James Best
James Best (born July 26 , 1926 , Powderly, Kentucky) is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard .
Best was born as Jules Guy in Powderly in Muhlenberg County in western Kentucky. His mother was the sister of Ike Everly, the father of the pop group the Everly Brothers. After his mother died in 1929, the three-year-old was sent to live in an orphanage. He was later adopted by Armen and Essa Best and went to live with them in Corydon, Indiana. He began his acting career with an uncredited role in the 1950 western One Way Street .
Best would portray a wide variety of characters in a wide spectrum of film genres. Some of his more notable roles include Jason Brown in the 1955 historical drama Seven Angry Men , Kit Caswell in the 1958 western Cole Younger, Gunfighter , Private Rhidges in the 1958 film adaptation of Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead , the vicious outlaw Billy John in 1959's Ride Lonesome, Dr. Ben Mizer in the 1966 comedy Three on a Couch , the cross dressing Dewey Barksdale in the 1976 drama Ode to Billy Joe, and the gunman Drew in 1968's Firecreek , with James Stewart and Henry Fonda.
Best has guest starred more than 280 times in numerous televisions shows including the 1960 episode "Love on Credit" of CBS's anthology series The DuPont Show with June Allyson ; co-stars were Carolyn Jones and Jack Mullaney. His other appearances include: The Adventures of Kit Carson (twice as Henry Jordan), Frontier , Sheriff of Cochise , Pony Express ("The Story of Julesburg"), Bonanza, Gunsmoke , Have Gun – Will Travel , The Barbara Stanwyck Show , Tombstone Territory (episode "Guilt of a Town"), Whispering Smith , The Twilight Zone , Overland Trail , Alfred Hitchcock Presents , The Man and the Challenge , Combat , The Mod Squad , The Andy Griffith Show , I Spy , Perry Mason , The Incredible Hulk , The Fugitive , Stagecoach West , and In the Heat of the Night .
In 1958, Best appeared as a guilty young man about to be lynched for murder in Gene Barry's NBC series Bat Masterson in the episode "Stampede at Tent City", set in Nevada. As the story unravels, the Best character had killed the brother of a leading townsman played by William Conrad.
Fans of The Andy Griffith Show will remember Best for his portrayal of the young guitar player Jim Lindsey in two episodes.
The Dukes of Hazzard role was Best's most visible success. He later revealed that the caricature-like persona of Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane was developed from a voice he used when he would play with his young children.
In contrast to the comic Coltrane of Dukes of Hazzard , in an episode of In the Heat of the Night , he played a repentant killer who has to come to terms with his crime.
After Dukes , Best continued to act. He later moved to Florida and taught at the University of Central Florida. Now semi-retired, Best runs a production company and takes occasional acting roles. He has also earned a name for himself as an artist and painter. James Best is currently a resident of Hickory, North Carolina.
A highly respected acting coach, he taught drama and acting techniques for over 25 years in Los Angeles. His acting school listed some of the top names in Hollywood as pupils. He also served as artist-in-residence and taught drama at the University of Mississippi for two years prior to his stint on The Dukes of Hazzard .
In 2009, James Best completed his autobiography, "Best In Hollywood: The Good, The Bad and The Beautiful." The book will be published in August 2009 through Bear Manor Media. According to an official press release from the publishing company, and the actor's official web-site, the book will premiere at the Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Convention in Aberdeen, Maryland on August 27.
Family
He has two daughters, Janeen and Jojami, and a son named Gary. He is also the father-in-law of actor-singer Michael Damian.
Partial Filmography
- Winchester '73 (1950) as Crator
- Comanche Territory (1950) as Sam
- Kansas Raiders (1950) as Cole Younger
- The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) as an unnamed radar operator
- Seminole (1953) as Capt. Gerard
- The Caine Mutiny (1954) as Lt. Jorgensen (uncredited)
- Forbidden Planet (1956) as an unnamed crewmember
- The Naked and the Dead (1958) as Pvt. Rhidges
- The Killer Shrews (1959) as Thorne Sherman
- The Mountain Road (1961) as Niergaard
- Shock Corridor (1963) as Stuart Couter
- Shenandoah (1965) as Carter
- Three On A Couch (1966) as Dr. Ben Mizer
- Firecreek (1968) as Drew
- Sounder (1972) as Sheriff Young
- Ode to Billy Joe (1976) as Dewey Barksdale
- Nickelodeon (1976) as Jim
- Rolling Thunder (1977) as Texan
- Hooper (1978) as Cully
- Centennial (TV miniseries, 1978) as Hank Garvey
- The Dukes of Hazzard (TV series, 1979-1985) as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane
- The Dukes (TV series, 1983) as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane
