Dukes of Hazzard star Rick Hurst has died at the age of 79.
The actor, who was best known for his Eighties role as Deputy Cletus Hogg in the action comedy TV show, died in Los Angeles on Thursday, his first wife Candace Kaniecki told TMZ.
Kaniecki told the publication that Hurst’s death was “unexpected” and that the cause of death was unclear.
Hurst had been due to make an appearance at Cooter’s Place, a Dukes of Hazzard-themed museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for a fan event scheduled for 3 July.
Ben Jones, the founder of Cooter’s Place, who also starred with Hurst in the CBS series, shared a tribute to his former colleague on Facebook, alongside a photo of the pair posing together.
“It doesn’t seem right that Rick Hurst passed away this afternoon,” he wrote. “When something so unexpected happens, it is ‘harder to process’, as the current expression goes.
“I have known Rick for over 45 years and there wasn’t a minute of that time that he didn’t leave me smiling or laughing. Sure he was a professional comedian, but mostly he just had a heart as big as Texas.
“He was a fine actor, a splendid comic, and a wonderfully supportive colleague.”
Hurst was born in Houston, Texas in 1946, and landed guest roles in American TV series such as The Doris Day Show, The Partridge Family, Little House on the Prairie and M*A*S*H throughout the Seventies.
His big break, though, came when he was cast as Cletus, the second cousin of the money-grabbing county commissioner Boss Hogg, in The Dukes of Hazzard, appearing in the hit show from 1980 to 1985.
The series was set in rural Georgia and followed the exploits of two cousins, Luke and Bo Duke.
Hurst would go on to reprise the role in two spin-off TV movies, Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion in 1997 and Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood in 2000.
He also appeared in films such as Steel Magnolias and the Karate Kid franchise, and starred in Amanda’s, the short-lived US remake of Fawlty Towers.
Hurst’s Dukes of Hazzard co-star John Schneider, who played Bo, also shared a tribute on his official Facebook page, writing: “You were [a] remarkable force for humanity, sanity and comedy my friend.
“Heaven is a safer and more organised place with you in it. We’ll keep the race going and people laughing until we meet again!”
He is survived by two sons, Ryan, an actor who has featured in shows such as Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead, and Collin, who he shared with second wife Shelly Weir.
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