'Cooter': Don't Go to 'Dukes of Hazzard' Movie 'Unless It's Cleaned Up'

WASHINGTON, Va., July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Georgia Congressman Ben Jones, who played "Cooter" on the hit TV series "The Dukes of Hazzard," has blasted the new film version to be released in August as a "profanity-laced script with blatant sexual situations that mocks the good clean family values of our series."

In an open letter to the fans of the show on his Web site, Jones says that "rather than honoring our legendary show, they have chosen to degrade it." He closes by saying that fans should send the producers a message that says, "If you don't clean it up, we're not going to see it." He adds, "Maybe a kick in their pocketbook will get their attention."

Jones, who was defeated by Newt Gingrich in 1994, now operates two "Dukes of Hazzard" museums, in Nashville and Gatlinburg, Tenn.

The series is now having a very successful cable run on CMT based in Nashville, Tenn.