Schneider Returns To 'Hazzard'-ous Ways

On May 19, the Duke boys are breaking out of Hazzard! That's right: Bo and Luke Duke are bringing Hazzard to Hollywood in a special prime-time reunion movie, "The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood." In honor of the event, and because I am such a fan, I tracked down Bo Duke himself, actor and singer John Schneider, to find out more.

General-Lee Speaking
In 1979, CBS launched a show about two wild country boys living in a place called Hazzard County. Car chases, mishaps, mud splattering and good old-fashioned fun made the show an instant hit. "Dukes" ran for a whopping seven seasons, and you can still catch reruns on TNN.

Behind the wheel of the series were two bright-eyed and good-looking guys, Schneider and Tom Wopat as Bo's cousin Luke.

Kids and adults around the country tuned in by the millions every Friday night to find out what trouble the Duke boys, their uncle Jesse and, of course, Daisy were going to get into and inevitably get out of.

When the show aired, the fresh-faced Schneider was barely 18 years old. And little did he know how much "Dukes" would change his life and launch a career that would include more prime-time television, feature films, a music recording career and the Broadway stage.

Now meet the actor and singer whom we still affectionately remember as Bo Duke.

May Day
John Schneider is larger than life. Yes, he's a big guy, but Schneider's also a sort of folk hero to millions of guys my age around the country.

Come on, folks: "The Dukes of Hazzard" is a classic. Who can forget the General Lee? Daisy Duke? Boss Hogg? The bumbling Sheriff Roscoe?

And although Schneider has gone on to star in six television series, five miniseries, a soap ("Loving") and 14 movies, and cut 13 record albums, he is still remembered most prominently for the role that propelled him to stardom.

I meet Schneider on the set of "Diagnosis: Murder," where he's guest starring.

Schneider is warm, friendly and laughs easily. We sit in a half-empty sound stage. Sun streams through the huge sliding stage doors.

Schneider holds my tape recorder. "Testing, one, two, three," he says into the recorder.

I tell Schneider that I used to watch "Dukes" religiously when I was a kid.

"The Dukes of Hazzard"

See parts of the "Dukes of Hazzard" movie. Bo and Luke Duke chase after the bad guys. Has Bo Duke found love?

Schneider smiles and tells me that he can hardly believe it started so long ago.

"'Dukes' started 21 years ago," he says.

I ask him if it bothers him that so many people still identify him with the character of Bo Duke.

He smiles and says good-naturedly, "That seemed to stick. It was a very good show.

"I'm proud of ('Dukes'). It's one of the few mainstream shows on television where you can sit down with the whole family and watch."

Broadway Bound
"I played Michael Landon for CBS." Schneider is telling me about his standout performance in last year's CBS movie of the week "Michael Landon: The Father I Knew."

It is the role of which Schneider is most proud and one that CBS credits for winning ratings during the critical 1999 May sweeps.

But Schneider has always been a CBS favorite. He costarred in the network's hit series, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," and has appeared on everything from "Touched by an Angel" to "Walker, Texas Ranger" to "Jag," and now he's guest starring on "Diagnosis: Murder."

But CBS isn't the only place where Schneider has thrived. Schneider loves the stage and audiences love him. He made a huge splash on the Broadway stage in Tommy Tune's "Grand Hotel."

Currently, Schneider shares the lead role with Larry Gatlin in the big-budget, show-stopping musical "The Civil War." Gatlin will appear on half the tour, and Schneider the other.

"It's the national tour of 'The Civil War,'" Schneider says. We're going to Hartford, Conn., Hershey, Pa., Pittsburgh, and (were in) Baltimore a couple of weeks ago."

This week, Schneider is at the Palace Theater in Columbus, Ohio.

Hollywood High
"It's four hours of CBS sweeps. It's a John Schneider smorgasbord."

Schneider is laughing about his airtime during the 2000 May sweeps.

We joke that Schneider is the Regis Philbin of CBS, referring to the mega-hit "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," which has been a ratings topper for ABC.

This year, CBS is counting on Schneider to power the ratings when he appears on two episodes of "Diagnosis: Murder" with Dick Van Dyke and his cast. (Read my interviews with Van Dyke and his family.)

The network also hopes that the "Dukes of Hazzard" reunion movie will rev the CBS engine.

Schneider says the movie is going to be fun.

"We go to Hollywood," he says of the Duke boys. "We're trying to build a hospital in Hazzard, and what happens is that we decide that one way to raise the money is to put an album together of people who were caught in the Dukes' celebrity speed trap. Do you remember the speed trap?"

Of course I remember the speed trap.

"We're going to take the master recording and raise like $6.4 million or something for the hospital," Schneider says. "Our intentions are great, but then we get mixed up with some not-so-nice people and there's a car chase."

We both laugh. The irony of the Duke boys staging a car chase in Los Angeles is not lost on us.

"Imagine that!" Schneider says.

Schneider's love for fast cars isn't just an onscreen fantasy.

He's an avid car enthusiast and has a beautifully restored Corvette parked outside in the studio lot. He also owns a replica of the famous Duke brothers' car, the General Lee, which he drove recently to publicize the "Dukes" reunion movie.

Did people recognize the car that is almost as famous as the stars who drove it?

Absolutely, Schneider tells me.

"They said, 'Hey, that's that car.' And, 'Wait, that's that guy in that car.' It's cool."

The Finish Line
"There is a brand-new generation of kids looking up to me because of the character I played on 'The Dukes of Hazzard,'" Schneider says. "As a father, that feels great.

"I'm doing a car show next week, and dads will walk up with their 4-year-old kids wearing T-shirts their dads had 18 years ago."

Our interview time is up, and Schneider and I walk out to the parking lot, where he climbs into his Corvette.

As I turn and walk back to the studio, Schneider peels out of the lot.

Behind me, I swear I hear a "Yee haa!"

The Big Scoop