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Wearing the Hat Daisy gave him as a gift in LA[1]
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Enos Strate is a fictional character in the American television series The Dukes of Hazzard. The character of Enos was on from 1979-1980 and then after short break was on 1982-1985. Enos was played by Sonny Shroyer.
Overview[]
Enos was born in Hazzard County to a loving family, and grew up as friends with Bo and Luke Duke. His father was a moonshiner who ran loads alongside the Dukes. His biological mother was Mary Margret, but her family called her "Maggie". Enos says she died when he was born[2]. It is unknown if his father remarried later as Enos mentions visiting his 'folks' a number of times. Enos was on a basketball team as a child that was coached by Jesse and consisted of him, Bo, Luke, and Cooter. He wasn't very good and Jesse joked he was very uncoordinated but he made a team out of them[3]. Jesse also taught Enos how to fly fish and claimed Enos was the best student he ever had.[4] Enos has had a crush on Daisy since at least the third grade. At some point he had a hound dog named Jackie Bob who passed away, upsetting Enos a lot.[5] Enos also talked about growing up on the family's farm, and how his Uncle Bud used to take apart electronics to see how they worked before letting Enos and the other kids play with them after he was through.[6] Enos also mentions having a cousin named Eustas who was mean and killed a rattlesnake before putting it in his mailbox[7].
At the age of sixteen, he enrolled at the Hazzard Police Academy, graduated at the age of nineteen, and was promptly hired as Deputy Sheriff of Hazzard County's Police force by J.D. Hogg. He is portrayed as polite and coy, yet bumbling young deputy. Enos is also the only honest lawman Hazzard has ever seen. Unfortunately, working under Rosco and Boss he was often forced into pursuing the Dukes and or arresting them on trumped up charges.
In the very early episodes, Enos was shown to be a rather good driver (and respected as such by Bo and Luke), but by the end of the first season, he was shown to be as an incompetent driver as Rosco. During his time in LA, many of his fellow officers, including the department psychiatrist, his partner Turk, and his supervisor Lieutenant Broggi had shown concern or even fear over his driving.
Enos had a crush on Daisy Duke that she often used to the Dukes' advantage in unraveling Boss and Rosco's schemes. While Daisy is his most prominent love interest, Enos has shown an interest in a few other women as well, like Roxanne, Vera[8], and Joy[9].
Rosco frequently called him "Jackass", which soon evolved into the more family friendly "dipstick" as the show become a hit with younger viewers. Enos was known for using the expression "Possum on a gum bush" whenever applicable.
Enos doesn't drink alcohol, and usually when a toast is being made or some type of drinking he will have buttermilk instead. Enos also has a strong love of fishing. He says he has been out on boats fishing since he was three years old[10]. Enos says his favorite fishing spot is the Hazzard Pond.[11]
During season 3, Enos joined the L.A.P.D and was replaced by Boss Hogg's relative, Cletus Hogg. Upon return from L.A, Boss had Enos and Cletus share a car due to "county budget problems". He is now able to stand up to Boss and Rosco slightly more, and sometimes flat out refuses to follow orders. Whenever he is told to chase the Dukes, he responds by saying "but sheriff they aint doin over 50!" to which Rosco replies " I dont care ya dipstick! Catch them Dukes!".
He soon becomes the most capable of the Hazzard Police Department dealing with real threats: first to handcuff the bad guys or draw his gun to cover them.
It would appear that after the series ended, Enos returned to California (as implied in 1997's Reunion movie).
Enos and Daisy[]
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Sonny Shroyer as 'Enos' in The Dukes of Hazzard
Enos is very much in love with Daisy, and although Daisy is indicated to love him back, it is only as a close friend. In the episode, "Enos and Daisy's Wedding", the two plan on getting married, only to have Enos call it off at the last minute due to an attack of hives, brought on by the excitement of possibly being married to Daisy.
Later, in the first Reunion movie, Enos and Daisy become a pair again and plan to get married - but this time Daisy backs out at the last minute, upon the unexpected sight of her ex-husband.
Background on Creating Character[]
Enos Strate was one of the few original characters from the series with no basis on any real person from Jerry Rushing's life.
Creator Gy Waldron wrote the character of a goofy "straight and narrow" cop based on actor he knew named Sonny Shroyer. Shroyer auditioned for the role and was selected from a list of prospects, having no knowledge that the character was written specifically for him[12].
Trivia[]
- For one season in 1980, Strate went on to star in his own short-lived series, Enos. Sonny Shroyer played the same character as his role on Dukes, but with a bit more intelligence and fighting skills. The show began with the premise of Enos capturing two notorious criminals back in Hazzard County, then being invited to join a Special Branch of the Los Angeles Police for his nation-wide heroics.
- Enos appeared in the season 8 episode of Alice 'Mel Get's Hog-Tied'. He goes to Mel's dinner with Boss Hogg under the excuse that Boss wanted to visit his cousin Jolene. Enos shows an attraction to one of the waitresses, Vera Louise Gorman, and feels terrible along with the others when he learns that Boss planned to cheat Mel out of his dinner to build a shopping mall. At the end of the episode, Boss gets stuck in a large amount of concrete in the back of his car and Enos tells Alice, Vera, and Jolene that the Duke boys can get him out with some dynamite before driving back to Hazzard.
- Enos returned to Los Angeles at the series end. In The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion!, Enos had spent a tour on the LAPD SWAT team. The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood! shows Enos as an LAPD detective.
- Enos was later portrayed by Michael Weston in the subsequent cinematic version (2005).
- Adam Shulman portrayed Enos in The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning (2007).
External links[]
See Also[]
References[]
- ↑ Daisy gave Enos this hat at the end of the Season 3, Episode 3: Enos Strate to the Top
- ↑ Enos: Where's the Corpus?
- ↑ The Boar's Nest Bears
- ↑ Enos: Where's the Corpus?
- ↑ Enos (TV series): "Cops at Sea"
- ↑ Enos (TV series): "Cops at Sea"
- ↑ Enos (TV series): Cops at Sea
- ↑ Alice!: "Mel Get's Hogg-Tied"
- ↑ Enos (TV series): Enos (Episode) and Uncle Jesse's Visit
- ↑ Enos (TV series): Cops at Sea
- ↑ Enos in Trouble
- ↑ Duke Family Tree- Special Feature Season 3 DVD
| Characters from "The Dukes of Hazzard" TV series |
|---|
| Bo Duke - Luke Duke - Daisy Duke - Coy Duke - Vance Duke - Jesse Duke - Boss Hogg - Cletus Hogg - Hughie Hogg - Lulu Coltrane Hogg - Rosco Purvis Coltrane - Enos Strate - Cooter Davenport - Miz Emma Tisdale |