December 3, 2025 • 10 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, viewers knew Boss Hogg as the blustering figure in The Dukes of Hazzard, yet the man behind that role, Sorrell Booke, carried a life shaped by intellect, training, and service. Nick Ragone revisits the actor’s work and reveals how much more existed beneath the familiar white suit, the quick temper, and the laughter that filled Hazzard County.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue with our American stories up next. The
Dukes of Hazzard spend seven seasons reyaling television viewers with
the antics of a group of Southern cousins as they
dealt with everyday life that somehow involved leaping over ramps
in their iconic car. The General Lee, opposing the Cousins
with all the skills of Barney Feife on Valium, stood,
(00:32):
among others, Commissioner Boss Hog, a corrupt and greedy politician
that managed to embody every Southern stereotype while still being
a beloved character to many who watched the show. Played
by longtime actor Sorrel Book, the man himself had a
much wider range of skill and talents than the bumbling
Boss would have some believe. Let's take a listen to
(00:54):
the story.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Just a good old Boss. When you hear the name
Boss Hogg, what do you think of? Most likely the
corrupt boss of Hazard County that was forever trying to
entrap those rascally Dukee boys and lock them up on
one false charge after another.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Going to be out of my head for two years.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
You conjure up images of a ball portly shortman and
his trusty sidekick Roscoe P. Coltrane, who together ruled Hazard County,
Georgia with an iron fist. You probably don't give much
thought to the actor who portrayed Boss Hogg Sorell Book.
After all, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about him other
than that he seemed to have perfected the buffoonish, cartoon
(01:46):
like character that was Boss Hogg. But what if I
told you that Sorell Book, the man who played Boss
Hog of the Dukes of Hazard was actually a bona
fide genius and a legitimate war hero. Would you believe me? Well,
it is true. I'm nicker Goon, host of the popular
YouTube channel This Day and History with nicker Goon, and
(02:08):
we've been doing a series of videos on Hollywood heroes,
the men and women of film and TV who served
their country during wartime. So many of the people that
we admired from the movies and TV also served in
combat and rarely, if ever, spoke about it. People like
Russell Johnson, the professor from Gilligan's Island, The Guy flew
(02:29):
forty four combat missions of the Pacific during World War
Two and received a purple heart. Our Carney of the
Honeymooners also received a purple Heart during World War Two.
Betty White and b Arthur, two of the Golden Girls,
served in the Army and Marines, respectively, during the Second
World War. The list of actors and athletes who have
(02:51):
served during combat just goes on and on and on.
But the person who has received the most interest by
far in our series has been Cerell Book Boss Hogg,
and it's not even close. People are absolutely stunned and
fascinated to learn that Surrel Book was the polar opposite
of his most iconic character, Boss Hogg's that truth, Sir
(03:14):
was creeping into his domestic bliss. Jefferson Davis Hogg, you
are a low down pole cat if the walk.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Yeah, but lu lu Kim's I didn't mean what I said,
and that is I meant it, but I didn't mean
to say it. No, no, no, I mean. What I
mean is I can't help, for some compelling reason from
saying anything but the awful.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Truth that you married me for my money.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
That was the only way to get it.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
And I'm as big as a house. Well they're all
different sized houses, and that when I went to the
beauty parlor, it looked like I never got weighted on,
did you?
Speaker 1 (03:47):
I mean, didn't you. I mean, I don't know what
I mean. I just know that I can't help what's
come over me. This good troops real.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Well you out. It just goes to show that you
should never judge a book by its cover pun intended.
You know, the word genius gets thrown around a lot,
way too much in fact, but in the case of
Sorel Book, it really does apply. The man was an
(04:22):
honest to goodness genius the time with an IQ that's
off the charts. You don't believe me, Try this on
for size. Sorel Book graduated. He graduated from Columbia University,
one of the most prestigious and difficult colleges in the
country at that time, at the age of nineteen. Mind you,
most people are wrapping up high school or entering their
(04:43):
freshman year at that age, and he's already earned a
degree in drama. During his time at Columbia. He was
a very accomplished Shakespearean actor, and he immediately went out
to receive a master's degree from the Yale School of Drama,
the premiere program for serious espians. By the time he
was twenty one, So Sorel Book is twenty one years old.
(05:07):
Has degrees in drama from Colombia and Yale. He's already
well regarded and making a name for himself in the
stage community. And what does he decide to do. He
joins the United States Army. The Korean War had just
begun and there was a need for counterintelligence officers who
were fluent in Korean and Chinese and who could help
(05:28):
with translations, interrogations, counterintelligence operations, misinformation, and a whole bunch
of other classified work. Well, the part I haven't told
you yet is that sorel Book was also fluent in
twelve languages, and, as he put it, semi fluid or
conversational in six other languages. And those languages included Russian, Chinese,
(05:49):
and Korean, among others, which came in really handy during
the Cold War and specifically the Korean War. Look, mastering
more than a few languages is really, really hard. Being
fluent in a dozen or so languages isn't only off
the charts insanely difficult, but it probably made him one
of only a handful of people on the planet at
the time who was fluent or semi fluent in more
(06:12):
than a dozen languages, especially some really difficult ones. He
quite literally could have done anything he wanted to. He
was that brilliant, and yet he chose to serve his
country at the ouset of the Cold War, a time
when the world was a pretty scary place. Remember, the
Soviets had just acquired the atomic bomb a few years earlier.
(06:33):
There was now a hot war in Korea that most
Americans really didn't understand. The Red Scare in the US
was just beginning to take off. Our country was on edge,
and there was still fatigue from World War Two. Remember,
but Sorell book answered the call when he didn't have to,
And that may be the most impressive thing about the guy.
(06:54):
This wasn't World War Two, which almost everyone felt compelled
to assist in some way. The Korean War a much
different situation, and for a man with this many options,
this brilliant to put his life and career on whold
to service country is a pretty extraordinary thing to do. Sadly,
much of his work during the Korean War remains classified
(07:15):
to this day. There's really not much in the public
domain about specifically what he did, other than that he
specialized in counterintelligence. I really hope someday that his file
is declassified so we can better understand what he worked on.
And of course, Sorell, like so many of the Greatest
Generation heroes, never ever spoke a word of his service.
(07:37):
In fact, whenever anyone asked him about being in the
army or serving in the Korean War, his standard answer was,
I'm just an ordinary guy from Buffalo, New York. What's
so fascinating about Sorell isn't just his service during the
Korean War and his true genius, but also his career arc.
So many actors that are identified with one character tend
(07:58):
to denigrate or downgrade that role, or even run away
from the character. Think Carol O'Connor with Archie Bunker, Robert
Reid is Mike Brady, even Jason Alexander is George to
some extent because they don't want to be solely remembered
for that or sometimes they don't even love the character
that much or even like them the characters beneath them
(08:20):
or not really who they are. But that was never
the case with Cerell. Book he played one of the
most ridiculous characters in TV history, and I dare you
to find a quote from him denigrating boss Hog or
the show. You won't find it because it doesn't exist.
You probably remember seeing him on Mash or Colombo, Gun Smoke,
(08:40):
The Rocker Files, and a million other shows. You may
not have always recognized him because as Boss Hog he
actually wore a fat suit, believe it or not. And
there's no way he could have known that The Dukes
of Hazard would be a smash, hit and run for
as long as it did, and that he would sort
of be the breakout star in a way. That show
(09:01):
wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining without him. And the
thing that people remember about The Dukes of Hazard is
the car, the General Lee, Boss Hog, and of course
Daisy Duke, or more specifically Daisy Dukes, and so that's
what we remember him for boss Hog. It would have
been nice to know all this about him while the
show is running, but these heroes just didn't work that way.
(09:23):
They weren't going to talk about themselves and they rarely did.
It certainly would have changed the way I looked at
the character of Boss Hog, for sure. God blessed us
extraordinary man in Patriots Surrell book, I bet there's a
rewarding all this, big enough to choke a plow horse. Well,
(09:47):
what are you standing there for ldhead mount of mercive man.
Look name too, I was mister Hall spread out and
you get them.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
We're going you just bat in the system lack of
tube modern day Robin Hoo and a terrific job on
the storytelling, production and editing by our own Greg Hengler
and a special thanks to Nick Ragone. You can find
him on YouTube's This State in History and What a
(10:18):
story he told about. Sorel Book, the polar opposite of
the character he played in The Dukes of Hazard, and
of course he graduated from the Yale School of Drama,
the best in the country at the age of twenty one,
and then decides to volunteer for the Korean War, being
involved in the most important part of warfare, and that
(10:38):
of course is counter intelligence. The story of Boss Hogg,
that is the man who played him. Sorel Book here
on our American Stories
And we continue with our American stories up next. The
Dukes of Hazzard spend seven seasons reyaling television viewers with
the antics of a group of Southern cousins as they
dealt with everyday life that somehow involved leaping over ramps
in their iconic car. The General Lee, opposing the Cousins
with all the skills of Barney Feife on Valium, stood,
(00:32):
among others, Commissioner Boss Hog, a corrupt and greedy politician
that managed to embody every Southern stereotype while still being
a beloved character to many who watched the show. Played
by longtime actor Sorrel Book, the man himself had a
much wider range of skill and talents than the bumbling
Boss would have some believe. Let's take a listen to
(00:54):
the story.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Just a good old Boss. When you hear the name
Boss Hogg, what do you think of? Most likely the
corrupt boss of Hazard County that was forever trying to
entrap those rascally Dukee boys and lock them up on
one false charge after another.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Going to be out of my head for two years.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
You conjure up images of a ball portly shortman and
his trusty sidekick Roscoe P. Coltrane, who together ruled Hazard County,
Georgia with an iron fist. You probably don't give much
thought to the actor who portrayed Boss Hogg Sorell Book.
After all, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about him other
than that he seemed to have perfected the buffoonish, cartoon
(01:46):
like character that was Boss Hogg. But what if I
told you that Sorell Book, the man who played Boss
Hog of the Dukes of Hazard was actually a bona
fide genius and a legitimate war hero. Would you believe me? Well,
it is true. I'm nicker Goon, host of the popular
YouTube channel This Day and History with nicker Goon, and
(02:08):
we've been doing a series of videos on Hollywood heroes,
the men and women of film and TV who served
their country during wartime. So many of the people that
we admired from the movies and TV also served in
combat and rarely, if ever, spoke about it. People like
Russell Johnson, the professor from Gilligan's Island, The Guy flew
(02:29):
forty four combat missions of the Pacific during World War
Two and received a purple heart. Our Carney of the
Honeymooners also received a purple Heart during World War Two.
Betty White and b Arthur, two of the Golden Girls,
served in the Army and Marines, respectively, during the Second
World War. The list of actors and athletes who have
(02:51):
served during combat just goes on and on and on.
But the person who has received the most interest by
far in our series has been Cerell Book Boss Hogg,
and it's not even close. People are absolutely stunned and
fascinated to learn that Surrel Book was the polar opposite
of his most iconic character, Boss Hogg's that truth, Sir
(03:14):
was creeping into his domestic bliss. Jefferson Davis Hogg, you
are a low down pole cat if the walk.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Yeah, but lu lu Kim's I didn't mean what I said,
and that is I meant it, but I didn't mean
to say it. No, no, no, I mean. What I
mean is I can't help, for some compelling reason from
saying anything but the awful.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Truth that you married me for my money.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
That was the only way to get it.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
And I'm as big as a house. Well they're all
different sized houses, and that when I went to the
beauty parlor, it looked like I never got weighted on,
did you?
Speaker 1 (03:47):
I mean, didn't you. I mean, I don't know what
I mean. I just know that I can't help what's
come over me. This good troops real.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Well you out. It just goes to show that you
should never judge a book by its cover pun intended.
You know, the word genius gets thrown around a lot,
way too much in fact, but in the case of
Sorel Book, it really does apply. The man was an
(04:22):
honest to goodness genius the time with an IQ that's
off the charts. You don't believe me, Try this on
for size. Sorel Book graduated. He graduated from Columbia University,
one of the most prestigious and difficult colleges in the
country at that time, at the age of nineteen. Mind you,
most people are wrapping up high school or entering their
(04:43):
freshman year at that age, and he's already earned a
degree in drama. During his time at Columbia. He was
a very accomplished Shakespearean actor, and he immediately went out
to receive a master's degree from the Yale School of Drama,
the premiere program for serious espians. By the time he
was twenty one, So Sorel Book is twenty one years old.
(05:07):
Has degrees in drama from Colombia and Yale. He's already
well regarded and making a name for himself in the
stage community. And what does he decide to do. He
joins the United States Army. The Korean War had just
begun and there was a need for counterintelligence officers who
were fluent in Korean and Chinese and who could help
(05:28):
with translations, interrogations, counterintelligence operations, misinformation, and a whole bunch
of other classified work. Well, the part I haven't told
you yet is that sorel Book was also fluent in
twelve languages, and, as he put it, semi fluid or
conversational in six other languages. And those languages included Russian, Chinese,
(05:49):
and Korean, among others, which came in really handy during
the Cold War and specifically the Korean War. Look, mastering
more than a few languages is really, really hard. Being
fluent in a dozen or so languages isn't only off
the charts insanely difficult, but it probably made him one
of only a handful of people on the planet at
the time who was fluent or semi fluent in more
(06:12):
than a dozen languages, especially some really difficult ones. He
quite literally could have done anything he wanted to. He
was that brilliant, and yet he chose to serve his
country at the ouset of the Cold War, a time
when the world was a pretty scary place. Remember, the
Soviets had just acquired the atomic bomb a few years earlier.
(06:33):
There was now a hot war in Korea that most
Americans really didn't understand. The Red Scare in the US
was just beginning to take off. Our country was on edge,
and there was still fatigue from World War Two. Remember,
but Sorell book answered the call when he didn't have to,
And that may be the most impressive thing about the guy.
(06:54):
This wasn't World War Two, which almost everyone felt compelled
to assist in some way. The Korean War a much
different situation, and for a man with this many options,
this brilliant to put his life and career on whold
to service country is a pretty extraordinary thing to do. Sadly,
much of his work during the Korean War remains classified
(07:15):
to this day. There's really not much in the public
domain about specifically what he did, other than that he
specialized in counterintelligence. I really hope someday that his file
is declassified so we can better understand what he worked on.
And of course, Sorell, like so many of the Greatest
Generation heroes, never ever spoke a word of his service.
(07:37):
In fact, whenever anyone asked him about being in the
army or serving in the Korean War, his standard answer was,
I'm just an ordinary guy from Buffalo, New York. What's
so fascinating about Sorell isn't just his service during the
Korean War and his true genius, but also his career arc.
So many actors that are identified with one character tend
(07:58):
to denigrate or downgrade that role, or even run away
from the character. Think Carol O'Connor with Archie Bunker, Robert
Reid is Mike Brady, even Jason Alexander is George to
some extent because they don't want to be solely remembered
for that or sometimes they don't even love the character
that much or even like them the characters beneath them
(08:20):
or not really who they are. But that was never
the case with Cerell. Book he played one of the
most ridiculous characters in TV history, and I dare you
to find a quote from him denigrating boss Hog or
the show. You won't find it because it doesn't exist.
You probably remember seeing him on Mash or Colombo, Gun Smoke,
(08:40):
The Rocker Files, and a million other shows. You may
not have always recognized him because as Boss Hog he
actually wore a fat suit, believe it or not. And
there's no way he could have known that The Dukes
of Hazard would be a smash, hit and run for
as long as it did, and that he would sort
of be the breakout star in a way. That show
(09:01):
wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining without him. And the
thing that people remember about The Dukes of Hazard is
the car, the General Lee, Boss Hog, and of course
Daisy Duke, or more specifically Daisy Dukes, and so that's
what we remember him for boss Hog. It would have
been nice to know all this about him while the
show is running, but these heroes just didn't work that way.
(09:23):
They weren't going to talk about themselves and they rarely did.
It certainly would have changed the way I looked at
the character of Boss Hog, for sure. God blessed us
extraordinary man in Patriots Surrell book, I bet there's a
rewarding all this, big enough to choke a plow horse. Well,
(09:47):
what are you standing there for ldhead mount of mercive man.
Look name too, I was mister Hall spread out and
you get them.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
We're going you just bat in the system lack of
tube modern day Robin Hoo and a terrific job on
the storytelling, production and editing by our own Greg Hengler
and a special thanks to Nick Ragone. You can find
him on YouTube's This State in History and What a
(10:18):
story he told about. Sorel Book, the polar opposite of
the character he played in The Dukes of Hazard, and
of course he graduated from the Yale School of Drama,
the best in the country at the age of twenty one,
and then decides to volunteer for the Korean War, being
involved in the most important part of warfare, and that
(10:38):
of course is counter intelligence. The story of Boss Hogg,
that is the man who played him. Sorel Book here
on our American Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
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