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Rick Hurst, the classic television actor best known for his role as Deputy Cletus Hogg in the hit series The Dukes of Hazzard, has passed away. Hurst's death was announced by Dukes of Hazzard co-star Ben Jones in a post shared on Facebook by the Cooter's Place museum. He was 79 years old, per CNN.

"It doesn't seem right that Rick Hurst passed away this afternoon," Jones' statement, posted on the evening of June 26, reads. "When something so unexpected happens, it is 'harder to process,' as the current expression goes. I have known Rick for over 45 years and there wasn't a minute of that time that he didn't leave me smiling or laughing. Sure he was a professional comedian, but mostly he just had a heart as big as Texas. He was a fine actor, a splendid comic, and a wonderfully supportive colleague."

Jones continued, "I had seen him in...

Rick Hurst, the actor known for playing Deputy Cletus Hogg on The Dukes of Hazzard, has died. He was 79.

According to the actor’s wife Candace Kaniecki, he died unexpectedly on Thursday in Los Angeles, TMZ reported. His cause of death was not immediately disclosed.

Hurst’s co-star Ben Jones, who played Cooter Davenport on the 1979-’85 CBS sitcom, announced his death on Facebook after Hurst was scheduled to appear at Cooter’s Place in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee next month.

“It doesn’t seem right that Rick Hurst passed away this afternoon. When something so unexpected happens, it is ‘harder to process,’ as the current expression goes,” he said in a statement. “I have known Rick for over 45 years and there wasn’t a minute of that time that he didn’t leave me smiling or laughing. Sure he was a professional comedian, but mostly he just had a heart as big as Texas.

Rick Hurst, who portrayed the good-hearted Deputy Cletus Hogg on the long-running CBS action comedy The Dukes of Hazzard, died Thursday. He was 79.

Hurst’s death was announced by the Cooter’s Place museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. He had just canceled a scheduled July 3-7 appearance there.

“To fans, he was more than a character — he was family,” reads a Dukes of Hazzard post on Instagram. “His gentle smile, impeccable comedic timing and kind-hearted spirit made every scene brighter.

“Offscreen, Rick was known for his generosity, humility and love for connecting with fans at events across the country. Whether it was a reunion special or a meet-and-greet at Cooter’s, he never stopped sharing his joy with the people who adored him.”

Before his most famous role, Hurst played a prisoner named Cleaver alongside Tom Poston and Hal Williams on the 1975-76 ABC sitcom On the Rocks, which revolved...

Samuel E. Wright, whose vocal portrayal of Sebastian the crab in Disney’s The Little Mermaid included the Oscar-winning “Under the Sea,” died yesterday. He was 74.

His death was announced on the Facebook page of the town of Montgomery, New York, where Wright lived. A cause of death was not specified.

“Sam was an inspiration to us all and along with his family established the Hudson Valley Conservatory,” the tribute states. “Sam and his family have impacted countless Hudson Valley youth always inspiring them to reach higher and dig deeper to become the best version of themselves. On top of his passion for the arts and his love for his family, Sam was most known for walking into a room and simply providing Pure Joy to those he interacted with. He loved to entertain, he loved to make people smile and laugh and he loved to love.”

Though known to...

You've probably seen "Forrest Gump" so many times in the 20 years since its release (on July 6, 1994) that you can recite the dialogue by heart, starting with the line about life being like a box of chocolates.

You probably know that the film won six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director (for Robert Zemeckis), Best Actor (for Tom Hanks), and Best Adapted Screenplay (for Eric Roth). You may even know about the digital trickery that was used to insert Hanks's low-iq Everyman into historical footage of real-life events from the Baby Boom years, or to erase Gary Sinise's legs for his role as double-amputee Lt. Dan.

Still, there's a lot you may not know, including what Forrest really said (in Winston Groom's novel that inspired the film) about life being like a box of chocolates, or what Hanks's Gump actually said at that protest rally, or which famous actors...

Of the two biggest franchise-launchers of 1977, one involved a pair of rebellious outlaws with a shaggy sidekick, a runaway heroine, a Mutt-and-Jeff pair of tall-short comic relief characters, epic-length chases, spectacular stunts, and endless vehicular mayhem. The other was "Star Wars." Yep, we're talkin' "Smokey and the Bandit," which opened 35 years ago this week (on May 27, 1977) and wound up grossing more money than any movie that year except for George Lucas' interstellar road adventure. It also launched a truckload of sequels on film and TV, gave Burt Reynolds his most iconic role, helped make movie stars out of country guitarist Jerry Reed and TV sitcom starlet Sally Field, provided a career comeback for Jackie Gleason, and sent Pontiac Trans Am sales soaring. Still, as popular as Reynolds and his muscle car were, there's plenty about "Smokey and the Bandit" that you may not know. Read on to learn Bandit's real name,...