Rest in peace, Ben ("Cooter") Jones

We don't always post when there's a death in the family of classic TV shows we cover here at BRBTV. Frankly, we don't have enough hours in the day. But we felt moved to, at the passing of Ben Jones, whom we know so well as Cooter Davenport on our beloved "Dukes of Hazzard."

Jones was a tall, tall men -- tall in terms of his actions and his regard for other human beings. He served in the Legislature and advocated for what is right, well beyond his role on "The Dukes," where his alter ego did the same. He was an activist, unafraid to take a stand and show love for all people. He spoke out in the media when he felt he had to, particularly on the issue of the Confederate flag on the roof of the General Lee. He served "Dukes" fans so wonderfully with the events he hosted over the years -- Dukesfest and others. And they were huge. Other "Dukes" cast members, along with quite a few fans, have hosted their own "Dukes" events, but none could top those of Ben and his wife, Alma. When they threw an event, people showed up. We've said before, when you can buy a bottle of water for a buck at an event, that tells you what you need to know about who's behind it. And indeed, it always told us what we needed to know about ole Cooter. His 25th anniversary celebration for Cooter's Place in Luray, Virginia, had free admission, for instance. He wasn't in it for cash -- he was spreading the love of the show and providing a safe, fun forum for people to share it.

If you want to hear very clearly Jones' thoughts on the "Dukes," watch his 2019 documentary "Hazzard Nation," where he featured interviews with cast and crew of the show, who reminisced on what the show meant to them over the years. In the doc, Jones talked lovingly of not only the show but of a way of life. This was how things were in the South. He lived it. He addressed the veiled (and not so veiled) allegations of racism about the show in more recent years, for one. There simply wasn't any. This was not what the show was about. It was about life in the South, about family, about values. About a way of living. And us fans -- so many of us kids at the time the show premiered, appreciated it more than we even realized it back then.

It feels like the end of an era. This author will dearly miss Ben Jones and what he did for us "Dukes" fans.

Above and below: Jones with his "Dukes" castmates during an interview with the "Today" show at the Dukes of Hazzard Georgia Reunion event in March 2013. From right above, Ben Jones, John Schneider, James Best (who died in 2015), Catherine Bach, the interviewer, and Rick Hurst (who died in 2025).

If you want to learn about Ben Jones, BRBTV recommends his book, "Redneck Boy in the Promised Land," which chronicles his upbringing, his time on "The Dukes," his time serving in government, and his views on a lot of topics, including the infamous Confederate flag, which he spoke out on multiple times over the years.

From Alma's post just under an hour ago:

"I lost the love of my life today. Ben passed from a massive heart attack. He was home resting in his favorite chair waiting for the Braves to come on and whoop the Yankees. Ben had the most amazing rich full life. He loved and was loved by so many. He will be missed. I loved him so so much."

Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV

Copying with credit is OK; a link would be grand

Terrific TV Toys: Scooby-Doo puzzle lunchbox, Pressman Toy Co., 2012

Have you ever wanted to work a jigsaw puzzle on your lunch break? Yeah, c'mon, we know you have. Well, Pressman Toys has the perfect thing for that, especially if you're a fan of Scooby-Doo: This oh-so practical lunchbox puzzle set was released in 2012 and features just 100 pieces, which surely you can make quick work of, while you're munching on your sandwich. Take a look at it up-close -- and see it worked in rapid time (eight-times time, actually) ...

See what else is on the Terrific TV Toys playlist.

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Rut-roh! The fun doesn't end there! Indulge your love of our favorite Great Dane with "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! A BRBTV Report," a short, snappy, exploration of the original cartoon series that started it all, back in 1969. Lots of fun facts -- and full-color images -- in e-book format for your Kindle or tablet -- and at only a buck and a half!

Visit BRBTV.com for more books celebrating the great classic TV shows you grew up with!

Terrific non-TV Toys: Batgirl of the DC Multiverse, McFarlane Toys, 2022

If you're not familiar with the Gotham Knights video game, you can get a glimpse of the look and feel of it at the game's website. And at that site, you'll see Red Hood, Robin and Nightwing in action, along with their partner in crimefighting, the beautiful Batgirl, all clad in purple and yellow as she has been in comics in recent years and as she originally was when introduced on the 1960s "Batman" TV series. It's super-cool stuff, and McFarlane Toys has taken that lovely Babsy and made a figure of her, the focus of the latest episode of the Terrific non-TV Toys series ...

See what else is on the Terrific non-TV Toys playlist.

Get out of town -- ANOTHER "Twilight Zone" episode I haven't seen????

OK, let's get real here. I've been a fan of the classic "Twilight Zone" TV show ever since I was a teen and saw my very first episode, "Little Girl Lost." I have watched the series over and over through the years, whenever it's on, flipping through the channels. I own the full DVD set but have never sat down and watched them -- I have adored and avidly watched the Syfy channel marathons on holiday weekends. I love the surprise of which episode is going to be shown next. And there's a certain phenomenon that happens, I have come to observe. For lack of any more imaginative term, I call it the Twilight Zone Effect ... the fact that each and every time I am watching a block of "TZ" episodes -- literally 100 percent of the time, I'm so serious here -- I always see an episode I've never seen. How can that happen, when I am always sure I've seen every episode there is to see??? For years and years, over and over? How can new episodes be popping out of the ether like that? It's part of the mystique of the show, I guess. 

So being an avid "TZ" fan, I am also a fan of the "TZ" discussion podcast "Just Beneath the Surface," and have blogged about it many a time right here. So guess what happens ... The Twilight Zone Effect carries over to this podcast, because wouldn'tcha know it, in the latest episode they're talking about an episode of "TZ" I actually had not seen!!!! Geesh. It's "Shadow Play," episode 26 of  the show's second season. When I started up the latest "JBTS" ep, I had to do a major pause and head on over to Tubi to actually watch the episode!!! It explores the story of a man (Dennis Weaver) in a courtroom sentenced to death. He says he is having a recurring dream of his execution and the end of the world, and no one seems to believe him. In fact, he thinks everyone around him is part of a dream he's having. Once again, this classic series and its creator Rod Serling go somewhere rare and fascinating for subject matter. Is this guy really dreaming? You kinda want to see him saved from his death sentence. So what will happen? Brian and Bruce tackle that and more in their discussion ...

(BTW, I was delighted when I immediately recognized, tucked away there in the next jail cell over from Weaver, a very young Bernie Hamilton, Captain Dobey of "Starsky and Hutch"!!! Wow.)

OK, maybe I'm being a bit melodramatic about this whole thing ... There are 156 episodes of the classic "Twilight Zone" series, so maybe it's not at all that unusual I would keep seeing a new one when watching a block of them on TV. Or is it???? 

Just remember, every time you watch, there's at least one more episode  you have not seen. And that's part of the thrill.

Terrific non-TV Toys: Batgirl chibi plush, Toy Factory, 2020

What on earth is chibi? Well, let's ask AI ....

Chibi (ちび) is a Japanese slang word meaning "short" or "little," used to describe small people or things, but in anime/manga, it refers to a cute art style with oversized heads, large eyes, and tiny bodies, often for comedic effect or to show childlike versions of characters. 

So that definitely describes the cutie starring in the latest episode of Terrific non-TV Toys. Behold ...

This plush was procured by the friend that I often mention as The Mysterious Claw Game Avenger Who Shall Remain Nameless. Unfortunately, it's one of the last toys I will ever receive from him, as he has been in ill health for several years and was just admitted to hospice. Prayers are appreciated.

See what else is on the Terrific non-TV Toys playlist.

"Room for one more, honey" ... one more episode of "Just Beneath the Surface," that is!

When you're building an audience on YouTube, there's always "room for one more, honey," as Brian so aptly puts it at the beginning of the latest episode of "Just Beneath the Surface." Indeed, Brian and his buddy Bruce have been growing the web series, which analyzes classic "Twilight Zone" TV episodes, and this time around they're focusing on the second season ep "Twenty-Two." In the story, a dancer who has had a nervous breakdown is trying to recover in a hospital, but she keeps having the same recurring nightmare where she goes to the basement to Room 22, the morgue, where a nurse tells her, "Room for one more, honey." It's a disturbing sequence, for sure. Did you recognize the nurse? She's from a very well-known original "Star Trek" episode. Find out more in the guys' latest discussion.

TGIF! How about some delicious TV-themed toys from last weekend's Motor City Comic Con?

It's never too late to show some pics of great collectibles, and the TV-themed goodies definitely were in abundance at last weekend's Motor City Comic Con at the Vibe Credit Union Showplace (yes, it changed names again) in Novi, Michigan. This author was there on Sunday and enjoyed a hassle-free parking sitch (I got there an hour after the show opened) and breezed right into the convention hall without waiting in line. Which is delightful, since it was nice and HOT that day -- warmer weather had reached the Mitten State at last!

So what did we see at the show, in terms of Terrific TV Toys? I mean, what did we not see? The usual Batman and "Star Trek" to the hilt, but I try to shoot some slightly more obscure stuff whenever I'm at a show like this. So we've got some "Buffy," "Twilight Zone," "The Office," "The Muppets," "Dungeons and Dragons" (yes, it was a TV series), "The Tick" (the series star was at the con), "The X-Files," "Jonny Quest," "Welcome Back, Kotter," "Starsky and Hutch." As always, click on an image to see a larger version.

A "Mt. Rushmore" of beloved TV show characters? This vendor had an interesting idea, with "Star Trek," above, "The Golden Girls" and "The Simpsons" below, and a whole lot more.

This guy was good! I didn't even realize he was a Rodney Dangerfield impersonator when I first spotted him at the show -- I thought he was just another wild dresser at the con! I shot a vid short of him rattling off a few jokes, so check that out at the BRBTV YouTube channel.

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Photos by Billie Rae Bates / BRBTV
Copying with credit is OK; a link would be grand

Announcing ... the Vanderbilt Family Tree

There are statesmen, businessmen, authors, and Congressmen. There are counts and countesses, lords and ladies. There are artists, museum founders, and America's Cup winners. There are actors, filmmakers, and musicians. There is someone who perished on the Lusitania. There is even a CNN anchor.

And at the heart of it all ... a railroad magnate.

But for me, at the heart of it all ...

a designer jeans icon.

And someone I have always admired.

And now for something completely different, as Monty Python would say ... I am a geeky girl, and I like to research stuff. At my heart I am a journalist, as well -- trained professionally, of course, with an actual degree in journalism and years of work in the field. I also happen to be a big follower (OK, fan) of Gloria Vanderbilt ever since I wore her designer jeans in junior high school in the early '80s. I have owned so many pairs of her jeans, cords and other pants over the years I lost count, and I have collected every kind of item she put out there besides -- other clothing, cologne, jewelry, dishware, art prints, whatever I could find on eBay, even a sterling silver bracelet once owned by her, which I treasure greatly. 

I have catalogued on this very blog the appearances of her jeans I have seen as I've rewatched beloved TV shows from my childhood: "Three's Company," "The Facts of Life," and "Soap" (and I can tell you, Fallon wore them on "Dynasty," Mindy wore them on "Mork and Mindy," and Melissa wore them on "Falcon Crest" -- I just haven't blogged about that yet).

I own every one of Gloria's books (even the obscure poetry book), and I've read several other books about her and her family, most recently the "Vanderbilt" historical book by her son, Anderson Cooper. And honestly, I'm not even sure how this particular research project started, but I know why:  It started because of that geeky girl thing I mentioned. I started compiling a family tree of the Vanderbilts. Maybe it was just to keep it all straight as I was reading through the books. But I thought, hey, why not; maybe there's not something like that out there, and I can contribute in some way to our culture's historical info? So I got geekier and geekier, and I dug and dug and kept digging, and I now have a first edition of what I would consider a moderately fluid family tree of the Vanderbilts, in Excel format.

At the center of all of this is Gloria, who passed away in her 90s in 2019, and my love for her, but there were (and are) so many notable people on this family tree. As Anderson Cooper writes in his book, the era of the Vanderbilts is gone and the dynasty they built has "fallen" (I guess, though I don't like to think of it that way), but there are so many people in this family line who have contributed a great deal to our country and culture.

So for whatever it's worth, produced after many hours of research and presented open-source and free to use in whatever way it could be helpful, is the ... 

Vanderbilt Family Tree

As mentioned, this is a fluid document. And it is compiled by human hands, not by AI. There are currently more than 720 blood Vanderbilts on it, and there are still some holes in it, here and there. So if you have any edits to it, I welcome them.

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Top two photos: Cornelius ("Commodore") Vanderbilt, produced by Mathew Brady's studio, restored by Michel Vuijlsteke, public domain. Gloria Vanderbilt, from a 1959 acting role on "The United States Steel Hour," public domain.

Other photos by the author.

Ode to Michael, from a (formerly teenage) fan

I saw the "Michael" movie a week ago, and my head has been in Michael-land ever since. I fished out a couple thin paperback books I got back in the day, amid the mania over the "Thriller" album, which I also bought, in addition to then buying "Off the Wall." My mother got me a Michael Jackson doll, and there were lots of other things I bought back then, in the glorious '80s, as one of the zillions of teen girls crazy about this singer who had come up out of the famed Jackson Five.

These books were quickly produced to capitalize on the super-stardom at the time. I'm reading them now for the first time -- back then I looked at the pictures, mainly, and didn't really read them. But they offer a perspective that is so interesting, and it is very similar to what you see in the movie. The books were written in 1983, released in 1984, so they cover much of the same time period as the movie: His childhood through the "Thriller" album. I found it intriguing that the movie, coming from Michael's family, chose to end his story where it did. I'm glad it did, because it reinforced to me who Michael truly was. I mean, that's the question we all ask, right? Who really was Michael? And I don't believe that Michael was all the stuff that came later -- the allegations, the rumors, the masks, the changing appearance, the stunt marriage to Lisa Marie (OK, maybe that's just my opinion), the whatever. So I'm good with the particular ground they covered in the movie.

I believe Michael was not homosexual, bisexual, or really even heterosexual, so much. And he definitely wasn't pedo-sexual. He was asexual. He was like a child, and he related better to children than adults. He loved animals. He never really grew up, just like the Peter Pan character he admired. Or maybe he never really had a childhood. Both books discuss that, from the 1983 perspective, one even noting he had mannequins that he would talk to in his room at the family's house in California. He was often lonely. One book includes a quote from him about going to the schoolyard when he felt down, to watch the kids play. That would be an emotional lift to him. He truly loved children. But a celeb wouldn't say that these days, would they? This world has become a different place, but Michael is still the same person.

I will never forget when Michael came to town while I was working at The Detroit News in downtown Detroit. It would have been sometime between like 1998 and 2001. It became known in the newsroom that he would be doing an interview at the NBC affiliate, Channel 4, WDIV, across the street from our building on Lafayette. But no one out there knew it. We had an eye out for him, and when his SUV entourage arrived, I forgot I was a journalist. I was glued to the window of our department on the second floor of the old News building. I was telling the others, he's here, he's here. They might have gathered at the window a bit, but they didn't go all fan-girl like me. We watched him and his people get out of the vehicles, go into the building. No one else was around. Then we watched for them to leave again, which wasn't all that much later. When they came out and got back into the vehicles and pulled away, there I was, the teen girl again, watching excitedly. I couldn't wait to tell my mother later. I got to see him. Live. The legend, Michael Jackson. My teen crush. 

But then ... as the SUVs pulled away on Lafayette, a window rolled down. And a gloved hand reached out. And waved. I totally lost it. How did he notice that crazy girl up in that window? Maybe Michael really was always all about the fans. 

I will forever love that moment. I am somebody who has covered a lot of events and interviewed a lot of celebs in my career. I got a wink from Robert Conrad across the room at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Con in Maryland. I got genuine hugs from Yvonne Craig and Grace Lee Whitney at the Motor City Comic Con (I interviewed both of them for The News). I opened and drank the can of orange juice Lou Ferrigno left on the table after a Q&A session at a con I was covering for a comics website -- maybe it was in Atlanta? -- just so I could say I drank the Hulk's orange juice. I got "the hand" from Lindsay Wagner at her table at the Motor City Comic Con when I tried to ask her a question as she was signing the photo I was paying for. I got called a "cheap f*ck" by novelist Harlan Ellison at his table at MegaCon in Florida when I asked him to sign something but wasn't interested in buying the book he was promoting at the time. 

But that wave out the SUV window ... now that was a moment.

C'mon, any haters out there. Let's get real. Michael was not a Diddy or an R. Kelly. Michael was a unique individual who I believe genuinely wanted to make the world a better place, and he believed he could do that through his music. He wanted to bring people together. He wanted to give the world some joy. He was tremendously talented -- people sometimes forget that, and I'm glad the movie reminded us. In my view, the only crime he committed was in being different. In not fitting everyone's mold or expectations. I can relate.

Terrific TV Toys: Mary Marvel action figure, Figures Toy Co., 2016

She was part of the Marvel family decades ago in Fawcett comics and in the 1981 Saturday-morning Filmation cartoon series "The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam!" Her character has even been featured on the big screen more recently. She's Mary Marvel, and this is not the first time she has starred in an episode of Terrific TV Toys. A few seasons back we took a look at an original production cel from that same Filmation series. Now we're getting up-close and personal with an action figure of Mary from that oh-so divine Figures Toy Company, because they're so skilled at helping us relive those Mego glory days of old.

See what else is on the Terrific TV Toys playlist.

How about another "Dynasty" collector update from Bjørn?

We've featured him on this blog so many times, you might as well just copy and paste his name into that little search field off to the right of this post >>> rather than my trying to list out all the prior posts about his amazing collection! And now I just had to post a couple quick update photos from Bjørn, one of our "Dynasty" super-collectors. He was just featured in the final update of the "Dynasty High" BRBTV guide that released a few weeks ago, along with the Nolan Miller Collector, whose wardrobe pieces are truly awesome.

The gems below are added pieces for the limited-edition "Dynapoly" board game Bjørn created and released a few years back. The game is no longer available (maybe again someday), but these marvelous pieces are a sort of upgrade ...

Then there are the delights below, new figures created for the scale replica of the Carrington mansion, aka the "Dynasty" dollhouse. Blake, Krystle, Alexis, Fallon, they're all there (even Tony the gardener!).

Thanks, Bjørn! It is wonderful to continue to watch your craftiness!

Watching the "Dukes" with another Duke? Cooter's Place serves it up again

One good turn deserves another, as they say, and on April 11, Cooter's Place, owned by Ben ("Cooter Davenport") Jones of "The Dukes of Hazzard" and his wife Alma, hosted Catherine ("Daisy Duke") Bach for an evening of watching an episode of the "Dukes" and doing Q&A. Now Tom Wopat -- our own Luke Duke -- takes his turn. He'll be at the Luray location of Cooter's Place on May 16 for an evening with fans, watching the episode "The Ghost of the General Lee" and taking questions. Awesome! Get your tickets.

Get yer Daisy Dukes here!

(Or is that "dazy duks," as a rapper once said???) Imagine this author's surprise, driving through the small town of Lakeview, Michigan, yesterday for a library event, and happening upon this little gem at a strip mall just off the highway.

So sweet. I was on my way to the event and couldn't stop when I spotted it, but at the end of the afternoon, I decided to pull into the strip mall and take a photo. But then that "open today" placard was sitting out there, so inviting. Yes, I had to go in. And yes, they do actually sell denim Daisy Dukes! Along with a whole lot of other clothing and houseware items. Catherine Bach of our beloved "Dukes of Hazzard" would certainly be delighted. If she ever comes up this way, she's gotta pose for a photo in front of the store!

Exploring the wonderful world of Burgess Meredith "Twilight Zone" episodes

So you've got the guy who loves to read, then survives the end of the world, and is able to go to the library and read as much as he wants, but ... he breaks his glasses. Totally rough, man! Then you've got the guy on trial in a huge, dark, sinister courtroom, being interrogated and determined to be "obsolete." Those are the two I remember best. But THEN you've got the printer and the visitor who may or may not be the devil. THEN there's frail little Mr. Dingle, who gets an unexpected boost from some comical aliens. Have you seen all four?

• "Time Enough at Last," Season 1, perhaps the best-known of the four
• "The Obsolete Man," Season 3, a powerful social commentary
• "Printer’s Devil," Season 4, an hourlong episode
• "Mr. Dingle, the Strong," Season 2, written by Rod Serling, also featuring Don Rickles

The latest episode of "Just Beneath the Surface" has Brian and Bruce breaking it down for you, and they rank the four episodes. Which is the best, in their opinion? You'll just have to watch ...

Straight from "Dukes" stunt man Corey Eubanks: Check out his Stunt Stories LIVE!

This just in to BRBTV! (beep-beep-beep-beep ....) Longtime Hollywood stunt man Corey Eubanks sends this note about an upcoming event "Dukes" fans will want to add to their calendars:

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I just wanted to let you know that I will be telling STUNT STORIES LIVE in Oxford, Georgia, on June 6 and 7 at the Legacy Banquet Hall located @ 672 Moore St. Oxford, GA 30054. 

Throughout my 40+ year career working in the film and television industry as a professional stuntman, I have acquired some pretty amazing stories I would like to share with you, from jumping the world-famous General Lee on "The Dukes of Hazzard" television series, driving Bumblebee in every single "TRANSFORMERS" movie, jumping the Gran Torino while filming "Starsky & Hutch" and performing the biggest vehicular stunt in the history of cinema when I cannon-rolled the 42,000 pound prison bus 3 ½ times in the feature film, "FAST FIVE," which won me my third Taurus World Stunt Award. 

In my 90-minute show, I reveal the truth and shocking secrets about the stunt industry very few people are aware of, and I explain what it was really like performing stunts for actors such as Tom Cruise, Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro and Mark Wahlberg. I also show a mini-documentary about the "FAST FIVE" prison bus stunt that has never-before-seen-footage that Universal Studios doesn’t even know exists! And, I explain what it was really like working on the set of "The Dukes of Hazzard" for four years and jumping the General Lee over a span of 25 years! 

If you would like to attend my STUNT STORIES LIVE or just want more information, go to: CoreymEubanks.com. 

Announcing a new -- and final! -- print edition of "Dynasty High"

One good turn deserves another, as they say. Last September, this author completed the final print update of the BRBTV book "Destination: Dallas." It was arduous, involving converting the book to a new software program (read: redoing it completely), but I felt it was necessary, so that the continuity of TNT's 2012 "Dallas" reboot series could be folded in. It nagged on me a bit to give the same treatment to "Dynasty High," since it was in the same boat -- up-to-date Kindle edition because that's easy to do, but not-so-up-to-date print edition where the CW's 2017 remake series was concerned. With "Dynasty High," though, I didn't have to redo the whole book file; it was already in a modern software I still owned! Yay!

Anywho, it was a delight to rewatch the 2017 "Dynasty" episodes, just to do another check on my episode synopses, cast and character guides. It's such a pretty show. A snazzy show. A show, as I said on this blog at the time, that was unmistakably sassy. I enjoyed it the first time, and I enjoyed it this time, too, even though it did feel a bit too soon to rewatch the eps. But hey -- there's no bad time for "Dynasty," old or new!

So whether you're just discovering the CW's fresh take on the series on Netflix or Apple+ and want to maybe get a load of the original series (you can see how pretty that one is, too, on Pluto right now -- we didn't see it in HD like that originally, so it's worth doing!), or you're a diehard fan of the original series, or some combination therein, here it is ... the last update I swear I will ever make to your BRBTV guide to the series (I really don't want people to feel like they have to buy the book again if they already own it, as I wouldn't want to do that, either). 

It is now one of the biggest print books in the BRBTV series at a whopping 506 pages! Besides the CW series info, I folded in some other info I had included in the Kindle edition, like a photo look at the amazing collections of a couple big-time "Dynasty" fans that you've seen featured on this blog. So it's now an even bigger capture of all things "Dynasty," and I'm very thankful it's completed!

Terrific non-TV Toys: Scoob Easter greeter plush, Gemmy Industries, 2024

You know, if you're heading to Grandma's house for Easter dinner this Sunday, how delighted are you going to be if, as you're rolling up on her sidewalk, you get greeted by a soft, lovable, puppy Scoob in his sweet little bunny ears? I mean, seriously. 

Well, two years ago Walmart offered up this Scoob Easter greeter plush featured on the latest episode of the Terrific non-TV Toys series. Any Easter hosting would be all that much finer with this little guy around. And that is no April Fool's!

See what else is on the Terrific non-TV Toys playlist.

Happy Easter from BRBTV!

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Rut-roh! The fun doesn't end there! Indulge your love of our favorite Great Dane with "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! A BRBTV Report," a short, snappy, exploration of the original cartoon series that started it all, back in 1969. Lots of fun facts -- and full-color images -- in e-book format for your Kindle or tablet -- and at only a buck and a half!

Visit BRBTV.com for more books celebrating the great classic TV shows you grew up with!

Talking about my best boss ever, Diane, and more in this new interview with Canvas Rebel mag

Thanks so much to the Canvas Rebel online magazine for this fresh new interview. I love it, because I got to talk about the best boss I ever had in my "day jobs" over the years, and that was Diane at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. I still talk to her now and then, decades later. They say that a good boss can keep you in a bad job (though frankly, BSBSM was a great job for me!) and vice-versa -- a bad boss can send you out of a good job. Bosses make a big difference!

I also chat a bit about the writing stuff I've done over the years, and the marvelous "Dukes of Hazzard" events I've had the privilege to attend (with a couple photos that really take me back -- that's Byron "Coy Duke" Cherry in a couple of those photos, plus Don Pedro Colley, may he rest in peace. Such good times those were.

On April 11, you can watch "The Dukes" with a Duke -- at Cooter's Place!

Those of us who grew up with "The Dukes of Hazzard" in the '80s ...  would you ever have dreamed of watching an episode of your beloved classic TV show with one of its stars, at a place owned by another one of its stars? Well, Ben ("Cooter Davenport") Jones has lined it up for you at his Nashville location of Cooter's Place, which this author has visited, and thoroughly enjoyed on its own. The prettiest Duke will be there, Catherine ("Daisy Duke") Bach. You can get your tickets now for this event, which was just too good to not blog about.

 

This "Squatch" show hits the road (with a little "Dukes" thrown in)

This author can definitely say I've seen several of these wonderful goodies at many a show over the years. This collection belongs to our bud Byron ("Coy Duke") Cherry of "The Dukes of Hazzard," and BRBTV has had the pleasure to attend some great shows with him.

This show, however, was not a "Dukes" event but a private event attended by our friend Patrick Shawn Bennett, and it took place this past Saturday evening in southeast Texas. Call this post a follow-up from our March 6 post (next one below, conveniently!), where we discussed Byron's latest film project "The Not So Great Outdoorsmen." Patrick had Byron and other cast/crew from the film as guests on his podcast, "Filmsquatch."

"We’re setting up a table so he can do some autographs tonight," Patrick told BRBTV just before Saturday's event. "It’s a dinner and concert. There will be about 100 people here. It’s a fundraiser for a local cat shelter."

Well, that's just awesome. We love to see both Byron and Patrick out and about, supporting a cool cause. That's them in the photo below, joined by a couple guys from the film's cast / crew. Patrick is on the far right, and Byron is next to him, then there's Michael Murray (who plays Bigfoot in the film) and Tony Lawson.

I feel like I'm getting a bit of a scoop here -- some "Dukes"-related content you won't see anywhere else, so thanks, Patrick!

Photos courtesy of Patrick Shawn Bennett; please don't copy without permission