Celebrity Deaths

Yesterday we were blanketed by the smoke. The air had an orange-yellow hue to it and blocked out much of the Sun. Honestly looked like the air on another planet then here. Today not so bad. Other than hot and somewhat humid, i have detected no difference in air quality. Your mileage may vary.

Quote: DRich

Quote: rxwine

This makes me wonder If anyone is tracking the numbers of air related aortic dissection particularly among senior citizens.

Gee, thanks. As someone who flies regularly and has flown close to a million miles I have never been scared to fly before. Now after having a second heart attack you are telling me my heart might blowout midflight. I currently have eight flights booked, should I cancel two of them to increase my chance of survival by 25%?
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No way, man. But you should be able to get one of these quality products onto the plane...


Do it as you're ascending, and make sure you share with the stewardesses so they bring you extra chips and sodas.

Don't worry, it's perfectly safe, those bottles are well under 3 liquid ounces.

Quote: AutomaticMonkey

Quote: DRich

Quote: rxwine

This makes me wonder If anyone is tracking the numbers of air related aortic dissection particularly among senior citizens.

Gee, thanks. As someone who flies regularly and has flown close to a million miles I have never been scared to fly before. Now after having a second heart attack you are telling me my heart might blowout midflight. I currently have eight flights booked, should I cancel two of them to increase my chance of survival by 25%?
link to original post

No way, man. But you should be able to get one of these quality products onto the plane...


Do it as you're ascending, and make sure you share with the stewardesses so they bring you extra chips and sodas.

Don't worry, it's perfectly safe, those bottles are well under 3 liquid ounces.
link to original post

AMs knowledge of the gay underground is impressive.

Quote: billryan

Quote: AutomaticMonkey

Quote: DRich

Quote: rxwine

This makes me wonder If anyone is tracking the numbers of air related aortic dissection particularly among senior citizens.

Gee, thanks. As someone who flies regularly and has flown close to a million miles I have never been scared to fly before. Now after having a second heart attack you are telling me my heart might blowout midflight. I currently have eight flights booked, should I cancel two of them to increase my chance of survival by 25%?
link to original post

No way, man. But you should be able to get one of these quality products onto the plane...


Do it as you're ascending, and make sure you share with the stewardesses so they bring you extra chips and sodas.

Don't worry, it's perfectly safe, those bottles are well under 3 liquid ounces.
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AMs knowledge of the gay underground is impressive.
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Oh. Sorry to disappoint you, but I had no idea these products had anything to do with the gay underground. But as always, thanks for sharing your remarkably broad knowledge and varied experiences.

Quote: billryan

AMs knowledge of the gay underground is impressive.
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(ahem) Somehow I doubt these fine cleaning solvents^* are strictly a gay phenomenon.

IN NYC, they are often sold as VCR head cleaners. Who knew there were so many VCR collectors.

Forty-five years ago, on July 16th, 1981, I was one of a few thousand fans gathering for a free twilight concert by Harry Chapin and friends.
Chapin was not your typical rock star. He'd struggled as a comedy writer for years, moonlighting as a cab driver and guitar instructor. At 29, he married an older woman who financed an album that produced a huge hit -Taxi. In 1975, he teamed up with Bill Ayers and formed Long Island Cares, a private food bank that still exists. They then formed Why Hunger, a dedicated day when hundreds of radio stations give up their programming in favor of a telethon for local food banks. Chapin and his brothers performed over 200 concerts a year, half of them for charity.
Harry's philosophy was one for me and one for the people. He inspired my blackjack career, where I gave every other day's winnings to local charity.
So, it is July 16th, 1981, and I'm in the park, buzzed up, and the radio interrupts Freebird with the announcement that Harry Chapin has died in a fiery crash on the Long Island Expressway. A hush falls over the crowd, and strangers literally start hugging each other. People are stunned and in tears. A man comes on stage and announces that the concert is canceled and that everyone should leave. The opposite happens. Somehow, word gets out, and thousands of people converge on the park. Someone plays a tape on a boombox, and everyone sings along. The sun goes down, but people still keep coming. Dozens of cops are trying to move people along but failing badly. It lasted for hours until someone thought to turn on the lawn sprinklers to move everyone along.
He's forty-five years gone, but his vision lives on. Long Island Cares has provided over fourteeen million meals to New Yorkers, and World Hunger Year is an ongoing affair, with over 600 radio stations participating in the yearly telethon. The organization Chapin built with Harry Belafonte was the impetus for We are the World.
Harry Chapin had a simple motto- When in doubt, do something.

Quote: billryan

IN NYC, they are often sold as VCR head cleaners. Who knew there were so many VCR collectors.
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One of the good things about being a pharmacist is I can get the real McCoy at will.

Quote: GenoDRPh

Quote: billryan

IN NYC, they are often sold as VCR head cleaners. Who knew there were so many VCR collectors.
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One of the good things about being a pharmacist is I can get the real McCoy at will.
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If you had the real McCoy available you wouldn't need drugs. He'd just scan you with his medical tricorder and use the regenerator device to fix the problem.

Quote: AutomaticMonkey

Quote: GenoDRPh

Quote: billryan

IN NYC, they are often sold as VCR head cleaners. Who knew there were so many VCR collectors.
link to original post

One of the good things about being a pharmacist is I can get the real McCoy at will.
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If you had the real McCoy available you wouldn't need drugs. He'd just scan you with his medical tricorder and use the regenerator device to fix the problem.
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Then what did he use the hypospray for?

Quote: Dieter

Quote: AZDuffman

Quote: Dieter

The current air quality alerts due to the wildfire in Canada specifically warn people with heart conditions against heavy exertion outdoors.
For what it's worth, there was less wildfire smoke than this 3 years ago when I was troubled by my little episode.
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I did not notice the smoke this morning, but on my way home I did. Looks like the 1970s!
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I decided to investigate some freeplay offers I got from a property in Iowa. As soon as I crossed the river today, the temperature went up 20 degrees. Wisconsin is blanketed right now.
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I was surprised to see how many casinos there are now in Iowa. I remember when Prairie Meadows was the only real casino.

Quote: Dieter

Quote: AZDuffman

Quote: Dieter

The current air quality alerts due to the wildfire in Canada specifically warn people with heart conditions against heavy exertion outdoors.
For what it's worth, there was less wildfire smoke than this 3 years ago when I was troubled by my little episode.
link to original post

I did not notice the smoke this morning, but on my way home I did. Looks like the 1970s!
link to original post

I decided to investigate some freeplay offers I got from a property in Iowa. As soon as I crossed the river today, the temperature went up 20 degrees. Wisconsin is blanketed right now.
link to original post

My barn is about 100 feet from the house and it looks hazy between the house and the barn because of the smoke. It smells like somebody is cooking a really large barbecue using Hickory chips.

Quote: EvenBob

Quote: Dieter

Quote: AZDuffman

Quote: Dieter

The current air quality alerts due to the wildfire in Canada specifically warn people with heart conditions against heavy exertion outdoors.
For what it's worth, there was less wildfire smoke than this 3 years ago when I was troubled by my little episode.
link to original post

I did not notice the smoke this morning, but on my way home I did. Looks like the 1970s!
link to original post

I decided to investigate some freeplay offers I got from a property in Iowa. As soon as I crossed the river today, the temperature went up 20 degrees. Wisconsin is blanketed right now.
link to original post

My barn is about 100 feet from the house and it looks hazy between the house and the barn because of the smoke. It smells like somebody is cooking a really large barbecue using Hickory chips.
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How many feet to the outhouse? :)

Ron Hunt, former MLB All-Star. Mr Hunt was an original Met and was the first Met to start an All-Star Game. He had an unusual path to the big leagues. Signed by the Braves out of high school, he spent four years as a light-hitting utility player in the lower minors. The expansion Mets were able to buy him for next to nothing and installed him as their starting second baseman. He led the National League in being hit by pitches seven years in a row, and was one of the few high points in the early days of the beloved Mutts.
Mr Hunt had suffered from both cancer and Parkinson's in the last few years.
Rest in Peace.

Quote: darkoz

Quote: EvenBob

Quote: Dieter

Quote: AZDuffman

Quote: Dieter

The current air quality alerts due to the wildfire in Canada specifically warn people with heart conditions against heavy exertion outdoors.
For what it's worth, there was less wildfire smoke than this 3 years ago when I was troubled by my little episode.
link to original post

I did not notice the smoke this morning, but on my way home I did. Looks like the 1970s!
link to original post

I decided to investigate some freeplay offers I got from a property in Iowa. As soon as I crossed the river today, the temperature went up 20 degrees. Wisconsin is blanketed right now.
link to original post

My barn is about 100 feet from the house and it looks hazy between the house and the barn because of the smoke. It smells like somebody is cooking a really large barbecue using Hickory chips.
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How many feet to the outhouse? :)
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This house was built in 1850 And there were outhouses here until the 1940s. They're not allowed in this county anymore. There are antique bottle collectors who get permission to dig up the old outhouses on properties like mine because people would throw empty bottles into them.

Quote: billryan

Ron Hunt, former MLB All-Star. Mr Hunt was an original Met and was the first Met to start an All-Star Game. He had an unusual path to the big leagues. Signed by the Braves out of high school, he spent four years as a light-hitting utility player in the lower minors. The expansion Mets were able to buy him for next to nothing and installed him as their starting second baseman. He led the National League in being hit by pitches seven years in a row, and was one of the few high points in the early days of the beloved Mutts.
Mr Hunt had suffered from both cancer and Parkinson's in the last few years.
Rest in Peace.
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Ron Hunt was a scrappy second baseman whose rookie year with the Mets was 1963 (he was NOT an original Met). He finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting that year to another scrappy second baseman named Pete Rose. Ron Hunt's 1963 batting average was .272 and his slugging percentage was .396. By contrast, Pete Rose's batting average was .273 and his slugging percentage was .371 . Both Hunt and Rose had a WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of 2.4 that season. Rose had 41 RBI for a team that scored 648 runs that year; Hunt had 42 RBI for a team (the historically awful NY Mets) that scored only 501 runs that season.

Hunt and Rose both had an OBP (on base percentage) of 0.334 and both soon became the regular lead-off hitter of their 1963 clubs - although Hunt was eventually shifted to the 3rd spot in the Mets line-up. Rose was followed in the Reds line-up by Tommy Harper, Vada Pinson, Frank Robinson, and Johnny Edwards and scored 101 runs in that season. Hunt was followed in the lineup by guys like Tim Harkness, a washed-up Duke Snider in his final season, Choo Choo Coleman, and Frank Thomas (the Little Hurt) and scored only 62 runs in his rookie season. That difference in runs scored was the reason why Rose was elected over Ron Hunt as 1963 NL Rookie of the Year.

I didn't start following baseball and the NY Mets until a few years later but Ron Hunt was one of my favorite players - even after he was traded to the Giants. Looking back to 1963, I always felt he had been robbed of the ROY Award because he played for the historically-awful NY Mets while Pete Rose played for the heavy-hitting Cincinnati Reds. I wondered if Hunt's career would have been different if he had been voted the 1963 ROY, if he would have gotten different opportunities, if he "could-a been a contender." Probably not, but, dammit, I always liked Ron Hunt and I'm so sad that he has passed.

RIP, Ron Hunt

Close enough to celebrity status, I suppose,

Quote:

boxer Hannah Rapp, who in June fought for the World Boxing Council women's featherweight championship, was killed on Saturday while she bicycled in Texas after a motorist struck her with his car, according to authorities.

Rapp was 26, and investigators arrested a 31-year-old man identified as Charles Medina in connection with her death, the sheriff's office of Brazos county, Texas, said in a statement.

The agency said Rapp and a fellow bicyclist were riding on a local road when Medina passed them in his car, stopped, and drove his vehicle in reverse. Medina then hit Rapp, and she was pronounced dead after emergency responders brought her to a hospital.

Brazos deputies said they booked Medina on a count of manslaughter, which Texas law defines as recklessly causing a person's death. The sheriff's office did not provide additional details, saying the "isolated" case remained under active and ongoing investigation.

Word of Rapp's death prompted tributes from her colleagues in professional boxing.

Quote: rxwine

Close enough to celebrity status, I suppose,

Quote:

boxer Hannah Rapp, who in June fought for the World Boxing Council women's featherweight championship, was killed on Saturday while she bicycled in Texas after a motorist struck her with his car, according to authorities.

Rapp was 26, and investigators arrested a 31-year-old man identified as Charles Medina in connection with her death, the sheriff's office of Brazos county, Texas, said in a statement.

The agency said Rapp and a fellow bicyclist were riding on a local road when Medina passed them in his car, stopped, and drove his vehicle in reverse. Medina then hit Rapp, and she was pronounced dead after emergency responders brought her to a hospital.

Brazos deputies said they booked Medina on a count of manslaughter, which Texas law defines as recklessly causing a person's death. The sheriff's office did not provide additional details, saying the "isolated" case remained under active and ongoing investigation.

Word of Rapp's death prompted tributes from her colleagues in professional boxing.

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I dove deeper into this and it appears the motorist hit her intentionally in an act of road rage.

As a cyclist myself I am aware that there are people who don't care if they hit me, and others who want to hit me. What for? There have been a few incidents in the news where a a cyclist was intentionally targeted by a motorist and whatever reasoning there is behind it is too depraved for me to understand.

Duane Ward, 62.
Mr Ward was an important part of the Blue Jays' two World Championships in 1992 and 1993. The closer on the 1993 team, Ward, hurt his arm in the postseason and was forced to retire in 1995 after missing the entire 1994 season. Ward flew into Toronto to participate in this weekend's celebrations of those two titles, but missed some of the scheduled events. The club announced his passing last night, but provided few details.
Rest in Peace.

Quote: Dieter

Quote: AZDuffman

Quote: Dieter

The current air quality alerts due to the wildfire in Canada specifically warn people with heart conditions against heavy exertion outdoors.
For what it's worth, there was less wildfire smoke than this 3 years ago when I was troubled by my little episode.
link to original post

I did not notice the smoke this morning, but on my way home I did. Looks like the 1970s!
link to original post

I decided to investigate some freeplay offers I got from a property in Iowa. As soon as I crossed the river today, the temperature went up 20 degrees. Wisconsin is blanketed right now.
link to original post

The smoke plume seems to be spreading wider. It definitely doesn't seem as thick. The rains also seem to be helping.

There were a bunch of videos on the local chats about "new" recipes for smoked cocktails... make a cocktail, wave it outside for a minute...

Kaylee Hottle, the Deaf actress who starred in the last two Godzilla x Kong movies, has died at 18. Car crash in Maryland.

Quote: GenoDRPh

Kaylee Hottle, the Deaf actress who starred in the last two Godzilla x Kong movies, has died at 18. Car crash in Maryland.
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I had no idea a Godzilla movie had been made in the last 30 years.

Quote: DRich

Quote: GenoDRPh

Kaylee Hottle, the Deaf actress who starred in the last two Godzilla x Kong movies, has died at 18. Car crash in Maryland.
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I had no idea a Godzilla movie had been made in the last 30 years.
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They've made 17. 5 were/are American with one on the way. 4 Kong movies, too, with one on the way.

So heartbreaking. She had an incredible future ahead and was a true role model for the deaf community. RIP.

This is a postmortem entry. I had no idea this lovely lady died in 2017. 98 years old. She bought this Ford in 1964 and drove it till she quit driving at 90. She was extremely famous in the car world, Jay Leno had had her on his show. After she died the car was preserved and put on permanent display at the Wisconsin Automotive Museum in Hartford, Wisconsin

Chuck Russell at 74.

Director of the Blob remake, nightmare on elm Street 3, Eraser and the Mask.

Quote: darkoz

Chuck Russell at 74.

Director of the Blob remake, nightmare on elm Street 3, Eraser and the Mask.
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Perhaps he died of embarrassment.

John Patrick

https://obits.nj.com/us/obituaries/starledger/name/john-patrick-obituary?pid=211949431

Quote: FatGeezus

John Patrick

https://obits.nj.com/us/obituaries/starledger/name/john-patrick-obituary?pid=211949431
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Wow 94 years old. Used to talk to him sometimes on the old Gamblers Glen 20 years ago. I think the Internet confused him He wasn't used to all the fame for being a crackpot gambler that it gave him.

I remember renting John Patrick’s VHS tape from Blockbuster Video. Fortunately, a coworker soon thereafter told me about the Wizard of Odds site.

Quote:

Jeanne Gibson, who represented the “Rosie the Riveter” campaign during World War II, died Thursday at age 100.

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/07/30/beloved-rosie-riveter-dies-100/

Vincent Pastore

Ben Cooter Jones

Reggie Bannister age 80.

He played the ice cream man /Tall Man hunter killer in all five Phantasm movies.

Don Nelson, NBA player and coach. 86

The Hardaway-Mullin-Richmond era of the Golden State Warriors was when I really started following basketball. Run TMC!

Don Nelson was quite the character and did much charity work, especially after retiring, living on Maui, and helping with the Lahaina wildfire aftermath.

Quote: FatGeezus

John Patrick

https://obits.nj.com/us/obituaries/starledger/name/john-patrick-obituary?pid=211949431
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I just saw this. My first newsletter was about a challenge I posed to him about his incorrect basic strategy. I maintain he is perhaps the biggest quack in the world of gambling writers but still a decent man otherwise. Just goes to show that good people can be very wrong.

RIP.

Dory Funk Jr. 1941-2026.

The Funk family ran wrestling in Texas for many years, with Dory Funk Sr and his brother Terry. All three won the NWA World Title, when it was the most prestigious belt.
Dory was the perfect world champion. He'd make the local hero look great, always coming within a whisker of losing the title and leaving the crowd wanting a rematch. Dory and Terry played college football at what is now West Texas State, in an era when that mediocre football team somehow produced twenty Hall of Fame wrestlers, and over fifty second- and third-generation wrestlers.
Terry established a wrestling school after he retired and is responsible for many of today's stars. Dory was more of a scientific wrestler than his family, but he could brawl with the best of them and brought The Texas Death Match to the mainstream.

Quote: billryan

Dory Funk Jr. 1941-2026.

The Funk family ran wrestling in Texas for many years, with Dory Funk Sr and his brother Terry. All three won the NWA World Title, when it was the most prestigious belt.
Dory was the perfect world champion. He'd make the local hero look great, always coming within a whisker of losing the title and leaving the crowd wanting a rematch. Dory and Terry played college football at what is now West Texas State, in an era when that mediocre football team somehow produced twenty Hall of Fame wrestlers, and over fifty second- and third-generation wrestlers.
Terry established a wrestling school after he retired and is responsible for many of today's stars. Dory was more of a scientific wrestler than his family, but he could brawl with the best of them and brought The Texas Death Match to the mainstream.
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Wasn't that wrestling school at the Double Cross Ranch?

Quote: AZDuffman

Ben Cooter Jones
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Yes, this would be Ben Jones, who played Cooter on The Dukes of Hazzard. He later represented Georgia in the House of Representatives.

RIP Cooter.



I'd like to honor Jones with my Dukes of Hazzard trivia challenge, which I may have posted previously.



1. What kind of car was the General Lee?
2. What flag adorned the top of the General Lee?
3. What was the number on the side of the General Lee?
4. What was the name of Roscoe’s dog?
5. Who sang the theme song?
6. Who provided the narration?
7. Who was the sheriff of Hazzard County?
8. What was the name of the watering hole where Daisy worked?
9. Who was the villain who owned much of Hazzard County?
10. Between the Duke brothers, Bo and Luke, which had blonde hair?
11. What character had a unrequited crush on Daisy Duke and what was his job?
12. For what crime were the Duke brothers confined to Hazzard County?
13. What was the name of the mechanic?
14. What the usual outcome of a car chase between the police and the Dukes?
15. What was the name of the bordering county?
16. What was the name of Boss Hogg’s twin brother?
17. What was the name of Boss Hogg’s nephew?
18. If a celebrity got caught in a Hazzard County speed trap, what was the usual punishment?
19. How did the show explain why the Duke brothers left most of season five?
20. What were the names of the Duke brothers’ cousins who replaced them in season five?
21. What character left to lead a spinoff show and what was the name of the show?
22. What was the CB handle used by the Duke Brothers?
23. What was the CB handle used by the Daisy Duke?
24. What was the CB handle used by the Jesse?
25. What was the CB handle of Sheriff Rosco?

Quote: Wizard

Quote: FatGeezus

John Patrick

https://obits.nj.com/us/obituaries/starledger/name/john-patrick-obituary?pid=211949431
link to original post

I just saw this. My first newsletter was about a challenge I posed to him about his incorrect basic strategy. I maintain he is perhaps the biggest quack in the world of gambling writers but still a decent man otherwise. Just goes to show that good people can be very wrong.

RIP.
link to original post

I think John Patrick was more about how not to lose a lot rather than how to win a lot. His thing was teaching you how to go to Las Vegas and not lose your shirt

Quote: Wizard

Quote: AZDuffman

Ben Cooter Jones
link to original post

Yes, this would be Ben Jones, who played Cooter on The Dukes of Hazzard. He later represented Georgia in the House of Representatives.

RIP Cooter.



I'd like to honor Jones with my Dukes of Hazzard trivia challenge, which I may have posted previously.

1. What kind of car was the General Lee?

1969 Dodge Charger though other years were sometimes used and changed to 69.


2. What flag adorned the top of the General Lee?

Confederate Battle Flag

3. What was the number on the side of the General Lee?

01 Because they started at 0 and planned to be #1

4. What was the name of Roscoe’s dog?

Flash

5. Who sang the theme song?

Waylon Jennings

6. Who provided the narration?

Waylon Jennings, until he made a guest appearance they only showed his hands and not his face on TV

7. Who was the sheriff of Hazzard County?

Roscoe P Coltraine once a great LEO until the county would not fund his pension......

8. What was the name of the watering hole where Daisy worked?

Boar's Nest the insane prices for beer there back then seem normal now....


9. Who was the villain who owned much of Hazzard County?

Jefferson Davis "Boss" Hogg

10. Between the Duke brothers, Bo and Luke, which had blonde hair?

Bo

11. What character had a unrequited crush on Daisy Duke and what was his job?

Enos, deputy sheriff

12. For what crime were the Duke brothers confined to Hazzard County?

Running moonshine

13. What was the name of the mechanic?

Cooter Davenport, though his cousin LB occasionally watched the shop.

14. What the usual outcome of a car chase between the police and the Dukes?

The General Lee having a bend body but fine seconds later on camera

15. What was the name of the bordering county?

Chicasaw was the most famous though others were mentioned


16. What was the name of Boss Hogg’s twin brother?

Abraham Lincoln Hogg

17. What was the name of Boss Hogg’s nephew?

Hughey Hogg, though AL was not mentioned as his father meaning they had another brother or sister

18. If a celebrity got caught in a Hazzard County speed trap, what was the usual punishment?

Perform at Boar's Nest

19. How did the show explain why the Duke brothers left most of season five?

To drive NASCAR

20. What were the names of the Duke brothers’ cousins who replaced them in season five?

Coy and Vance

21. What character left to lead a spinoff show and what was the name of the show?

Enos Enos

22. What was the CB handle used by the Duke Brothers?

Lost Sheep

23. What was the CB handle used by the Daisy Duke?

Bo Peep

24. What was the CB handle used by the Jesse?

Shephard

25. What was the CB handle of Sheriff Rosco?

OK, you finally got me

BONUS:

What race car driver did Bo and Luke meet, what item did he have for his race car, and why did it make no plot sense?

Quote: AZDuffman

2. What flag adorned the top of the General Lee?

Confederate Battle Flag

Yes! Most people would incorrectly call that flag just the "Confederate Flag."

Quote: AZDuffman

3. What was the number on the side of the General Lee?

01 Because they started at 0 and planned to be #1

I did not know that was the reason.

Quote: AZDuffman

14. What the usual outcome of a car chase between the police and the Dukes?

The General Lee having a bend body but fine seconds later on camera

It was perhaps a bad question, but I was looking for the police vehicle being in some body of water. I'll still give you credit.

Quote: AZDuffman

25. What was the CB handle of Sheriff Rosco?

OK, you finally got me

Red Dog

Quote:

BONUS:

What race car driver did Bo and Luke meet, what item did he have for his race car, and why did it make no plot sense?

I have no idea, but keen to learn.

link to original post

AZD, that was amazing! You get an A+. Maybe you missed a point or two, but make up for it with extra credit on other questions. Uncle Jesse would be proud of you.