James Best appeared in lots of TV shows and some 85 movies, but he will best be remembered as the ham-handed Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on the The Dukes of Hazzard. Best, 88, died from pneumonia on Monday near his home in Hickory, North Carolina.
Born Jewel Franklin Guy in 1926, Best's mother died when he was about 3, and he was adopted by the Best family. A cousin of the Everly Brothers, Phil and Don, Best started acting in the 1950s after a stint in the Army. Before The Dukes of Hazzard (1979-85), Best already had an impressive career as a character actor, including roles on TV's The Andy Griffith Show, Bonanza, and The Twilight Zone, and in the films The Caine Mutiny, Gunsmoke, The Left-Handed Gun, Three on the Couch, Wagon Train, and Shenandoah. He is survived by his third wife, two daughters from his second marriage, a son from his first marriage, and three grandchildren.
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