Boss Hogg
Jefferson Davis Hogg, known as Boss Hogg, is a fictional character featured in the American television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He was the commissioner of Hazzard County, and the county's political boss and the main antagonist of the show. Boss Hogg almost always wore an all-white suit with a white cowboy hat and regularly smoked cigars. His namesake is Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America. The role of Boss Hogg was played by Sorrell Booke, who performed frequently on radio, stage, television, and film prior to his role in The Dukes of Hazzard. The character was played by Burt Reynolds in the 2005 film.
Description
"Boss" Hogg was the sole commissioner of Hazzard County, Georgia, and thus, held all executive and judicial powers therein. As the wealthiest man in the county, he would do almost anything to get his hands on more money, including executing many nefarious and criminal schemes. However, he does not tolerate anyone getting physically hurt in the process. He also refuses to have anything to do with illegal drugs, regardless of money. Boss Hogg is described in one analysis as "an ineffectual bad guy—hence amusing".Hogg owned most of Hazzard's property and businesses, either directly or by holding the mortgages over the land. His lust for money often drove him to participate in criminal activities—usually by enlisting the aid of associates—mainly his brother-in-law, who was his right-hand man and partner in crime, Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. Together, the two schemed to frame the Duke family for crimes they did not commit. Rosco's deputies, Enos Strate and Cletus Hogg, have also aided Boss Hogg, though Enos were more reluctant to do so. According to Waylon Jennings' narration, he had a "cradle to grave" earning plan; in that if you were a Hazzard County resident, you were born at the local hospital, you lived in a house that he owned the deed to, worked at one of his businesses, and when you died, his casket company would make your pine box.
Boss Hogg's greed only seemed to fuel his lust for more and more wealth. He was chauffeured around in the back of a Cadillac, all-white in color to match his all-white suit. Other clothing and other accessories, and much of his own mansion home, were also decked out in white.
Boss is forever angry at the Duke family, particularly Bo and Luke, for continually exposing and halting his various crooked schemes. Despite the Dukes coming to his rescue on occasion, Hogg forever seems to have an irrational dislike of the clan, particularly Bo and Luke, often accusing them of spying on him, robbing or planning to rob him, and other supposedly nefarious actions as he believes they are generally out to get him. Although this characteristic is present throughout the show's run, it is particularly evident in the earlier seasons. One episode has Uncle Jesse mentioning that he and Boss had known one another "since we were kids", and others mention that they had run moonshine together.
Just like the exact specifications of the Duke Boys' probation rules, the extent of just what was and wasn't within Boss's powers often seemed to vary from episode to episode. However, this can be countermanded slightly, as Boss would often bend the law and make up rules to suit himself.
Every morning, Boss Hogg would drink coffee and eat raw liver. Method actor Sorrell Booke actually ate the raw liver.
Sorrell Booke was only slightly overweight at best. He wore padding under his suit to give Boss his familiar 62 inch waist.
Initially, the character was created as a nemesis for the Duke family to battle, but as the series evolved over its first and subsequent seasons, Hogg developed more into a comical money-grabbing villain, with more intent on performing various get-rich-quick schemes and shady plots, than ever knowingly causing anyone serious harm. With this evolution of the character, for which the foundations were set over the course of the first half-season, came the closer pairing of Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane, and as the pair's comical ability together became apparent and a popular element of the series, Booke and Best were often given permission to ad-lib and improvise their scenes together.
By the time of the 1997 reunion movie, Booke had died, so rather than replace him with a new actor or similar character, Hogg's death was written into the script. He willed his empire to Rosco P. Coltrane, who continued to pursue zany schemes, many of which Boss had come up with before his death.
Schemes
Criminal
In a typical episode of The Dukes of Hazzard, Boss hires others to carry out his crimes, then diverts the blame onto the Dukes, usually the cousins Bo and Luke. Some of Hogg's favorite schemes include bank and armored car robbery, counterfeiting, fraud, and moonshine running. He especially enjoyed trying to trick Bo and Luke into violating their probation by running moonshine, or crossing the county line.Boss reasons that by framing Bo and Luke, he will more easily acquire the Duke farm—the property he most covets, and for which he held the mortgage—for little to no cost. Usually, this is so he can develop the land in various ways. When the Dukes are not targeted, it is generally a friend of the Dukes—auto mechanic Cooter Davenport, postmistress Miz Emma Tisdale, county worker Emery Potter, general store owner Mr. Rhuebottom, and others—who find themselves on the wrong side of Hogg's schemes.
It is usually up to Bo and Luke to foil Boss's schemes, defeat his associates, and make things right. Though Boss's crimes should land him in prison, he usually winds up with little more than a slap on the wrist, such as donating his ill-gotten proceeds to charity, or having to personally re-sow by hand a crop that he had destroyed. He often worms his way out of trouble by foisting the blame for his schemes onto associates. This has left him with a reputation for untrustworthiness and double-crossing in the criminal world, and had made him many enemies who come back for revenge.
Boss lusts for "simoleons", but has his limits; he refuses to risk anyone's life or safety for the sake of his schemes. More than once, he has sacrificed his potential earnings to save lives that would otherwise be imperiled by his greed. His conscience has landed him into trouble with his former partners in the past. He stands by his word, but only if he "spits and shakes" on it. On several occasions, when Boss's disgruntled or devious associates attempted to exact revenge for Boss's betrayal, Bo and Luke always came to his rescue.
Boss held various positions in the community, including County Commissioner, Police Commissioner, Chief of the Volunteer Fire Department, Justice of the Peace, and Bank President. All of these organizations seemed to suffer from his greed. It seems in some episodes that his position of County Commissioner is elected; Hogg was even once defeated for this office, but Boss was back in charge in the following episode.
Traffic
Boss constantly looks for new, usually dishonest methods to bring revenue into the county. Some of the more memorable schemes involve Rosco setting up fake fire hydrants next to parked cars, using hair dryers as radar guns, and placing hidden stop signs or speed limit signs that mysteriously spring into view after an unsuspecting motorist drives by.Boss's traffic schemes have also resulted in country music and other performers "working off" their fines, by performing at "The Boar's Nest". Famous singer victims include: Roy Orbison, Buck Owens, Mel Tillis, Dottie West, Tammy Wynette, Hoyt Axton, Johnny Paycheck and The Oak Ridge Boys twice, Loretta Lynn, and Mickey Gilley, whose performance he also tried to pirate.
Rivalries
Despite Boss Hogg's unending desire to have Bo and Luke imprisoned for crimes they did not commit, his principal rival always remained their uncle, Jesse Duke. Jesse and J.D. had a feud dating back to their ridge-running days in the 1930s, which continued to simmer after Bo and Luke were indicted for moonshine-running, and Jesse began protecting them from J.D.Though they rarely got along, Jesse and J.D. held a grudging respect for one another and enjoyed a "friendship" of sorts, as both would help each other when circumstances warranted. However, Jesse Duke was well aware of J.D.'s greedy nature, and the wizened Duke patriarch frequently warned his nephews and niece about Hogg's antics. When Uncle Jesse needed a favor of Boss Hogg, he would often say "I've never asked you for anything", and the question appeared new to the portly Hogg each time. Furthermore, whenever Jesse and J.D. do formally agree to something, it is always with a "spit and shake" of hands; in one episode, J.D. insists that without "spit and shake", any promises made by him are not binding. In one episode, when Hogg becomes involved with some very serious criminals who threaten Jesse's life, he intervenes and insists that they don't hurt him.
Despite the fact that they constantly thwarted his plots, and while he often derided them even when they were helping him, Hogg was willing to swallow his pride when the Dukes offered him aid; while the Dukes have no love for Hogg, it is clear they are aware that Boss has never willingly put lives at risk. Hogg and the Dukes appear to almost enjoy their rivalry on some level, as Hogg could easily have foreclosed on the mortgage he holds on the Dukes' land long ago, yet never has; either Boss is honest enough to accept the Dukes' payments to keep their land in their possession, or he merely wants the satisfaction of removing them via one of his schemes. Whether Hogg genuinely wants the Dukes out of the way, or is simply harassing them for fun, is never made clear. The Dukes, for their part, thoroughly enjoy their clashes with Hogg when thwarting him despite the issues he causes. Despite this, they have never made any serious attempt to have him removed from his position, via any of their friends who can cross the Hazzard county line and report on his corrupt actions, indicating that they are unwilling to see Hogg truly placed in legal trouble, despite all the issues he causes for them. Whether this is out of respect for Hogg's strange friendship with their uncle Jesse or not was never revealed.