Otis Burt "Sonny" Shroyer Jr. (born August 28, 1935) is an American retired actor who has appeared in various television and film roles. He is best known for his role as

Deputy Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is commonly ...

Enos Strate in the television series '' The Dukes of Hazzard''. He also starred in the short-lived spin-off series '' Enos'' based around his ''Dukes of Hazzard'' character.

Biography

Shroyer was born in the town of

Valdosta, Georgia Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, Valdosta metropolitan statistical area, ...

. He attended

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

on a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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, but his career was cut short by an injury. He finished his degree at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. He began a career as a professional model in 1961. His first screen role came in the 1972 film '' Payday''. Shroyer almost became typecast as a bad guy before landing the role of the naive Deputy Enos Strate in the hit

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

series ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' in 1978 (first broadcast early 1979). ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' role was Shroyer's most visible. His character was written out at the start of the third season to be given a spinoff series titled ''Enos'' in 1980. The new show was not a success and was canceled after eighteen episodes. Shroyer returned to ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' at the start of the fifth season in 1982 and remained with the series until it ended in 1985. Shroyer also released a children's album in 1982. The album was called ''Back in Hazzard'' and featured a cover of

Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country hits " King of the Road", "Dang Me", and " England Swing ...

's classic, "You Can't Rollerskate In a Buffalo Herd". He also recorded a song "Children in Need" with fellow actor Randall Franks for Franks's 2001 CD ''God's Children''. He and Franks have made personal appearances together. Shroyer remained active until he retired in 2023 due to COVID-related issues. He portrayed

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

coach Paul "Bear" Bryant in ''

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'', Delbert Birdsong in '' The Rainmaker'', and Governor

Jimmie Davis James Houston Davis (September 11, 1899 – November 5, 2000) was an American singer, songwriter, and Democratic Party politician. After achieving fame for releasing both sacred and popular songs, Davis served as governor of Louisiana from ...

in '' Ray''. He is also a

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and

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singer. Shroyer is married and has two sons.

Filmography

*'' Payday'' (1972) – Dabney *''Sixteen'' (1973) *'' The Longest Yard'' (1974) – Tannen *'' Gator'' (1976) – 4th agent *''Movin’ On'' (1976) – Henchman (uncredited) *''The Farmer'' (1977) – Corrigan *''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...

'' (1977, TV mini-series) – Seaman Thompson (uncredited) *'' Smokey and the Bandit'' (1977) – Motorcycle cop (uncredited) *'' The Lincoln Conspiracy'' (1977) – Lewis Paine *''The Million Dollar Dixie Deliverance'' (1978, TV movie) – Luke *''

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

'' (1978, TV mini-series) – Police Officer preventing King from visiting an injured friend (uncredited) *'' They Went That-A-Way & That-A-Way'' (1978) – Carlie *'' The Dukes of Hazzard'' (1979–1980, 1982–1985, TV series) – Enos Strate *'' The Devil and Max Devlin'' (1981) – Big Billy Hunniker *'' Enos'' (1980–1981, TV series) – Enos Strate *''

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

'' (1983, TV series) "Mel Is Hog-Tied" – Deputy Enos Strate *'' In the Heat of the Night'' (1990, TV series) – Emory Tanner *'' Love Crimes'' (1992) – Plainclothes cop #1 *'' In The Heat of the Night'' (1993, TV series) – Dwight Foster *''

'' (1994) – Bear Bryant *'' Scattered Dreams'' (1993) - Sheriff of Santa Rosa County Florida *'' American Gothic'' (1995–1998, TV series) – Gage Temple *'' Bastard Out of Carolina'' (1996) – Sheriff *'' The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion!'' (1997, TV Movie) – Enos Strate *'' Wild America'' (1997) – Bud *'' Paradise Falls'' (1997) – Bert Kyler *'' The Rainmaker'' (1997) – Delbert Birdsong *'' The Gingerbread Man'' (1998) – Chatham County Sheriff *'' Freedom Song'' (2000, TV Movie) – Police Chief *'' The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood'' (2000, TV Movie) – Enos Strate *''Diggity's Treasure'' (2001) – Otis Cane *'' A Love Song for Bobby Long'' (2004) – Earl *'' Ray'' (2004) – Gov. Jimmie Davis (uncredited) *''A Tale About Bootlegging'' (2005) – Sheriff Ed Cooper *''The Hole in Willie's Guitar'' (2005, Memarie music video) – Sheriff *''The Price'' (2008) – Ghost of Matthew Goldyn *''Opening Day'' (2009) – Ray Hampton *'' The Way Home'' (2010) – Ed Walker *'' Unconditional'' (2012) – Pauly

External links

Sonny's official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shroyer, Sonny 1935 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors Florida State Seminoles football players Players of American football from Valdosta, Georgia Male actors from Georgia (U.S. state) University of Georgia alumni Leon High School alumni Phi Delta Theta members