Tom Wopat Movies
To Gen-X'ers, particularly those who grew up hooked on prime-time television, Tom Wopat will be forever inseparable from his role as Luke Duke, the more intelligent and responsible of two cousins who spent their days charging around the rural South in a souped-up Dodge Charger and evading the wiles of corrupt politician Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke), on the comedy-adventure series The Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985). Born on a dairy farm in Lodi, WI, Wopat attended the University of Wisconsin as a young man, where he displayed strong musical ambition as a trombone player and a singer. Wopat spent his post-collegiate years touring in musical theater productions before being tapped for the Duke role in 1979.The CBS series, of course, took off like a rocket and netted a huge fan base (particularly among preteen boys). By 1982, however, it ran into a snag. Wopat and co-star John Schneider (who played Bo Duke) took issue with Warner Brothers Television over their salaries and shares of Hazzard merchandising revenues; the production company in fact snubbed their demands by bringing in two substitute actors for a single season, only to discover that the ploy didn't work. Wopat and Schneider thus returned in 1983 and stuck with the series for two more seasons, until it wrapped in August 1985.
In the mean time, Wopat parlayed his Hazzard recognition into a recording career as a country singer. An eponymous debut album appeared in 1983 to generally favorable reviews, followed by a sophomore effort, the Capitol release Don't Look Back, in 1990, and a third effort, the Epic release Learning to Love, in 1992. The performer continued to cut his acting chops as well from time to time, signing for roles in such little-seen features as Contagious (1997) and Meteorites! (1998). He scored one of his more prominent post-Hazzard roles in a supporting turn opposite leads Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange, and Joan Allen in the female buddy comedy Bonneville (2006). Wopat also portrayed Jeff Robbins, ex-husband of actress Cybill Sheridan (Cybill Shepherd) in the first season of the CBS sitcom Cybill (1995-1998), and remained extremely active in various musical theater productions. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- 1980
Carnival of Thrills is a 2 hour episode of the no-brainer TV series Dukes of Hazzard. Bo Duke (John Schneider) falls for beautiful carnival owner Robin Matson. Upon unraveling himself from her little finger, Bo agrees to perform a death-defying stunt. Matson convinces him to jump his beloved hot rod, the "General Lee", over 32 cars. Luke Duke (Tom Wopat) is determined to stop his brother before he has to scrape him off his windshield. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1979
Wildly popular during its six-season run on CBS, The Dukes of Hazzard focused on the ongoing adventures of Bo Duke (John Schneider) and Luke Duke (Tom Wopat), two cousins living in Hazzard County in the Deep South. Jefferson Davis Hogg (Sorrell Booke) is a corrupt local political bigwig who has long had it in for the Duke boys, as well as their moonshine-brewing Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle) and their sexy cousin Daisy (Catherine Bach). Roughly once a week, "Boss" Hogg and the corrupt but inept local law enforcement officials under his command, led by Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (James Best) and Deputy Enos Strate (Sonny Shroyer), would made trouble for the Dukes and/or their friends, and Bo and Luke would be forced to take the law into their own hands, usually with their help of their souped-up 1969 Dodge Charger, the General Lee. Country music legend Waylon Jennings sang the show's theme song, as well as serving as narrator. Wopat and Schneider briefly left the series due to a pay dispute in 1982; their characters were written out of the show, and Coy Duke (Byron Cherry) and Vance Duke (Christopher Mayer), two cousins previously never discussed on the show, stepped in to take their place, but Bo and Luke were back by the end of the season in 1983. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tom Wopat, John Schneider, (more)
- 1979
- Add The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 01 to Queue Add The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 01 to top of Queue
Introduced as a mid-season replacement on CBS' Friday-night schedule, Dukes of Hazzard spends most of its first season establishing, reestablishing, and then re-reestablishing the ongoing battle of wills and wits between Hazzard County hot rodders (and cousins) Luke Duke (Tom Wopat) and Bo Duke (John Schneider) and comically corrupt county commissioner Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke), dimwitted Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (James Best), and doltish deputy Enos Strate (Sonny Strait). When not zooming around the countryside in their souped up Dodge Charger, "The General Lee", Luke and Bo can be found in the company of moonshiner Uncle Jesse Duke (Denver Pyle) or their wholesomely sexy cousin, Daisy Duke (Catherine Bach). Although the plotlines of the individual episodes are the least important element of Dukes of Hazzard, it can be noted that the Duke boys' first-season adventures involve the hijacking of slot machines in order to pay the bills at a local orphanage, a desperate flight from angry mobsters in search of a hundred grand in stolen money, an attempt to convert moonshine whiskey into engine fuel, a stopover at the popular and illegal annual Hazzard Obstacle Derby, the theft of the Presidential Limousine from under the noses of the CIA, and a pair of incompetent crooks wearing Laurel & Hardy masks. ~ Rovi
- 1979
- Add The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 02 to Queue Add The Dukes of Hazzard: Season 02 to top of Queue
So popular were the first 13 episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard that CBS ordered a full complement of 24 hour-long installments for the series' second season. Thematically, little changed from season one to season two: Hot-rodding cousins Luke and Bo Duke (Tom Wopat, John Schneider) continue manning the controls of their souped up Dodge Charger, "The General Lee," the better to foil the various crooked schemes of country commissioner Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) and to keep one step ahead of Hogg's dopey henchmen, Sheriff Roscoe Coltrane (James Best) and Deputy Enos Strate (Sonny Shroyer) -- and on occasion, Coltrane's reserve deputy, Cletus (Rick Hurst). Meanwhile, the Dukes' sexy cousin Daisy (Catherine Bach) and moonshiner Uncle Jesse (Denver Pyle) continue cheering the boys' exploits from the sidelines, occasionally getting into the thick of things themselves. With so much fast action and rowdy slapstick going on, who needs plotlines? Well, actually, quite a lot happens during Dukes of Hazzard's second year on the air. Highlights include a grudge race between longtime rivals (and former partners-in-crime) Boss Hogg and Uncle Jesse, a con game involving three million dollars in phony gold bars, a misdelivered consignment of stolen TV sets, an encounter with elderly counterfeiter Granny Annie (played by veteran radio actress Lurene Tuttle), a visit from the Dukes' "veddy" British cousin Gaylord (Simon MacCorkindale), a Smokey and the Bandit-like entanglement with a runaway heiress (Suzy Holmes), and a brief and embarrassing period in which Daisy Duke "jumps the fence" and becomes a deputy sheriff. Probably the most famous second- season episode is "Find Loretta Lynn," in which the eponymous country & western singer is kidnapped by a trio of stupid outlaws demanding a ransom of 1136.15 dollars! ~ Rovi
Dottie West: Greatest Hits captures a 1984 concert by the country singer that includes renditions of over a dozen songs including "Rocky Top," "I Fall to Pieces," "Sweet Dreams," and "Crazy," as well as a pair of duets with Tom Wopat and another two with Freddie Weller. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dottie West, Freddie Weller, (more)
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