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Jesse Duke (Officer Daisy Duke)

Jesse L. Duke, most commonly known as "Uncle Jesse,” is a fictional character in the American television series The Dukes of Hazzard which ran from 1979 to 1985. Jesse was played by Denver Pyle (b.1920).

Overview[]

Even though his family has always had trouble with thee law, Jesse himself is a very wise, kind, and loving uncle to his family. Jesse is the uncle to Bo, Luke, Daisy, Coy, Vance, and Jeb Stuart Duke. Jesse, his niece and, periodically, his nephews, lived on the Duke Farm in of the fictional Hazzard County, Georgia. Jesse was the patriarch of the Duke family and the father-figure to all Dukes who stayed with him on the dilapidated "Duke Farm.” Jesse, a long-time widower who apparently had no children of his own, happily provided for his nephews and niece in the absence of their parents--all tragically killed in a car wreck years earlier[1]. He was known for dispensing sage-like wisdom to his niece and nephews, who often found themselves in trouble with the corrupt local officials, Boss Hogg and Rosco P. Coltrane.

Life[]

Jesse Duke was born in the Duke farmhouse and he would later act as midwife for both Bo and Luke, who would also be born on the Duke farm[2]. In his youth, Jesse had been a moonshine "ridge-runner,” in direct competition with J.D. Hogg—thus beginning the "feud" between the Dukes and the Hoggs. However, it should be noted that, while both Boss Hogg and Uncle Jesse would scowl at the mention of the others name, the two enjoyed a lifelong "friendship" of sorts, with one helping the other when in desperate need. Jesse educated his nephews about Hogg and the corruption in Hazzard, and often provided the cousins with inspirational sage advice.

Jesse Duke (Denver Pyle)

Since the early 1700s, up until the late 1970s, the Duke family had a family tradition of making what was commonly known in Hazzard County as "The finest shine this side of the Mason-Dixon." However, after his nephews Bo and Luke were arrested, tried and convicted for illegally-transporting moonshine, Jesse Duke struck a deal with the government: he would cease and desist all moonshine production in exchange for Bo and Luke being released on probation.

Jesse was married, but his wife sadly passed some years back. Hard Luck Jones attended, bringing his famous moonshine.[3]

Jesse remained in Hazzard long after his niece and nephews had moved on. Sometime between 1985 and 1997, the farmhouse was replaced with a much better quality two-story house. In 1997, he chaired the Hazzard Homecoming reunion committee, although he was alienated by much of the town by rejecting "Mama Maxx’s” plans to build a theme park on Hazzard Swamp - creating additional jobs, revenue and entertainment for Hazzard County. However, in order to build the park, Maxx needed access to the Duke farm. For the Swamp's sake, Jesse held out and eventually - Bo, Luke, and Daisy returned to help their uncle, and - in the process - exposed Maxx's plan as fraud: she wanted the rights to the land solely to mine for its valuable ore.

Jesse (reunion)

Uncle Jesse in The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! (1997)

Shortly after this last adventure, Jesse died (Pyle had died in December 1997). However, his legacy lived on through the many of his famous recipes that were passed to his friends and family. Cooter used Jesse's barbecue sauce recipe to enter the Hazzard Hoe-Down BBQ sauce contest in 2000. But due to a missing secret ingredient, he could only muster second place. Just after the contest, thanks to Enos, Cooter inadvertently discovered the secret ingredient.

Uncle Jesse's Vehicles[]

Through the series, Jesse owned two vehicles

  • Sweet Tilly/Black Tilly
  • Uncle Jesse's Truck, a white Ford Pickup truck, most commonly a Sixth generation (1973–1977) F100 Styleside.[4] However, in the earliest episodes it had a Flareside bed, and varied between F100 and F250 models throughout the show's run. Daisy also drove Jesse's truck on occasion.

Trivia[]

  • The Character of Jesse Duke was inspired by Uncle Worley from Jerry Rushing's life.
  • When Gy Waldron was designing the character, he used his own grandfather s the model, having Jesse be the moral center of the family[5].

See Also[]

External Links[]

References[]

  1. Duke Family Tree- Special Feature Season 3 DVD
  2. Mary Kaye's Baby
  3. Follow That Still
  4. 03:24 PM (2006-07-18). "jesse's truck - HazzardNet Gallery". Hazzardnet.com. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
  5. 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
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