Tom Wopat and The Dukes of Hazzard

Growing up in the early 1980's, there was no bigger show on television than "The Dukes of Hazzard". Depicting Bo and Luke Duke, along with their cousin Daisy, the show generally featured an adventure that ultimately ended up with the brothers running from the law. However, the true star of the show was the orange "General Lee" car that they drove. Making death-defying leaps and jumps, the heroics of the "General Lee" were playground fodder with kids mimicking and reenacting the stunts over recesses. "Dukes of Hazzard" was simply something that a kid never missed on Friday nights at 8:00 pm.

This weekend the touring musical "Chicago" is performing all weekend long at the Aronoff Center here in Cincinnati. One of the stars of the show is Tom Wopat, who played Luke Duke on "The Dukes of Hazzard" television program. I arrived armed with some great cast shots from the show. "Chicago" ended around 10:30 pm and in a matter of less than five minutes, Tom Wopat was standing at the merchandise booth. There was a variety of "Chicago" merchandise for sale, as well as three of Wopat's music CD's. As people purchased CD's for $20.00 each, Tom generously asked their name and autographed their purchase. I approached Wopat, mentioning to him that I had met him several years ago after a show with the Cincinnati Symphony at Music Hall, in which he had appeared with his co-star John Schneider. He remembered that show and I asked if he would autograph my photographs. Wopat graciously signed all five with the black Sharpie he was holding and on the last one asked me my name. He personalized it, "To Brent, All the Best! Tom Wopat". Another collector I know then posed for a picture with Wopat who then said, "Okay, switch it out", knowing that I wanted a picture with him as well. Getting a photograph with Wopat was cool since Wopat was still wearing the black tuxedo that he wore during the his performance in "Chicago". Appearing at the merchandise booth is definitely a business for Tom Wopat, as he quickly tallied up the number of CD's that he sold with the merchandise booth attendant, even before I was able to leave.