On Friday nights in 1979, I was addicted to CBS, especially when The Dukes of Hazzard came on. As a child, I adored ‘Daisy Duke’. Hell, I believe every male who grew up in the late 1970s had a crush on her. Catherine Bach, a naturally gorgeous actress, played the curvy brunette. The former TV actress is now 68 years old. Try not to smile when you see her recent photographs.
How many TV characters inspire a sense of fashion that endures decades after the program has ended? Catherine Bach, most known to the general public for her role as Daisy Duke, has permanently etched herself into pop cultural history. The stunning actress, with legs worth insuring, rose to prominence in the late 1970s and 1980s. The Cleveland, Ohio native became well-known for her daring clothes; she was one of the first girls to wear short shorts on television.
However, those who assume Catherine was merely a simple actress – and mostly eye candy – could not be more mistaken. Catherine has the honesty, intellect, and courage to mold the character that laid the groundwork for her successful career. For example, producers on Dukes of Hazzard wanted her to dress in a tight white turtleneck, go-go boots, and a poodle skirt for her character. But Catherine insisted on making her dress.
She made most of the clothes she wore as Daisy Duke, and the rest is history. Cut-off denim shorts are still known as “Daisy Dukes,” and I believe there are girls who wear the legendary hotpants today, referring to them by name while knowing nothing about the TV show. That’s quite remarkable. Catherine Bach was born in Warren, Ohio, in 1954. Her upbringing was divided.
After her parents divorced, she spent the majority of her youth at her father’s ranch in South Dakota. She spent the summers with her mother in California. Catherine attended acting school and fell in love with the stage while vacationing in California. Two days after graduating from high school, she boarded a plane, determined to make it to Hollywood.She compiled a list of all the agents in Tinseltown and went to see each one until she found one who would take her as a client.
The young actress set her eyes on a film career and secured some minor roles before learning about an audition for a show called The Dukes of Hazzard. Her then-husband, David Shaw (Angela Lansbury’s stepson), tipped her off. “My husband was a contractor.” He likes to hire a lot of unemployed authors, struggling performers, and producers.
So he hired this guy to paint the house, and he was writing a show about an old moonshiner called ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’,” Catherine told Beaver Country Times in 1981. According to Catherine, the filmmakers were looking for a Dolly Parton lookalike to play Daisy. They desired a female with a lot of blonde hair, large boobs, and an hourglass body. Nonetheless, Catherine walked in for the audition and aced it. CBS recruited her the same night.
The Dukes of Hazzard was an instant success and a top-rated television series in the late 1970s, ranking second only to Dallas at one time. Even though reviewers despised it, the average American enjoyed it. The show had everything – vehicle chases, cheesy jokes, and a very attractive main actress. Catherine rose to prominence on television as the naturally stunning Daisy Duke. Daisy was a popular character, and she was the reason many of us watched the show.
“The character is a combination of several persons I know. She’s half the wildest girl I’ve known in high school. She is one of a few girls I was quite close to in Georgia. She’s a lot like Dolly Parton, and she reminds me a lot of myself when I was a waitress. She is autonomous. She is physical. Catherine explained in 1979 that “she can do anything the guys can.” Catherine exemplified true beauty in the late 1970s, with no implants, lip injections, Botox, or artificial teeth.
Within the setting of the television series, she did an outstanding job of portraying a bit naive southern belle with upstanding morals and character, and she was always quite attractive. She wasn’t tattooed, had no odd piercings, or had green hair; she was just an honest, down-to-earth, attractive woman. However, her legs were extremely valuable. Famously insured for $1,000,000, it only added to her stardom.
When The Dukes of Hazzard finished in 1985, Catherine struggled to sustain her previous success. She appeared in a few low-profile films before her career stagnated. However, after acting as Margo Dutton in the acclaimed Canadian family drama series African Skies, people recognized her brilliance once more. Some may recognize Catherine from her recurrent role as Anita Lawson on the soap series The Young and the Restless.
Unfortunately, things worsened after her husband died in 2010. Catherine married entertainment lawyer Peter Lopez in August 1990, and they remained together until his terrible death. “He was the love of my life,” the actress revealed to People.