BECOMING Daisy Duke WAS A FLUKE!
The Dukes of Hazzard alum opens up about her greatest challenges and rewards
She played one of the most iconic roles in TV history, but Catherine Bach almost wasn’t cast on The Dukes of Hazzard. “It was a complete fluke that I was Daisy Duke! I’m half Mexican and half German, and my agency said, ‘You’re way too exotic and just not television material’ — and they fired me!” Catherine, 63, reveals to Closer. “Now everybody thinks of me as the All-American girl.” Yet there’s more to Catherine than that famed Southern role and the short-shorts she popularized. She’s a loving mom to her daughters, Sophia, 21, and Laura, 19, a strong supporter of the Ms. Veteran America Organization, and after the tragic 2010 suicide of her husband of 20 years, Peter Lopez, she’s learned to open up. “I’m a very stoic, Midwest-raised cowgirl [who thought], ‘Don’t talk about your problems or display your vulnerable side,’ ” she admits to Closer. “Now I’m much more open and share my life in a much deeper way.” — Gregg Goldstein
It’s hard to believe you were “too exotic” for TV! How’d
you become Daisy?
My first husband, David Shaw, worked with Bob Clark, who was writing with the show’s creator, Gy Waldron. Bob said, “It would be fun for them to meet someone
I sort of based the character on.” I told my girlfriend, “I’m not going to do it — they’ve been looking for a year and want a blonde like Dolly Parton, not me.” She said, “Who cares? Just go.” Two weeks later I had the role.
Did you click with your co-stars?
I met John Schneider that day! I think he was 17 and too young to drive or rent a car, so he was going to wait three or four hours for a ride. I said, “That’s ridiculous! I’ll take you on a tour of Hollywood.” We had a blast.
Do you still keep in touch with the cast?
John and I are like brother and sister. Tom’s more elusive — he has a wife and a big life in New York. I also have a store with Ben Jones [who played Cooter] and his wife, Alma Viator — she and I are partners in [the clothing line] Daisy Country.
Did you help design Daisy’s costume?
You would have, too! They had me in a poodle skirt that matched the tablecloth at the Boar’s Nest [restaurant], with a turtleneck, go-go boots and a long, blond wig. I said, “That’s downright demeaning,” so they took me across the street…and there was a restaurant where these ladies’ skirts matched the tablecloths! I said, “Let me bring you something,” then went home and made the costume.
Wow — you should get royalties for every country music video!
In college I made tops for my friends and sold them. I had this little pair of shorts but I could never get the hems right, so they kept getting shorter and shorter. I brought those, some jeans, T-shirts, boots and high heels [to the set], and they went for the whole look.
You became an instant sex symbol. Was that a title you embraced?
Have I embraced who I am? Of course! But I think sexy is in the eye of the beholder. I liked whatever people had to say. If they wanted to call me sexy, who am I to object?
How did you stay in such great shape?
I had the first Dancing With the Stars–type body, because I danced maybe three hours a day. I had an obsession with dancing!
Do you like where your life is now?
I do, because I love, love, love my family. I am a little bit past the absolute shock and horror of losing my husband to suicide, which is something that I couldn’t even say when it happened. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it because there was no inkling of it. But he was a very smart man, and if there was something he didn’t want me to know about, he could do that.
What are your feelings about him today?
I’m not angry. I loved him way too much for that. It took me by surprise completely, and I think that’s what bothered me the most. Here I am, an actress who specializes in knowing and observing people, and I can’t believe this got by me. What I had to heal from was more a sense of guilt — like, why couldn’t I be there? — and I felt guilty enjoying life without him.
Are you open to another relationship?
I recently started dating somebody, but I have to figure out what I really want.
How are your girls doing?
They’re good! Kids are resilient. They’re both at USC. Sophia, the oldest, is a screenwriter and is doing great at that, and Laura is going to be a lawyer-business advocate. They’re about 26 miles away, so the nest is never really empty.
Sounds like you’ve done a good job with them, and helping women veterans…
The Ms. Veteran America contest is about being in touch with your feminine and creative side. That you can be smart, sexy, educated, competitive, a leader in your community and also celebrate your feminism and your femininity.
Do you believe that about yourself?
Of course. It’s a struggle at times to feel good. For a long time I thought I had a dark cloud over me, but I’ve come out the other side. There’s sunshine and a new life! And my kids are good — that’s the most important thing. That’s the legacy of Catherine and Peter.
— Reporting by Ilyssa Panitz
“In the dictionary under stable, compassionate, diplomatic, smart and fun, there’s a picture of my husband.”
— Catherine (with Peter,
who died in 2010)