Lucas K. "Luke" Duke is a fictional character in ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy television series created by Gy Waldron that aired on CBS from January 26, 1979, to February 8, 1985, with a total of seven seasons consisting of List of The Dukes of Hazzard episodes, 147 ...

'', and the main protagonist in the show, an American comedy television series which ran from 1979 to 1985. Played by Tom Wopat in the original TV series, Luke is main protagonist of the show, he is dark-haired, older cousin to the character

Bo Duke Beauregard "Bo" Duke (born circa 1958) is a fictional character in the American television series ''The Dukes of Hazzard'', he is the second main protagonist in the series, which ran from 1979 to 1985. He was played by John Schneider. Fictional ...

. He is often the one who comes up with plans to get the Duke family out of trouble. He performs more of the physical stunts (such as climbing from one moving car to another), while his cousin Bo does most of the driving. Both Duke boys are known for their signature "hood slide" across the General Lee, their 1969

Dodge Charger The Dodge Charger is a model of automobile marketed by Dodge in various forms over eight generations since 1966. The first Charger was a show car in 1964. A 1965 Charger II concept car resembled the 1966 production version. In the United Sta ...

. (Luke was the first to perform this stunt on the show) Luke acted hypocritically on occasion, most prominently in season 1 episode 6 "Swamp Molly". Luke Duke was later played by

Johnny Knoxville Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known as a co-creator and star of the MTV reality stunt show ''Jackass (franchise), ...

in the poorly-received cinematic version. Actor Randy Wayne played Luke in the prequel television film, '' The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning''.

Casting

In 1978, actor Tom Wopat auditioned for the part of Luke Duke, the last role to be cast. He was invited to read for the part after a CBS casting agent remembered seeing him in an off-Broadway musical, ''A Bistro Car on the CNR''. Filming began in Georgia ten days later.

Character background

Show creator Gy Waldron named the Dukes after an elderly man he worked with in a hardware store. He chose the first name Luke, in part because he wanted at least two of the names to be Biblical in origin. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, the character Luke Duke is a former boxer. Luke and his younger cousin

live in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

of the fictional Hazzard County, in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Luke and Bo own a 1969 Dodge Charger, nicknamed '' The General Lee'', which is painted orange, with the Confederate Flag on top, and ''01'' painted on the sides. Luke and Bo evade the corrupt politicians of Hazzard County, such as Boss Hogg,

Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane Rosco Purvis Coltrane is a fictional sheriff character who first appeared in the 1975 film '' Moonrunners'', which inspired the creation of the American TV series ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' (and related spin-off films). In ''Moonrunners'', he was p ...

, and the sheriff's deputies. The Duke family, including cousin Daisy Duke and Uncle Jesse Duke, was well known for their role in the

moonshine Moonshine is alcohol proof, high-proof liquor, traditionally made or distributed alcohol law, illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of distilling the alcohol (drug), alcohol at night to avoid detection. In the first decades of the ...

business among other interests. Bo and Luke had both been sentenced to

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

for illegal transportation of moonshine. As a result, neither was permitted to use firearms, instead preferring to use bow and arrows. The terms of Bo and Luke's probation included staying within the boundaries of Hazzard County (unless given special permission by their Probation Officer, who happened to be Boss Hogg). Prior to the start of the show, Luke served in the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

, rising to the rank of Sergeant.

Hood slide

Luke's famous "hood slide" (as seen in the opening credits, originating from the second episode, "Daisy's Song") is the trick most commonly associated with the character. The hood slide's origins were accidental. Wopat got caught while trying to vault over the car to get to the passenger side. His foot got caught on the side of the car, and he cut his thigh on the radio aerial, which was later removed to prevent injury.

Storylines

In the pilot episode of the series, Bo commented that Luke was probably the father of at least two of the children who live at the Hazzard County Orphanage. Luke later left Hazzard County, along with his cousin Bo, to join the

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

circuit. His cousin Vance replaced him during that time. According to the 1997 film '' The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion!'', Luke eventually would leave Hazzard for good, and put his military training to good use by becoming a fire jumper for the U.S. Forest Service. During training in Montana, he met and fell in love with a woman named Anita Blackwell, who was a talented singer. He convinced her to leave to pursue her dreams, and she became a successful country music star. Luke met her again in '' The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood'', although by then she was married to another man.

Merchandise

In the 1980s, Luke Duke action figures were released by Mego, along with dolls of Bo, Daisy, and Boss Hogg.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duke, Luke The Dukes of Hazzard characters Fictional United States Marine Corps personnel Fictional military sergeants Fictional archers Fictional characters from Georgia (U.S. state) Fictional boxers Television characters introduced in 1979 Comedy television characters Fictional racing drivers