James Best - wikipedia James Best For the Canadian diplomat, see James Calbert Best. This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. ( August 2011 ) James Best Best appeared twice on NBC 's western television series, Frontier. Jewel Franklin Guy ( 1926 - 07 - 26 ) July 26, 1926 Powderly, Kentucky, United States April 6, 2015 ( 2015 - 04 - 06 ) ( aged 88 ) Hickory, North Carolina, United States Cause of death Pneumonia Occupation Film, television, voice actor, artist, acting coach, college professor, singer - songwriter Years active 1950 -- 2013 Spouse ( s ) ( 1 ) Not named ( 2 ) Jobee Ayers ( married, 1959 - 1977, divorced ) ( 3 ) Dorothy Collier ( married, 1986 -- 2015, his death ) Children Gary, Janeen, and Jojami Best Parent ( s ) Lena Mae ( née Everly ) Guy ( sister of Ike Everly, father of Don and Phil Everly ) and Larkin Jasper Guy James Best ( born Jewel Franklin Guy ; July 26, 1926 -- April 6, 2015 ) was an American television, film, character, voice, and stage actor, as well as a writer, director, acting coach, artist, college professor, and musician, whose career spanned seven decades of television. He appeared as a guest on various country music and talk shows. One of the busiest actors in Hollywood, who began his contract career with Universal Studios in 1949, Best 's long career began in films in 1950, appearing primarily in Westerns, playing opposite Audie Murphy in Kansas Raiders ( 1950 ), The Cimarron Kid ( 1952 ) and The Quick Gun ( 1964 ), Raymond Massey in Seven Angry Men ( 1955 ), George Montgomery in Last of the Badman ( 1957 ), Frank Lovejoy in Cole Younger Gunfighter ( 1958 ), and Randolph Scott in Ride Lonesome ( 1959 ). He also starred in the science fiction cult movie, The Killer Shrews ( 1959 ) and its sequel, Return of the Killer Shrews ( 2012 ). He is most noted as playing bumbling Sheriff Rosco Pervis Coltrane in the action / comedy Dukes of Hazzard, a role that he revised in The Dukes of Hazzard : Reunion ! ( 1997 ) as his character was now `` boss '' of Hazzard County as well as sheriff & again in The Dukes of Hazzard : Hazzard in Hollywood ( 2000 ). Contents 1 Early years 2 Career 2.1 The Dukes of Hazzard 2.2 Later career 3 Personal life and death 4 Filmography 5 Further reading 6 References 7 External links Early years James Best was born as Jewel Franklin Guy on July 26, 1926, in Powderly, Kentucky, to Lark and Lena Guy. His mother was the sister of Ike Everly, the father of the pop duo The Everly Brothers. After his mother died of tuberculosis in 1929, then three - year - old James was sent to live in an orphanage. He was later adopted by Armen Best ( 1897 - 1984 ) and his wife Essa ( 1896 - 1988 ) and went to live with them in Corydon, Indiana. He served honorably in the United States Army in World War II, training in 1944 in Biloxi, Mississippi, as a gunner on a B - 17 bomber ; but by the time he finished training the war was almost at an end and he joined the Military Police. As an MP, Best played a role in bringing stability to war - torn Germany immediately after their surrender. While stationed in Germany, Best transferred out of the MP and joined a special services unit of actors for the US Army that travelled around Europe performing plays for the troops. This was the true beginning of his acting career. Career Best with Andy Griffith on CBS 's The Andy Griffith Show ( 1961 ) Best began his screen acting career with an uncredited role in the 1950 film One Way Street. Some of his more notable roles include Jason Brown in the 1955 historical drama about the abolitionist John Brown titled Seven Angry Men and as Kit Caswell in the 1958 western Cole Younger, Gunfighter, based on the infamous outlaw. He was further cast as Private Ridges in the 1958 film adaptation of Norman Mailer 's The Naked and the Dead. He played the outlaw Billy John in Ride Lonesome ( 1959 ), Dr. Ben Mizer in the 1966 comedy Three on a Couch, the gunfighter Drew in Firecreek ( 1968 ), with James Stewart and Henry Fonda, and the cross-dressing Dewey Barksdale in the 1976 drama Ode to Billy Joe. Best guest - starred more than 280 times in numerous television series. In 1954, he played the outlaw Dave Ridley, opposite Gloria Winters as the female bandit `` Little Britches '' in an episode of Stories of the Century. In 1954, Best appeared twice on the syndicated Annie Oakley series, starring Gail Davis and Brad Johnson. He was cast in the religion anthology series Crossroads, in its 1956 episode `` The White Carnation. '' He was also cast on an episode of Jackie Cooper 's early NBC sitcom The People 's Choice and in the David Janssen crime drama Richard Diamond, Private Detective. In 1960, Best appeared in the episode `` Love on Credit '' of CBS 's anthology series The DuPont Show with June Allyson. The same year, he guest - starred on The Andy Griffith Show as `` The Guitar Player '' ( Season 1, Episode 3 and 31 ). He starred in three episodes of The Twilight Zone including `` The Grave '' ( Season 3, Episode 7 ), `` The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank, '' ( Season 3, Episode 23 ) and `` Jess - Belle '' ( Season 4, Episode 7 ). In 1963, he was cast as the courageous Wisconsin game warden, Ernie Swift, in the episode `` Open Season '' of another CBS anthology series, GE True, hosted by Jack Webb. In the storyline, Swift faces the reprisal of organized crime after he tickets gangster Frank MacErlane ( David McLean ) for illegal fishing. In 1962, he played the part of Art Fuller in the episode `` Incident of El Toro '' on CBS 's Rawhide ; and in 1963, he returned to play Willie Cain in the episode `` Incident at Spider Rock. '' Best made two guest appearances on Perry Mason. In 1963 he played title character Martin Potter in `` The Case of the Surplus Suitor, '' and in 1966 he played defendant and oilman Allan Winford in `` The Case of the Unwelcome Well. '' He appeared on a long list of other television series in the 1950s and 1960s, including Wagon Train ( three times ), The Adventures of Kit Carson ( twice as Henry Jordan ), the western anthology series Frontier ( twice ), The Rebel, Bonanza, Sheriff of Cochise, Pony Express, Rescue 8, Behind Closed Doors, The Texan, Gunsmoke, Have Gun -- Will Travel, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, Tombstone Territory, Whispering Smith, Trackdown, The Rifleman, Cheyenne, Stagecoach West, Wanted : Dead or Alive, Overland Trail, Bat Masterson, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Man and the Challenge, Combat !, The Green Hornet ( `` Deadline For Death '' ), The Mod Squad, I Spy, and The Fugitive. Stagecoach West, Wanted : Dead or Alive, Overland Trail, Bat Masterson, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Man and the Challenge, Combat !, The Green Hornet ( `` Deadline For Death '' ), The Mod Squad, I Spy, and The Fugitive. The Dukes of Hazzard Best played Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on CBS 's The Dukes of Hazzard from the debut of the program in 1979 until the end of the series in 1985. That role was Best 's most visible success. He later revealed that the caricature - like persona of Sheriff Coltrane was developed from a voice he used when playing with his young children. On set, Best was particularly close to Sorrell Booke, who played the character of Boss Hogg, who was both the boss and the brother - in - law of Rosco. The two actors became close friends ; and according to interviews by the series ' creators, the two would often improvise their scenes together, making up their own dialogue as they went along. Until his death, he also remained close to Catherine Bach, who played the character of Daisy Duke ; and long after the show 's cancellation, she was a regular visitor to the website dedicated to Best 's painting. Later career In 1991, in contrast to the comical Rosco Coltrane of The Dukes of Hazzard, Best appeared in an episode of the NBC crime drama In the Heat of the Night. He won the Crystal Reel Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Nathan Bedford in the episode `` Sweet, Sweet Blues, '' directed by Vincent McEveety and written by William James Royce. Best plays a retired Sheriff and repentant killer who has to come to terms with being involved in the death of now Sparta police officer Sweet 's grandfather. Best later moved to Florida and taught at the University of Central Florida ( Orlando ). After semi-retiring, Best ran a production company and took occasional acting roles. He also earned a name for himself as an artist and painter. Best formerly resided in Lake Murray, South Carolina, before moving once again, this time to Hickory, North Carolina. An acting coach, Best taught drama and acting techniques for more than a quarter century in Los Angeles. He also served as artist - in - residence and taught drama at the University of Mississippi ( Oxford ) for two years prior to his stint on The Dukes of Hazzard. In 2009, he completed his autobiography Best In Hollywood : The Good, The Bad and The Beautiful. The book, published in 2009 through Bear Manor Media, premiered at the Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Convention in Aberdeen, Maryland. On November 9, 2014, Best and fellow actor Robert Fuller ( along with their wives ) attended the 100th birthday celebration of lifelong friend and fellow actor Norman Lloyd. Best said, `` I had the honor to have been directed by Norman in a Hitchcock episode called `` The Jar. '' Having worked with hundreds of directors in my career, I found very few that had Norman 's qualities. He was most kind, gracious and patient with his actors. He is in all respects a complete gentleman in his personal life and I found it a genuine pleasure just to be in the presence of such a talented man. I am also doubly honored to consider him my friend. We are so blessed to have such a man among us for so long. '' Personal life and death In 1959, Best married his second wife, Jobee Ayers. The couple had two daughters, Janeen and Jojami. They divorced in 1977. Best also had a son, Gary, from a previous marriage. He married his third ( and last ) wife, Dorothy Collier, in 1986. His niece is actress Jennifer Lyons. He enjoyed a wide range of hobbies and interests. He was an accomplished painter, a Black Belt in Karate, enjoyed writing ( poetry, songs and stories ), and ran his own acting school ( students included Lindsay Wagner, Roger Miller, Glen Campbell, Quentin Tarantino, and Regis Philbin ). He was also an animal rights advocate. James Best died on April 6, 2015, in Hickory, North Carolina, from complications of pneumonia. He was 88. Prior to his death, Best 's former The Dukes of Hazzard co-star and long - time friend, John Schneider, released a statement ; `` I laughed and learned more from Jimmie in one hour, than from anyone else in a whole year. Give Uncle Jesse my love when you see him dear friend, '' he also added that, when asked to cry for the camera, `` ( Best ) would say, ' sure thing, which eye ? ' I 'm forever thankful to have cut my teeth in the company of such a fine man. '' Then, nearly one year after Best 's death, Schneider said of his favorite episodes, which included most of Best 's off - camera personality : `` One that always comes to mind was called The Ghost of General Lee... Someone had taken our car, The General Lee, and Rosco thinks he 's caused us to drown. It shows Rosco 's real appreciation, in fact love, for the Duke boys and he was terribly hurt when he thought he 'd killed them, '' He also added, `` There are a couple of moments in Dukes... that are n't all fun and games and that was one of them. Then I wrote and directed the last episode we did called `` Opening Night at the Boar 's Nest '' and in that, Rosco does a magic trick and thinks he 's made Boss Hogg disappear - and you see the love he has for Boss Hogg. '' Schneider also said about the laughter : `` We drop the veil of shenanigans and laughter and show what those relationships are really like. Those are my two favourites because of those reasons and it 's important, I think, to note that both of them centre around the amazing acting ability of James Best, who played Rosco. '' The last thing that he said about his working relationship with Best : `` He was amazing in everything he did ; he was not just a funny guy. In fact, I think the comedic timing kind of came to him later on in life because before that he was a very serious actor. I was very fortunate to have grown up working with people like Jimmie Best and Denver Pyle and Sorrell Booke. Incredibly talented men, incredibly talented actors. '' Filmography Winchester ' 73 ( 1950 ) as Crater Comanche Territory ( 1950 ) as Sam Kansas Raiders ( 1950 ) as Cole Younger Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man ( 1951 ) as Tommy Nelson ( Arthur Franz 's stand - in ) The Battle at Apache Pass ( 1952 ) as Cpl. Hassett The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms ( 1953 ) as an unnamed radar operator Seminole ( 1953 ) as Capt. Gerard Riders to the Stars ( 1954 ) as Sidney K. Fuller The Caine Mutiny ( 1954 ) as Lieutenant Jorgensen ( uncredited ) Return from the Sea ( 1954 ) as Barr Seven Angry Men ( 1955 ) as Jason Brown Cheyenne ( 1955 TV series ) ( `` Sweet Sam '' ) as Unknown and ( `` Satonka '' ) as Ernie Riggins The Adventures of Champion ( 1955 TV series ) ( `` The Stone Heart '' ) as Paul Kenyon Calling Homicide ( 1956 ) as Arnie Arnholf Forbidden Planet ( 1956 ) as an unnamed crewmember The Naked and the Dead ( 1958 ) as Pvt. Rhidges The Left Handed Gun ( 1958 ) as Tom Folliard Trackdown ( 1958 ) as Bud Ehlers Alfred Hitchcock Presents : Death Sentence ( 1958, Season 3, Episode 30 ) as Norman Frayne The Killer Shrews ( 1959 ) as Thorne Sherman Verboten ! ( 1959 ) as David Brent Ride Lonesome ( 1959 ) as Billy John The Andy Griffith Show ( TV series, 1960 -- 1968 ) as Jim Lindsey ( `` The Guitar Player '', Season 1, Episode 31 and `` The Guitar Player Returns '', 1961 ) The Mountain Road ( 1960 ) as Niergaard Bonanza ( `` The Fugitive '' ) as Carl Reagan The Twilight Zone ( TV series, 1959 -- 1964 ) `` The Grave '' ( 1961 ) as Johhny Rob `` The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank '' ( 1962 ) as Jeff Myrtlebank `` Jess - Belle '' ( 1963 ) as Billy Ben Turner Bronco ( `` The Mountains '' ) ( 1962 ) as Frankie Banton The Rifleman ( TV series, 1958 -- 1963 ) as Barrett ( `` The Day the Town Slept '' ) ( 1962 ) Shock Corridor ( 1963 ) as Stuart Couter Perry Mason ( `` The Case of the Surplus Suitor '' ) ( 1963 ) as Potter The Fugitive ( `` Terror at High Point '' ) ( 1963 ) Combat ! ( 1964 ) as Trenton Shenandoah ( 1965 ) as Carter Gunsmoke With a Smile ( TV Episode 1963 ) Flipper ( 1965 ) as Dr. Peter Kellwin The Virginian ( `` Letter of the Law '' ) ( 1965 ) ( TV series, 1962 -- 1971 ) as Curt Westley Three on a Couch ( 1966 ) as Dr. Ben Mizer The Guns of Will Sonnett ( `` Meeting at Devil 's Fork '' ) ( 1967 ) Firecreek ( 1968 ) as Drew Gunsmoke ( 1969 ) as Charlie Noon Sounder ( 1972 ) as Sheriff Young Savages ( 1974 ) as Sheriff Hamilton Ode to Billy Joe ( 1976 ) as Dewey Barksdale Nickelodeon ( 1976 ) as Jim Rolling Thunder ( 1977 ) as Texan Hooper ( 1978 ) as Cully The End ( 1978 ) as Pacemaker Patient Centennial ( TV miniseries, 1978 ) as Hank Garvey The Dukes of Hazzard ( TV series, 1979 -- 1985 ) as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane The Dukes ( TV cartoon series, 1983 ) as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane In the Heat of the Night ( TV series, 1991 ) as retired Sheriff Nathadford - Crystal Reel Award, Best Actor The Dukes of Hazzard : Reunion ! ( 1997 TV movie ) as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane The Dukes of Hazzard : Hazzard in Hollywood ( 2000 TV movie ) as Rosco P. Coltrane Moondance Alexander ( 2007 ) as a friend and storekeeper of the Alexanders ( based on the life of real - life daughter Janeen ) Return of the Killer Shrews ( 2012 ) as Thorne Sherman The Sweeter Side of Life ( 2013 ) as the father of the protagonist Further reading Best, James ; Clark Jim ( 2009 ). Best in Hollywood : The Good, The Bad, And The Beautiful. Albany, New York : BearManor Media, 2009 ; ISBN 1 - 59393 - 460 - 2. Biography portal Kentucky portal Indiana portal Film portal Television portal Education portal Art portal References ^ Jump up to : `` Obituary for James Best ''. jamesbest.com. Retrieved April 9, 2015. Jump up ^ Staff ( April 7, 2015 ). `` Dukes of Hazzard 's James Best Dies at Age 88 ''. CMT. Retrieved April 7, 2015. Jump up ^ Profile, imdb.com ; accessed April 7, 2015. Jump up ^ Best in Hollywood : The Good, The Bad, And The Beautiful, by James Best with Jim Clark. Albany, 2009. BearManor Media ; ISBN 1 - 59393 - 460 - 2. Chapter 3 Jump up ^ `` Stories of the Century : `` Little Britches '', June 17, 1954 ``. Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved September 16, 2012. ^ Jump up to : James Best on IMDb Jump up ^ `` GE True ''. Classic Television Archive. Retrieved March 1, 2013. Jump up ^ James Best Interview Part 7 : How James Got Started on The Dukes of Hazzard, youtube.com ; accessed September 2, 2015. Jump up ^ Catherine Bach profile, mtv.com ; accessed April 7, 2015. ^ Jump up to : Profile, filminflorida.com ; accessed April 7, 2015. Jump up ^ Best comments on Norman Lloyd, yesweekly.com ; accessed April 7, 2015. Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0529078/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm Jump up ^ Washburn, Mark ( April 7, 2015 ). `` James Best, sheriff of ' Hazzard ', dies in Hickory at 88 ''. The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved April 7, 2015. Jump up ^ Gary Lane. `` ' Dukes ' John Schneider Remembers the `` Best '' - The Hollywood Billboard ``. The Hollywood Billboard. Retrieved April 28, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Actor John Schneider is Living The Dream ''. Digital Journal. 2016 - 01 - 07. Retrieved 2016 - 02 - 25. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Best. James Best on IMDb James Best at the TCM Movie Database James Best at AllMovie James Best Bio at HazzardNet.com James Best Crystal Reel Awards Obituary - Legacy The Dukes of Hazzard Episodes Characters Bo Duke Luke Duke Daisy Duke Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane Boss Hogg Reunion films The Dukes of Hazzard : Reunion ! ( 1997 ) The Dukes of Hazzard : Hazzard in Hollywood ! ( 2000 ) Remake films The Dukes of Hazzard ( 2005 ) The Dukes of Hazzard : The Beginning ( 2007 ) Video games The Dukes of Hazzard Racing for Home Daisy Dukes It Out Return of the General Lee Spin - offs Enos The Dukes See also The General Lee Boar 's Nest Jerry Rushing `` Theme from The Dukes of Hazzard ( Good Ol ' Boys ) '' Moonrunners Hazard Run VIAF : 87104548 LCCN : no92028281 ISNI : 0000 0001 1451 0157 GND : 137749023 SUDOC : 133461777 BNF : cb141556374 ( data ) MusicBrainz : 7a626bae - 20a5 - 40e3 - 9f8d - a5199c102e3b IATH : w6f335sd Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Best&oldid=801675971 '' Categories : 1926 births 2015 deaths American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors 20th - century American male actors Male Western ( genre ) film actors Male actors from Kentucky American military personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces personnel University of Central Florida faculty University of Mississippi faculty People from Muhlenberg County, Kentucky People from Corydon, Indiana Male actors from Orlando, Florida Deaths from pneumonia Infectious disease deaths in North Carolina Western ( genre ) television actors Hidden categories : Articles lacking in - text citations from August 2011 All articles lacking in - text citations Articles with hCards All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2015 Turner Classic Movies person ID not in Wikidata Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Deutsch Ελληνικά Español فارسی Français Frysk Italiano Nederlands Português Scots Simple English Suomi Türkçe Edit links This page was last edited on 21 September 2017, at 03 : 50. 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Question: who played the sheriff in dukes of hazzard
Answer: James Best