Actor Richard Hurst Dead At 79

Actor Richard Hurst, best known for playing Deputy Cletus Hogg on The Dukes of Hazzard, has died at the age of 79, according to a post shared by fellow Dukes of Hazzard actor Ben Jones on the Facebook page of his museum, Cooter's Pigeon Place Pigeon Force, on Thursday (June 26).

"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," Jones wrote. "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."

Hurst was scheduled to appear at a Cooter's Place meet-and-greet on July 3, but the museum wrote, "Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, Rick Hurst, 'Cletus Hogg,' will be unable to join us" hours before news of his death. The actor's cause of death was not revealed at the time of publication on Friday (June 27).

Hurst appeared on 55 episodes of the Dukes of Hazzard from 1979 to 1982, playing Cletus Hogg, the cousin of Boss Hogg, a mumbling deputy sheriff. The Houston native began his career in small guest roles on several 1970s shows including Gunsmoke and Happy Days, before landing the recurring role as Cleaver in the sitcom On The Rocks in the mid-1970s.

Hurt later made guest appearances on the shows Steel Magnolias, Melrose Place and Family Matters and later reprised his role as Hogg in the 1997 television movie The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! and 2000 television movie The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood.