Throughout the years, many vehicles have played a starring role on both TV and the big screen. From Steve McQueen’s Highland Green Mustang in Bullitt to Don Johnson’s Ferrari Testarossa in Miami Vice, these cars have become part of pop culture and just as famous as the actors who drove them. While trucks have made starring roles as well, from Rubber Duck’s big black Mack in Convoy to Snowman’s Kenworth W900A in Smokey and the Bandit, but there is none more iconic than B.J. McKay’s red and white Kenworth K100C Aerodyne tractor-trailer.
Even if you are not a trucking fan, you’ve probably heard the theme song and, most likely, know all the lyrics and probably have sung along when you have heard the show’s catchy intro. For three seasons, from 1979 through 1981 on NBC, Billy Joe McKay (played by actor Greg Evigan), a fictional owner-operator from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, along with his best friend, a chimpanzee named Bear, roamed the highways of the United States in a Kenworth cabover. Most episodes usually entailed B.J. getting involved in some sort of misadventure and helping solve a crime or problem in the town he was passing through or making a delivery to. But at the end of each episode, B.J. McKay was always the hero who saved the day.
While B.J. and the Bear has been off the air for over 40 years, and most people don’t remember a single episode, there’s one thing that just about everybody knows and remembers about the show – B.J. McKay’s cool Kenworth! For many of us (including this author), as a child growing up in the 1980s and fascinated by trucks, we dreamed of having a truck like B.J. McKay. But there’s still a kid in all of us. So, when Duncan Putman and I had the chance to meet both Paul Sagehorn and Greg Evigan at the 2018 American Truck Historical Society’s National Convention in Lexington, KY, this author was five years old again, and absolutely awe-struck seeing the actual B.J. McKay Kenworth tractor-trailer in person for the first time (along with getting a photo taken of Greg and myself with the truck)!
The initial pilot episode in 1978 featured a Kenworth K100C flattop, but after the show was picked up by NBC for the 1979 season, Kenworth got on-board and used the show as a marketing tool to showcase their Aerodyne sleeper. Paul Sagehorn is the proud owner of the last truck built for the show – a 1980 model year Kenworth K100C Aerodyne, which was used in the 1980 and 1981 seasons. Based out of Sparta, WI, Paul has been a fan of the show since it was on the air and is probably the foremost expert on these trucks. According to Paul, “Greg (Evigan) told me that they were provided a new truck every year for the show and, from what I know, there were two 1978 K100C Aerodynes built, another built in 1979, and two more in 1980, for the show.”
For many years, Paul and his father Craig operated a replica Kenworth K100C Aerodyne like the truck used in the TV series. But in 2007, opportunity struck as Paul found one of the original 1980 KW K100C Aerodynes sitting in Douglasville, GA. And with a chance to own one of the actual trucks built for the show, Paul was not about to pass up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, telling me, “I found out about this truck through an old MSN BJ and the Bear TV Show fan group,” said Paul, continuing with, “Another member, James Duncan, had mentioned on the group message board that he owned one of the trucks used in the show.” Initially, people had doubts, but after a couple of the group members saw the truck in person, they confirmed that it was in fact one of the original trucks from the show.
After mentioning this to his father, “My dad was on a trip in that area and asked me to get James’ phone number so he could go by and look at the truck,” said Paul, continuing with, “Initially, they set up a time and place to meet, but James ended up being late and my dad had to go pick up a load, so he was never able to see the truck in person.” While Paul’s father Craig was not able to see the truck that day, a few days later Paul spoke with James on the phone and a deal was made.
When the Sagehorn’s acquired the truck, it had been sitting and hadn’t moved for nearly 20 years. Its 400 Cummins had parts missing, and while the iconic KW only had 440,000 miles on the odometer, it wasn’t much of a beauty queen anymore. So, after purchasing the truck and hauling it home to Sparta, Paul and Craig went to work, stripping the truck down to its frame and cab. In a matter of just three short months, B.J. McKay’s Kenworth was as nice as the day it rolled off the assembly line and into television immortality.
While Paul and his dad spent three months restoring their famous truck, he told me a great story that happened along the way. “After we got the truck home, I parked it in my shop and would work on it from time to time. I had spoken with the organizers of the Iola, WI car show and told them I’d bring the truck to their show that year and have Greg Evigan there to sign autographs.” As Paul kept telling me, “I was busy and I lost track of time, and next thing I knew, the show was just around the corner and the truck wasn’t going to be ready. So, my dad and I spent over 16 hours a day sometimes during that three month restoration working on it to have the truck ready for that show!”
Besides his B.J. and the Bear KW, Paul also owned and operated Sonny Pruitt’s (played by actor Claude Akins) 1974 Kenworth W900A used in the TV show Movin’ On. “About that time, I sold that truck to Mark Stracener, who was a big fan of that show, and he’s doing a complete period correct restoration on it.” Needing an engine for B.J.’s K100C, and since Mark wasn’t going to run the W900A truck, but rather restore it back to its original specs, and since the 400 Big Cam wasn’t usable in the McKay Kenworth, Paul pulled the Cummins 444 out of the Pruitt truck to use in the McKay truck. While that was a good running engine, Paul did tell me, “My dad was on his way to the ATHS National Convention in Reno, NV in 2019 and the 444 let go while running across I-80 in Nebraska.” After getting the truck towed to the Cummins shop in Kearney, Paul continued the story saying, “Many of the younger mechanics there were not familiar with the show, but once they found out this truck was famous, they began watching and checking out old episodes of the show to see the truck when it was on TV.”
With only 600,000 original miles on its odometer, the Kenworth now sports a new period correct Cummins 400 Big Cam engine, mated to its 13-speed transmission, with the power pushed through 4.11 geared rear-ends. The McKay Kenworth rides on a 180-inch wheelbase, its original 8-bag air-ride suspension, and 24.5 Alcoa rims wrapped in low-pro rubber. On the inside, the truck is all original, as well, with its beautiful saddle brown VIT Diamond Tuck interior, which was one of the options from Kenworth that truly made trucks from this time period so special.
Sadly, Paul’s father Craig passed away on March 31, 2022, at the age of 81. “My dad was a big part of this truck and loved it. Our family operates a hardware store here in Sparta and my dad ran that for years. When he was 61, he got his CDL and began driving part-time,” said Paul. While the Kenworth is shown on a regular basis at truck shows around the country, Paul told me that he wasn’t afraid to work the truck. “Before my dad passed away in 2022, he loved to get out and operate this truck,” said Paul. “He would head out for five to six weeks at a time, usually in the late summer to early fall and, like B.J. McKay, my dad would just haul from place to place, maybe off to New Orleans or who knows where.” But, along the way, Paul told me, “The truck still receives an unbelievable amount of attention. People would stop my dad at truck stops and other places all the time to take pictures.”
While Paul’s late father operated the truck from time to time in revenue service for several years, pulling a 2001 Utility reefer which was also painted to match, Paul no longer has that trailer, and the truck is now just a showpiece. But not one to just own one of the trucks from the show, Paul told me how he found one of the two 1972 Brown reefer trailers that his famous Kenworth pulled in the show. “The trailer was sitting in an equipment sales lot in Fontana, CA. The owner had purchased it from a sale at Universal Studios years before. It was just being used for storage and the owner had no idea of what it was.” Sometimes you find what you’re looking for when you’re not even looking for it.
Since Paul has the last truck built for the show, I also asked him if he knew the whereabouts of the other trucks that were built for the show. He answered, “One of the 1978 K100C Aerodynes is owned by a gentleman from Australia and is kept in Pennsylvania, although no one has seen it in years. Recently, the second 1980 K100C, which is the sibling to mine, was found down in Florida, and I’ve spoken with this owner, as his serial number is just one digit newer than my truck.”
While it’s one thing to own a cool vintage truck, and there’s many beautifully restored rigs out there, it’s another thing to own one as iconic and famous in television history as the B.J. and the Bear Kenworth. I’d like to thank Paul for taking the time to speak with me and share his story and truck with all the 10-4 readers. I hope another young generation can be inspired like I was as a child and, someday, want to be like B.J. McKay!
EDITOR’S NOTE: Thanks to Duncan Putman, Daniel Linss, and Paul Sagehorn for providing the photos for this feature.
