{"id":163678,"date":"2022-07-31T10:18:11","date_gmt":"2022-07-31T14:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=163678"},"modified":"2022-07-31T10:18:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T06:16:46","slug":"the-secret-war-of-sorrell-booke-boss-hogg-was-a-spy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-secret-war-of-sorrell-booke-boss-hogg-was-a-spy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Secret War of Sorrell Booke: Boss Hogg was a Spy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"The
Sorrell Booke was a fine actor and apparently an even better human being. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Sorrell Booke was born in Buffalo, New York, on January 4, 1930. His father, Sol Booke, was a local physician. As a very young man, Sorrell would entertain patients in his dad\u2019s waiting room. Show business was in his blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
A young Sorrell Booke is shown on the far right. His life took him in some unexpected directions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sorrell got his first radio gig at age nine. He took to show business like a monkey on a grapefruit. From his earliest days, he was known for his impersonations. As a teenager, he won a radio contest for his rendition of Adolf Hitler. Throughout his High School years, young Sorrell worked regularly on local radio shows. He graduated as valedictorian of his High School class in 1946 at the age of sixteen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
In his day, Sorrell Booke was a fixture on both the stage and screen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sorrell Booke\u2019s filmography was extensive, to say the least. He was featured in more than 100 theatrical productions and 150 television shows. His most popular persona across several venues was an overweight bumbling ne\u2019er-do-well. His best-recognized specific role was that of Jefferson Davis \u201cBoss\u201d Hogg, a corrupt local Southern politician on the wildly popular TV show The Dukes of Hazzard.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
When I was a kid our black lab was named after Sorrell Booke’s character on the Dukes of Hazzard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I was growing up we had a Labrador retriever by the name of Boss Hogg. We called him Boss. He was a fine hound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
In Boss Hogg, Sorrell Booke, a certified Yankee from New York, played an unreconstructed petty Southern tyrant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the time he played Boss Hogg, Sorrell Booke stood five foot six inches tall and weighed 185 pounds. He wore a padded costume and adopted a waddling gait to make himself appear more obese. The physicality he brought to the role is what really made it sing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Strom Thurmond spent 48 years in the US Senate. That’s honestly pretty ridiculous.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Booke was a New York Yankee playing a Georgia fat cat politician. He modeled his characteristic Southern drawl after that of US Senators Strom Thurmond and Sam Ervin. His mastery of the character was arguably the most compelling performance from what was obviously an exceptionally talented cast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
What’s Up, Doc? is an epically funny movie.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While Boss Hogg\u2019s bumbling tirades were comical, Booke\u2019s performance pales in comparison to his depiction of a malevolent hotel detective in What\u2019s Up, Doc? <\/em> This Ryan O\u2019Neil\/Barbara Streisand slapstick comedy is one of the funniest movies ever filmed. It is also rated G. What\u2019s Up, Doc?<\/em> stands in extraordinary testament to the fact that superb writing and exceptional comedic chops can synergistically produce an absolutely hilarious cinematic experience without descending into depths of vulgarity and sex. If you\u2019ve never seen it I challenge you to do so. You\u2019ll thank me later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
As a young man Sorrell Booke was both driven and smart.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While most of Booke\u2019s characters seem like idiots, in real life Sorrell was anything but. After graduating early from High School, Booke enrolled in Columbia University. The young man thrived in the Ivy League, performing Shakespeare with the Columbia Drama Club. Booke graduated in three years and then completed a Master\u2019s of Fine Arts program at Yale. Along the way, he found that he had a gift for languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
We think this is what spies look like. Apparently, they actually look more like Boss Hogg from the Dukes of Hazzard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Booke ultimately became fluent in Japanese, Russian, French, Italian, and Spanish. He had a passing familiarity with another half a dozen dialects. By the time he finished at Yale, the United States was being drawn into the Korean War. Now in his early twenties and well educated, Booke was expected to serve his country. When Uncle Sam found out this youthful actor could speak all those languages, he did what you might expect. The Army made Sorrell Booke a spy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Korean War<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Regardless of what you called it, the Korean War was a bloodbath.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

South Koreans called it the “625 War” after the June 25th commencement of hostilities. The North Koreans called it the “Fatherland Liberation War.” The mainland Chinese called it \u201cResist America and Assist Korea.\u201d President Truman referred to it as a \u201cpolice action\u201d because of its execution under the umbrella of the United Nations. That ended up a taint. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
This Korean War-era photograph of an American Infantryman being comforted by a chaplain is one of the most poignant I have ever seen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Korean War was the red-headed stepchild of American military conflicts. World War 2 was a righteous crusade that galvanized the planet. Vietnam was a massive angst generator. The Korean War has been known as the \u201cUnknown War\u201d or the \u201cForgotten War\u201d because of its relative dearth of public attention. It didn\u2019t help that the whole sordid mess just stopped with a ceasefire rather than a formal truce, victory, or capitulation. The lack of closure made it difficult to celebrate. However, the heroism, valor, and selflessness of the Allied troops who served there rivaled anything found in any other armed conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Korean War was a brutal, bloody thing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The United Nations ultimately committed some 1.78 million troops to the war. On the other side of the line stood around 3 million communists. Like all massive wars, the final casualty figures were difficult to ascertain with any reliability.  Nearly 40,000 Americans died in action. Somewhere between 2 and 3 million civilians perished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
WW2-vintage F4U Corsairs remained in production throughout the Korean War.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The United States fought the Korean War predominantly with weapons left over from World War 2. State-of-the-art combat jets like the F86 Sabre, the P80 Shooting Star, and the F9F Panther served alongside WW2-vintage F51 Mustangs and F4U Corsairs. Allied armor included M4 Shermans, M24 Chaffees, M26 Pershings, and M46 Pattons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The M2 carbine was the selective fire version of the M1. Note the sliding selector switch at the left front of the action.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Small arms included the Browning Automatic Rifle, the M1919 Browning machinegun, the M1 Garand, and the M2 carbine. Friends who were there have told me that most of the carbines in theater were selective fire M2 variants. I have had several veterans tell me that the M2 was not terribly popular as it was viewed to be inadequately reliable in the frozen wastes that characterized Korea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
These CIA SAD operators are moving into Afghanistan in 2001.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays the world seems so terribly formalized. If you want to be a Navy SEAL, a CIA SAD (Special Activities Division) officer, or a Delta operator there is an incredibly arduous path you follow to achieve those goals. Back during the Korean War, however, folks just figured it out as they went along. We had a certain body of institutional knowledge that the OSS had accumulated during WW2, but Korea was not Western Europe. Korean War-era counter-intelligence operatives just did what it took to get the job done. Along the way, they helped write the book on modern covert operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sorrell Booke\u2014Spy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
There are a lot of systems and a lot of guys standing behind each tank kill like this one in Ukraine. The Ukrainians call these derelict vehicles Lollipops based upon the appearance of their decapitated turrets.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As flamboyant and outgoing as Sorrell Booke was, like most guys who did what he did, the man wasn\u2019t terribly chatty about the details of his wartime experiences. In any modern armed conflict, the war unfolds in layers. For every Russian tank we see explode in Ukraine on YouTube there are logisticians moving weapons, Special Forces troops training indigenous combatants, and legions of intelligence analysts and operatives gathering and disseminating information on enemy activities and dispositions. Sorrell Booke was tasked to help foil the intelligence-gathering efforts of the North Koreans and Chinese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
This is a still taken from a MASH episode in which Sorrell Booke guest starred.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Booke\u2019s unique linguistic skillsets served as a foundation. His duties included assessing terrain with an eye toward favorability for both friendly and enemy formations, debriefing escaped and exchanged allied POWs, and helping monitor communist intelligence efforts in both Korea and Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
LT Booke operated as a counter-intelligence officer during the Korean War.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Booke was purportedly instrumental in the capture and interrogation of North Korean and Chinese intelligence operatives. His efforts in concert with those of his comrades significantly curtailed the ability of the enemy to gather and report HUMINT (Human Intelligence). At some point in the process, he was commissioned. He left the military as a Lieutenant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rest of the Story\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Hubert Renfro Knickerbocker was a world-renowned journalist. He was also Sorrell Booke’s father-in-law. Adolf Hitler hated him.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sorrell Booke married Miranda Knickerbocker in 1958. Miranda was the third daughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Hubert Renfro Knickerbocker. The elder Knickerbocker earned his accolades reporting on European affairs before and during World War 2. Along the way, he interviewed the likes of  Benito Mussolini, Gregor Strasser, and Keke Geladze, Josef Stalin\u2019s mother. Together Miranda and Sorrell had two children. They divorced in 1973.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
There was a time not so long ago when this would have been considered funny.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Booke\u2019s TV credits included Dr. Kildare, Mission: Impossible, All in the Family, Good Times, Gunsmoke, Hawaii 50,<\/em> Soap, <\/em>and many more.<\/em> He guest starred on two episodes of MASH<\/em>, and helped introduce Jamie Farr\u2019s iconic cross-dressing character, Corporal Klinger. Haven\u2019t we come a long way since then? Throughout it all, Booke\u2019s most memorable role was that of Boss Hogg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Sorrell Booke knew his Boss Hogg character would be bad, but he insisted that he not be too bad.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Booke insisted upon a clause in his contract governing the depiction of his character in The Dukes of Hazzard.<\/em> He knew his job would be to be despicable. However, he insisted that his character never deal drugs or kill anybody. He demanded that these two stipulations be spelled out in writing before he would take the part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Sorrell Booke was, by accounts, a pretty good Joe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Sorrell Booke was said to have loved interacting with his fans while in character.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Sorrell Booke was an accomplished cook and carpenter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In researching this article I found several anecdotes from fans who had met Booke at various official functions. Without exception, they described the man as gracious, personable, humble, and nice. Later in his life, he started buying up old houses and restoring them himself. He did his own gardening and carpentry. He ultimately amassed a personal estate of about $1.5 million but lived in a small non-descript home with normal neighbors in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
There was a great deal more to Sorrell Booke than one might expect.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Booke directed a couple of Dukes<\/em> episodes as did James Best, the actor who played Rosco P. Coltrane. As his health declined Booke stopped appearing on the screen but still maintained an active schedule as a voice actor. In the early 1990\u2019s, Booke developed colorectal cancer. He eventually succumbed to the disease in February of 1994 and was buried in Culver City, California. Actor, radio personality, linguist, singer, combat veteran, and spy, Sorrell Booke was a true renaissance man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Sorrell Booke died at age 64. He was said to have been a humble, engaging man.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a very young man, Sorrell would entertain the patients in his dad\u2019s waiting room. Show business was in his blood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":163694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,257,1,772],"tags":[132,102,636,2836],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-163678","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gunsamerica-authors","8":"category-historical-guns","9":"category-uncategorized","10":"category-will-dabbs","11":"tag-buzz","12":"tag-feature-articles","13":"tag-history","14":"tag-will-dabbs"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Secret War of Sorrell Booke: Boss Hogg was a Spy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Secret War of Sorrell Booke: Boss Hogg was a Spy - Will Dabbs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-secret-war-of-sorrell-booke-boss-hogg-was-a-spy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Secret War of Sorrell Booke: Boss Hogg was a Spy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As a very young man, Sorrell would entertain the patients in his dad\u2019s waiting room. 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