James Best, the actor who played the bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on the popular television series The Dukes of Hazzard, has died at 88 after an illness and complications of pneumonia.
Although Rosco was arguably his most famous role, Best had a career that spanned 65 years across many genres. He played Jim Lindsey “the Guitar Player” on The Andy Griffith Show, and in addition to acting, he was a teacher, a painter, a director, a father, and a master of many trades. He also authored the book Best in Hollywood about his experiences.
The character of Sheriff Rosco was created on a scripted page but Best has been credited with bringing the character as we know him to life. As originally conceived, Rosco was much more serious – he even shot a gun! – and he hadn’t yet picked up the mannerisms like the cackle, the Basset hound, and calling Boss Hogg his “little fat buddy.”
“On the first couple episodes of Dukes, they had me play a very serious sheriff,” he told KSiteTV back in 2010. “I shot one guy in the leg. And I went to the producers and I said ‘I have too much respect for the law enforcement people that protect us in this country and have their lives on the line,’ and I said ‘I do not want to play a mean sheriff.’ So I said ‘Why don’t we soften that down so the children aren’t afraid of the policemen when they walk up?’ I was going to play him like a twelve-year-old who liked hot pursuit! They said ‘well, what do you suggest?’ I said ‘I’m going to do what I did with my girls when they were little.’ I’d go kee-kee! And they fell off their chairs laughing. I said ‘That’s the way I’m going to play Rosco. I’m going to play him as a twelve-year-old.’ It actually worked,” he explained.
“At one point, they came to me and they said, ‘I think you’re going too far with that character,’ and I said ‘No. I disagree with you. I’m not going to change it.’ And I’ve been blessed, because for 25 years, I’ve had thousands and thousands of fans who write me and tell me that they loved that silly character,” he continued.
In the Dukes episode “Too Many Roscos,” Best really was able to show fans of the show that he could play more than a silly bumbler as he played the evil Rosco lookalike named “Woody.” However, as Rosco, Best played the character with a childlike joy. He was naughty, and he was doing bad things, but you couldn’t help but love him.
As someone who was a child in the early 1980’s, watching “Sheriff Rosco” on TV as he chased the Duke boys was a Friday night tradition. “Hot Pursuit,” calling people a “dipstick,” and hearing that fun cackle will never be the same again. Rest in peace, Mr. Best. May you see your little fat buddy, sister Lulu, and your beloved “velvet ears” Flash in that speed trap they call the afterlife.
