He may have become known for becoming the televisual embodiment of frustrated, low-level lawmen, but James Best’s career spans a lot more than playing Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in 1970/'80s TV hit The Dukes Of Hazzard. The good-natured actor has died at the age of 88.
Indeed, Best’s career has something of an iceberg nature – a lot of people know him for a couple of famous roles, but so much of his work lurks beneath the surface of public awareness. Born Jewel Franklin Guy in Powderly, Kentucky, he briefly spent time in an orphanage after his mother’s death in 1929 and was adopted by Armen and Essa Best who took him home and, at the young lad’s suggestion, changed his name to Jimmie. He began acting in school plays, but enlisted in the US Army Air Corps out of high school, going on to become a gunner and radio operator before transferring to the military police in Germany.
During his time in the military, he joined the army’s theatrical company, working on plays such as My Sister Eileen, and that sparked his desire to act. He moved to New York after World War II and honed his skills on the stage, appearing in various productions and supplementing his income by modelling, which won him notice from a Los Angeles casting director and secured him a contract with Universal Studios alongside Tony Curtis, Rock Hudson and Audie Murphy. He began working on Westerns and on TV in the 1950s and became fast friends with some of his co-stars including James Stewart and Paul Newman.
Though his stubborn nature saw him turfed from Universal, he was hired by Gene Autry, who helped get his career back on track and saw him appearing on shows such as The Twilight Zone and The Andy Griffith Show. Among his film credits? The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, Forbidden Planet, Winchester ’73, Hooper and The Naked And The Dead.
But it was the little-regarded, mid-season replacement The Dukes Of Hazzard that saw him make the leap to iconic status, a rebel playing a blundering lawman to perfection and won him a legion of fans.
Outside of his screen work, he also wrote and painted, finding huge success as a playwright and also teaching acting to young performers. “It's such a shame to hear of the loss of James Best,” Burt Reynolds, another friend, says in a statement carried by Best’s official site. “Jimmie really was a great actor, but more than that he was a great teacher of acting. I was fortunate enough to call him my friend since the day he walked on the set of Gunsmoke back in the early '60s. Following that, we worked together on a number of projects both behind the scenes and on camera, two of which need to be mentioned here. Without his insight behind the scenes of my directorial debut, Gator; I would've been lost - and on Hooper; he was right there beside me - in front of the camera playing a role that came easy to him: my good friend, comrade, and rabble-rouser Culley. Onset or off, behind the scenes, in front of a class, or just as a friend, his name was so fitting because he was truly the best at whatever he did. My heart is heavy, and I miss him deeply.”
Best is survived by his wife and children.