Popular Actor Dies At 79

Richard Hurst, an actor known for his role as the endearing Deputy Cletus Hogg in “The Dukes of Hazzard,” is dead.

He was 79.

News of Hurst’s death was confirmed by his co-star Ben Jones, who played Cooter Davenport in the popular series.

Hurst died on Thursday afternoon.

“Rick was a great guy,” Jones shared in his statement. “Our show has been an ongoing success for 40 years or so, and Rick was a big part of that … it was very shocking and hurtful to hear his passing.

He was just with us last week, and it was unexpected.”

Jones continued, “He was a great human being … good-hearted… generous … always a friend I would stick up for… he was in the business of making people happy. He was a wonderful comic and comic actor.”

He also shared a statement on Cooter’s Pigeon Forge Facebook page – a “Dukes of Hazzard” themed museum owned by Jones.

“It doesn’t seem right that Rick Hurst passed away this afternoon. When something so unexpected happens, it is ‘harder to process’, as the current expression goes,” Jones wrote.

Hurst was born in Houston, Texas, and played the role of Deputy Cletus Hogg in “The Dukes of Hazzard” in the late 1970s.

He later reprised his role throughout the 1980s. His other film credits include “Steel Magnolias” and “In the Line of Fire.”

Hurst has several television show appearances, including “Sanford and Son,” “The Partridge Family,” “M*A*S*H,” “Gunsmoke,” and “The Bob Newhart Show.”

The actor was married to Katherine Shelley Weir from 1981 until 1991, and his first wife, Catherine Kaniecki, from 1969 until 1979.

Hurst is survived by two sons, Ryan and Collin. Ryan was born in June 1976 and is the son of Hurst and Kaniecki.

Hurst welcomed Collin later with his second wife, Weir.

Both sons followed in their father’s acting footsteps, as Ryan appeared in “Sons of Anarchy” and Collin reprised his role in “Dukes” in 1997 and 2000.