Note:
Repeat visitors of this page will notice I have lightened my stance on
Coy and Vance. Mind you, I am not a Coy and Vance fan...and never will
be. However, people often thought I had a vendetta against the actors who
played Coy and Vance, which is definitely not true. I'm sure Byron Cherry
and Christopher Mayer are nice people, however, that does not mean I have
to like the characters they play. Anyway, for those who felt I was too
hard on the temporary Duke boys, please enjoy a revised description of
why they appeared on the show:
I have received a few emails asking for the story behind Coy and Vance Duke, and what happened to Bo and Luke. The following information, which was taken from articles from People and TV Guide from 1982, will explain why:
As the story goes, Bo and Luke quit the show for
two reasons: (1) They did not feel they were getting their cut of the royalties
due from the $190 million per year merchandise sales, and (2) They had
an ongoing battle with the show producers over the lousy scripts they felt
were being churned out by the writers. As Tom Wopat and John Schneider
said in a press statement at the time, "The Duke boys wouldn't stand for
being cheated and neither will we." WB felt that since the General Lee
was the apparent star of the show, Bo and Luke were therefore expendable.
So, Bo and Luke joined the Nascar racing circuit, and in came Byron Cherry
(Coy) and Christopher Mayer (Vance), who were the best of an astounding
2230 people who tried out for the parts. Although Byron and Chris undoubtedly
tried their best to please the legion of Dukes fans across the country,
the show just wasn't the same without Bo and Luke. The show dropped from
the top ten to about 30th in the ratings. Bo and Luke eventually did return
after they were rewarded a salary increase and a greater percentage of
the merchandise royalties. I'm just guessing, but Warner Brothers may have
also agreed to provide better scripts, because after Bo and Luke returned,
the show seemed to have a more mature and family-oriented feel to it.