'Cletus Hogg' Has Chased After His Last General Lee

For a while during the era when Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan were president, Rick Hurst was a household name, playing Deputy Cletus Hogg on the popular '80s action-comedy series Dukes of Hazzard, per ABC7. He wasn't quite as well known in his later years, but the tributes are still pouring in from admirers to mark the news of his death at age 79. Hurst's first wife, Candace Kaniecki, confirms to TMZ that her former spouse died suddenly Thursday in Los Angeles; it's not yet clear what his cause of death was. Hurst had been set to show up at the Cooter's Place museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, the same day he died, but on the venue's Facebook page, a notice Thursday morning simply read that Hurst was unable to be there "unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances."

• Per the Dukes of Hazzard Fandom page, Hurst played Cletus Hogg, the second cousin once removed of the larger-than-life Boss Hogg. "He is generally portrayed as dim-witted and friendly," the site notes. "Examples of this include his [belief] in Santa Clause [sic] despite his age."

• Other TV and film roles include such shows as Sanford and Son, M-A-S-H, The Partridge Family, Gunsmoke, and The Bob Newhart Show, as well as films like 1978's The Cat From Outer Space.
• The acting bug seems to have bitten some of his kin as well: Son Ryan Hurst played Opie Winston on FX's Sons of Anarchy, as well as Gerry Bertier in the 2000 film Remember the Titans.
• Ben Jones, who played "Cooter" Davenport on Dukes, confirmed Hurst's death, per CNN. "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," Jones wrote on Facebook. "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."
• The Duke boys weighed in, too. John Schneider, who played Bo Duke, called Hurst a "remarkable force for humanity, sanity, and comedy," while Luke Duke, portrayed by Tom Wopat, said Hurst was "a true friend, a fine actor, and an all around good guy." Schneider added, in an apparent final salute to their wild chases on the show, per a Taste of Country: "We'll keep the race going and people laughing until we meet again!"