and his father Robert, called “Thunder Road.”
2) In “Moonrunners”, Grady and Bobby Lee Hagg run bootleg liquor for their Uncle Jesse in a Chevrolet stock car named “Traveller”, after General Robert E. Lee’s horse. You might also recognize a few familiar names such as the Boar’s Nest bar, Sheriff Rosco Coletrane, Cooter Pettigrew, or Waylon Jennings (as the Balladeer).
3) While you might be as disappointed as I was to learn that Hazzard County, Georgia is an entirely fictional place, there is indeed a real-life Hazzard County Car Club. “Dukes Historian” Jon Holland is also responsible for curating the Hazzard Museum, a collection of nearly every licensed toy product from the Dukes of Hazzard series. And yes, I was thrilled to see that Mr. Holland even had an authentic “General Lee” Big Wheel trike, just like the one I used to own!