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Jesse Duke (TV)
Encyclopedia
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television series The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
which ran from 1979 to 1985. Jesse was played by Denver Pyle
Denver Pyle
Denver Dell Pyle was an American film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing Uncle Jesse in The Dukes of Hazzard .-Early life:...
. He is one of only two characters to appear in every single episode of the TV series, the other being Boss Hogg
Boss Hogg
Jefferson Davis "J.D." Hogg, better known as "Boss" Hogg, is a fictional character featured in the American television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He was the greedy, unethical commissioner of Hazzard County. A stereotypical villainous glutton, Boss Hogg always wore an all-white suit with a white...
.
Overview
Jesse was uncle to BoBo Duke
Beauregard "Bo" Duke is a fictional character in the American television series The Dukes of Hazzard, which ran from 1979 to 1985. He was played by John Schneider. The name of Beauregard may have been chosen after the famous Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard.Bo and his cousin Luke Duke live in...
, Luke
Luke Duke
Lucas K. "Luke" Duke is a fictional character in the American television series The Dukes of Hazzard which ran from 1979 to 1985. Luke was played by Tom Wopat....
, Daisy
Daisy Duke
Daisy Mae Duke is a fictional character, played by Catherine Bach, from the American television series The Dukes of Hazzard. She was the cousin of Bo and Luke, the main protagonists of the show, who were also cousins, and the three lived on a farm on the outskirts of Hazzard County with their Uncle...
, Coy
Coy Duke
Coy Duke 1982-1983 season of The Dukes of Hazzard), the replacement for Bo, was another blond-haired cousin who moved to Uncle Jesse's farm along with cousin Vance after Bo and Luke left Hazzard to join the NASCAR circuit.-Fictional character biography:Coy Duke, along with cousin Vance Duke, had...
, Vance
Vance Duke
Vance Duke was a television character on the 1982-1983 season of The Dukes of Hazzard. Vance was a replacement for Luke...
, and Jeb Stuart Duke. Jesse, his niece and, periodically, his nephews, lived in an unincorporated area
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
of the fictional Hazzard County, in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Jesse was the patriarch of the Duke family and the father-figure to all Dukes who stayed with him on the dilapidated "Duke Farm". Jesse, a long-time widower who apparently had no children of his own, happily provided for his nephews and niece in the absence of their parents—all tragically killed in a car wreck years earlier. Despite an occasionally gruff exterior (usually brought on by the trouble that his nephews found themselves in, or by Boss Hogg's crooked schemes), he was a very kind and loving man, and his popularity in Hazzard was reflected by the fact that just about everyone in the area, not just relatives, called him "Uncle" Jesse. He was known for dispensing sage-like wisdom to his niece and nephews, who often found themselves in trouble with the corrupt local officials, Boss Hogg and Roscoe P. Coltrane.
Life
Jesse Duke was born in the Duke farmhouse and he would later act as midwife for both Bo and Luke, who would also be born on the Duke farm. In his youth, Jesse had been a moonshineMoonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
"ridge-runner", in direct competition with J.D. Hogg
Boss Hogg
Jefferson Davis "J.D." Hogg, better known as "Boss" Hogg, is a fictional character featured in the American television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He was the greedy, unethical commissioner of Hazzard County. A stereotypical villainous glutton, Boss Hogg always wore an all-white suit with a white...
—thus beginning the "feud" between the Dukes and the Hoggs. However, while both Boss Hogg and Uncle Jesse would scowl at the mention of the others name, the two enjoyed a lifelong "friendship" of sorts, with one helping the other when in desperate need. Jesse educated his nephews about Hogg and the corruption in Hazzard, and often provided the cousins with inspirational sage advice.
According to the film, Uncle Jesse was a Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
veteran. The narrator indicated that Jesse had only been to two places in his life: Hazzard County and Korea, and believed that was "one place too many."
Since the early 18th century, up until the late 1970s, the Duke family had a family tradition of making what was commonly known in Hazzard County as "The finest shine
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
this side of the Mason-Dixon
Mason-Dixon line
The Mason–Dixon Line was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America. It forms a demarcation line among four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and...
." However, after his nephews Bo
Bo Duke
Beauregard "Bo" Duke is a fictional character in the American television series The Dukes of Hazzard, which ran from 1979 to 1985. He was played by John Schneider. The name of Beauregard may have been chosen after the famous Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard.Bo and his cousin Luke Duke live in...
and Luke
Luke Duke
Lucas K. "Luke" Duke is a fictional character in the American television series The Dukes of Hazzard which ran from 1979 to 1985. Luke was played by Tom Wopat....
were arrested, tried and convicted for illegally-transporting moonshine, Jesse Duke struck a deal with the government: he would cease and desist all moonshine brewing in exchange for Bo and Luke being released on probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
.
Jesse Duke drove a 1973-77 Ford F-100
Ford F-Series
The F-Series is a series of full-size pickup trucks from Ford Motor Company which has been sold continuously for over six decades. The most popular variant of the F-Series is the F-150...
pickup truck.
Jesse remained in Hazzard long after his niece and nephews had moved on. Sometime between 1985 and 1997, the farmhouse was replaced with a much better quality two-story house. In 1997, he chaired the Hazzard Homecoming reunion committee, although he was alienated by much of the town by rejecting "Mama Maxx"'s plans to build a theme park on Hazzard Swamp - creating additional jobs, revenue and entertainment for Hazzard County. However, in order to build the park, Maxx needed access to the Duke farm. For the Swamp's sake, Jesse held out and eventually - Bo, Luke, and Daisy returned to help their uncle, and - in the process - exposed Maxx's plan as fraud: she wanted the rights to the land solely to mine for its valuable ore.
Shortly after this last adventure, Jesse died (Pyle had died in December 1997). However, his legacy lived on through the many of his famous recipes that were passed to his friends and family. Cooter used Jesse's barbecue sauce recipe to enter the Hazzard Hoe-Down BBQ sauce contest in 2000. But due to a missing secret ingredient
Secret ingredient
A secret ingredient is a component of a product that is closely guarded from public disclosure for competitive advantage. Sometimes the ingredient makes a noticeable difference in the way a product performs, looks or tastes; other times it is used for advertising puffery...
, he could only muster second place. Just after the contest, thanks to Enos, Cooter inadvertently discovered the secret ingredient.
Uncle Jesse in film
Arthur Hunnicutt
Arthur Lee Hunnicutt was an American actor known for his portrayal of wise, grizzled, old rural characters...
originated the character in the 1975
1975 in film
The year 1975 in film involved some significant events, with Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws topping the box office.-Events:*March 26 - The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London....
film Moonrunners
Moonrunners
Moonrunners is a 1975 film starring James Mitchum, and the precursor to The Dukes of Hazzard television series. Mitchum had co-starred with his famous father, Robert Mitchum, in the similar drive-in favorite Thunder Road eighteen years earlier, which also focused upon moonshine-running bootleggers...
, which was the precursor to The Dukes of Hazzard.
Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
portrayed Uncle Jesse in the 2005
2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
film The Dukes of Hazzard and in the 2007
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
film The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning
The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning
The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning is a prequel to the 2005 theatrical-release film The Dukes of Hazzard. An edited version of the film debuted on the ABC Family cable television channel on March 4, 2007. 'R'-rated and unrated versions were released on DVD March 13.- Plot :Bo Duke is arrested for...
. This version of the character was known for his seemingly endless repertoire of risque
Risqué
Risqué is the third studio album by American R&B band Chic, released on Atlantic Records in 1979, the same year that Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers wrote and produced Sister Sledge's massively successful We Are Family....
one-liner joke
One-liner joke
A one-liner is a joke that is delivered in a single line. A good one-liner is said to be pithy.Comedians and actors use this comedic method as part of their act, e.g...
s and his singing ability, in addition to his sage-like advice. In reference to Nelson's well-publicized support for marijuana legalization, Nelson's Jesse also was shown enjoying a puff of pot.