Daisy Duke today: 10 things you probably didn't know about Catherine Bach
Having seen maybe three episodes of “The Dukes of Hazzard” in my entire life, I was not hugely excited about interviewing Catherine Bach, aka Daisy Duke, who will be signing autographs Saturday at the Canton Hot Rod Show.
So I’m happy to report that Bach, a 54-year-old married mother of two daughters, was enormous fun to talk to, full of colorful anecdotes and good humor, and justly proud of the fame and fans she retains 24 years after “Dukes” first left the air.
“There’s such a generational span with the ‘Dukes’ audience, people from the old days and new people from (cable network) CMT and the DVDs,” she says. “We have fans from 3 years old to maybe 300 years old.”
Here’s 10 things you might not know about Ms. Bach:
1. SHE’S A NATIVE OHIOAN. Born in Warren, Ohio, she left quickly. “My dad was there in the Air Force, then he took my mom back to the ranch in South Dakota,” she said. “I basically grew up in South Dakota.”
2. SHE HAS FOND CANTON MEMORIES. “When I started singing, I broke my act in Canton, Ohio,” she said. “This was in the ’80s, maybe 1985. I did a concert there and it was probably the most scared I’ve ever been. It was this huge auditorium where they have circuses. I think I was sort of headlining. It was such a learning curve for me.” Together, we determined that the venue was Canton Memorial Civic Center, where she will return for the hot rod show.
3. SHE IS INTO HOT RODS. “It’s really cold in the winter in South Dakota and one of the things people do is work on their motorcycle or a special car inside the heated garage. So I just grew up with that car culture,” Bach said. “Of course, I got much more into it during ‘The Dukes of Hazzard.’ I like the whole atmosphere of car shows, the people I meet and the hobby of it.”
4. SHE DESIGNED HER “DUKES OF HAZZARD” COSTUME, JEAN CUTOFFS AND ALL. “I made all my clothes the first season, in response to a really horrible wardrobe choice by the producers,” she said. “They wanted me to wear a red-and-white checked poodle skirt, a white turtleneck, white go-go boots and — get this — a a blond wig. The executive producer guy had a big crush on Dolly Parton and I think she wore that on one of her album covers.”
5. SHE CREATED THAT FAMOUS PIN-UP POSTER, TOO. “They said ‘We want you in a bikini with lots of oil and inch-long fingernails with your hair wet and slicked back,’” Bach recalled. “I said, ‘That’s not my character, plus I’m an actress, not a beauty-pageant girl.’” Long story short, their poster was canceled, Bach put out her own Daisy-style poster and it sold more than five million copies.
6. SHE SELLS DAISY DUKES ON HER WEB SITE. The authentic cutoffs are $54 at www.catherinebach.com. Her CB jeans run $65. “The jeans make you look really good. They make you look thin,” Bach promised. “The Daisy Dukes? You’re on your own,” she says with a laugh. “Everything I sell is made in America. The cotton is picked in Georgia, processed in North Carolina. The clothes are all made by people I’ve known over the years. We’re outsourcing too much work to chase a dollar. I feel strongly that we should buy American.”
7. SHE CHERISHES HER “DUKES” DAYS. “Sure it was a lot of fun, couldn’t you tell?” Bach said. “It was great to come to work every day. I’m friends with everyone to this day. John Schneider is probably my best friend of all. He’s like my brother.”
8. SHE HASN’T SEEN THE “DUKES OF HAZZARD” MOVIE. “For me it’s sort of, ‘Been there, done that,’” she said. “A lot of fans got really upset about the movie but a lot of people liked it too. I think it’s an honor when people try to copy you.” As for Jessica Simpson, who played Daisy in the movie, “I didn’t have any contact with her. I wasn’t really invited to be a part of it.”
9. SHE CO-STARRED WITH ROBERT MITCHUM. (On a Fox Family Channel series titled “African Skies” that was shot on location in South Africa.) “Robert Mitchum was one of the greatest people I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with,” Bach said. “He was really a man’s man, he had the best stories I’ve ever heard, and he protected every woman he ever knew.”
10. SHE SOMETIMES DRESSES UP AS DAISY DUKE FOR HER HUSBAND. I asked her and she answered without pause, “Of course I do!”
ABOUT THE CANTON HOT ROD SHOW:
Gleaming muscle cars, customs, classics, trucks and bikes will fill the floor of Canton Memorial Civic Center at this weekend’s 10th annual Canton Hot Rod Show. Show hours are 4 to 10 p.m. today, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Catherine Bach, who played Daisy Duke on TV’s “The Dukes of Hazzard,” will greet fans and sign autographs Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. The Belairs will perform golden oldies from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 45 RPM will play from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. There will be a Guitar Hero contest at 3 p.m. Sunday. Show admission is $10 for ages 13 and older and $5 for ages 6 to 12.
