James Best
Encyclopedia
James Best is an American
actor
best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane
in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard
. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.
in Muhlenberg County, 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
.
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"), Stories of the Century
("Little Britches"), Behind Closed Doors
, Bonanza
, Gunsmoke
, Have Gun – Will Travel,Trackdown
, The Barbara Stanwyck Show
, Tombstone Territory
(episode "Guilt of a Town"), Whispering Smith
, The Twilight Zone
("The Grave", "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank
" and "Jess-Belle
"), Overland Trail
, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
, The Man and the Challenge
, Combat
, The Mod Squad
- Episode "The Price of Terror" (1968), The Andy Griffith Show
, I Spy, Perry Mason
, The Incredible Hulk, The Fugitive
("Terror At High Point"), 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.
on The Dukes of Hazzard
from the show's debut in 1979 until the series ended in 1985, and this 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 the very early episodes, Sheriff Coltrane was a more serious, aggressive, and more competent police officer than he would be by the end of the first season, even shooting one person in an early show. After the show became a hit among children and moved production from Georgia to California, the role of Sheriff Coltrane was toned down and made into the more familiar bumbling and comical character that is best remembered today. On the 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.
The character of Rosco was best known for his love of "hot pursuit," chasing Bo and Luke Duke in car chases that usually ended badly, either with Rosco losing them, a "horrendous crash," or some other problem (such as "scuffing his vehicle"). Rosco was a bachelor and childless, so he was also known for his love of his pet basset hound, Flash (introduced at the start of the third season, at the suggestion of Best), whom he loved and treated as it was his child. Rosco was also known for insulting and yelling at his deputies, Enos Strate
(played by Sonny Shroyer
) and Cletus Hogg
(played by Rick Hurst
), most often calling them "dipstick" and he also often lied to them about the crooked plans that he and Boss Hogg were working on.
. He won the Crystal Reel Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Nathan Bedford in the episode Sweet, Sweet Blues
. In the episode, directed by Vincent McEveety
and written by William James Royce
, Best plays a repentant killer who has to come to terms with his crime.
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.
He married his current wife, Dorothy Best, in 1986. Best is also the father-in-law of actor-singer Michael Damian
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane
Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane
On the American TV series The Dukes of Hazzard, Rosco Purvis Coltrane is the bumbling sheriff of Hazzard County and right-hand man of its corrupt county commissioner, Jefferson Davis "J.D." Hogg ....
in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.
Early years
Best was born as Jules Guy in PowderlyPowderly, Kentucky
Powderly is a city in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 846 at the 2000 census. The city is named for Terence Powderly, who opened a coal mine there in 1887.-Geography:Powderly is located at ....
in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky
Muhlenberg County, Kentucky
Muhlenberg County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 31,499. The county is named for Peter Muhlenberg. Its county seat is Greenville....
. His mother was the sister of Ike Everly, the father of the pop group the Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers are country-influenced rock and roll performers, known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing...
.
After his mother died in 1929, the three-year-old was sent to live in an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
. He was later adopted by Armen and Essa Best and went to live with them in Corydon, Indiana
Corydon, Indiana
Corydon is a town in Harrison Township, Harrison County, Indiana, United States, founded in 1808, and is known as Indiana's First State Capital. After Vincennes, Corydon was the second capital of the Indiana Territory from May 1, 1813, until December 11, 1816. After statehood, the town was the...
.
Career
He began his acting career with an uncredited role in the 19501950 in film
The year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
western One Way Street
One Way Street
One Way Street is a 1950 film directed by Hugo Fregonese that stars James Mason. The black-and-white crime film, considered to be film noir, takes place mainly in Mexico.Rock Hudson appears as a truck driver, but is uncredited.-Plot:...
.
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
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
's The Naked and the Dead
The Naked and the Dead (film)
The Naked and the Dead is a 1958 widescreen film based on Norman Mailer's World War II novel The Naked and the Dead. Directed by Raoul Walsh and filmed in Panama the screenplay attributed to the Sanders Brothers adds a strip tease and larger action scenes to Mailer's original narrative...
, the vicious outlaw Billy John in 1959's Ride Lonesome
Ride Lonesome
Ride Lonesome is a a 1959 Eastmancolor film; one of Budd Boetticher's "Ranown" westerns starring Randolph Scott and part of a series of films that began with Seven Men from Now...
, Dr. Ben Mizer in the 1966 comedy Three on a Couch
Three On A Couch
Three on a Couch is a comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis.Filmed from September 13-December 1, 1965, it was released on July 7, 1966 by Columbia Pictures. Co-starring are Janet Leigh, James Best, Mary Ann Mobley and Kathleen Freeman....
, the cross dressing Dewey Barksdale in the 1976 drama Ode to Billy Joe
Ode to Billy Joe (film)
Ode to Billy Joe is a 1976 film with a screenplay by Herman Raucher, inspired by the 1967 hit song by Bobbie Gentry, titled "Ode to Billie Joe" ....
, and the gunman Drew in 1968's Firecreek
Firecreek
Firecreek is a 1968 western movie directed by Vincent McEveety and starring James Stewart and Henry Fonda in his second role as an antagonist that year. The film is similar to High Noon in that it features an entire town refusing to help a peace officer against outlaws, showing no backbone...
, with James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
and Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
.
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
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
The DuPont Show with June Allyson is an American anthology drama series which aired on CBS from September 21, 1959 to April 3, 1961 with rebroadcasts continuing until June 12, 1961...
; co-stars were Carolyn Jones
Carolyn Jones
Carolyn Sue Jones was an American actress.Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Bachelor Party and a Golden Globe Award as one of the most promising actresses...
and Jack Mullaney
Jack Mullaney
Jack Mullaney was an American actor, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mullaney acted in several television series and films throughout his career....
. His other appearances include: The Adventures of Kit Carson
The Adventures of Kit Carson
The Adventures of Kit Carson is an American Western series that aired in syndication from August 1951 to November 1955, originally sponsored by Coca-Cola. It stars Bill Williams in the title role as frontier scout Christopher "Kit" Carson...
(twice as Henry Jordan), Frontier
Frontier (1955 TV series)
This program should not be confused with Frontiers , the British program Frontier , Frontier Justice , Frontier Circus, or Frontier Doctor....
, Sheriff of Cochise
Sheriff of Cochise
Sheriff of Cochise , renamed U.S. Marshal , is a 58-episode syndicated western-themed crime drama set in Arizona and starring John Bromfield as law enforcement officer Frank Morgan. In the first two seasons, Morgan was sheriff of Cochise County...
, Pony Express
Pony Express (TV series)
Pony Express is a half-hour syndicated western television series which ended its 39-episode schedule in 1960, the centennial of the launching of the Pony Express, a short-lived venture promoted by William Hepburn Russell of the freight company Russell, Majors and Waddell...
("The Story of Julesburg"), Stories of the Century
Stories of the Century
Stories of the Century is a Western television series that ran in syndication through Republic Pictures between January 23, 1954, and March 11, 1955.-Synopsis:...
("Little Britches"), Behind Closed Doors
Behind Closed Doors (1958 TV series)
Behind Closed Doors is an American drama series set during the Cold War hosted by and occasionally starring Bruce Gordon in the role of Commander Matson. The series, which aired on NBC from October 2, 1958, to April 9, 1959, focuses, among other themes, on how the former Soviet Union stole American...
, Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
, Have Gun – Will Travel,Trackdown
Trackdown
Trackdown is an American Western television series starring Robert Culp that aired on CBS between 1957 and 1959. The series offered more than seventy episodes and was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television and filmed at the Desilu-Culver Studio...
, The Barbara Stanwyck Show
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
The Barbara Stanwyck Show is an American anthology drama television series which ran on NBC from September 1960 to September 1961. Barbara Stanwyck served as hostess, and starred in all but four of the half-hour productions. The four she did not star in were actually pilot episodes of potential...
, Tombstone Territory
Tombstone Territory
Tombstone Territory is an American Western series starring Pat Conway and Richard Eastham. The series' first two seasons aired on ABC from 1957 to 1959...
(episode "Guilt of a Town"), Whispering Smith
Whispering Smith (TV series)
Whispering Smith is a short-lived American Western series that aired on NBC. Based on a 1948 movie, the series stars Audie Murphy as Tom "Whispering" Smith, a police detective in Denver, Colorado...
, The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
("The Grave", "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank
The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank
"The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.- Synopsis :A man, Jeff Myrtlebank, wakes up at his own funeral in a small rural town in the "southernmost section of the Midwest"...
" and "Jess-Belle
Jess-Belle
"Jess-Belle" is an episode of the American television science fiction & fantasy anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:Jess-Belle, determined that ex-boyfriend Billy-Ben Turner and his fiancee Ellwyn Glover not marry, enlists the aid of a local witch , who casts a spell that makes Billy-Ben...
"), Overland Trail
Overland Trail (TV series)
Overland Trail is a short-lived American Western series which aired on NBC from February 7 to June 6, 1960. The series starred William Bendix and Doug McClure,-Synopsis:...
, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
, The Man and the Challenge
The Man and the Challenge
The Man and the Challenge is a 36-segment half-hour television adventure/science fiction series which ran new episodes on NBC from September 12, 1959, to June 11, 1960. It starred George Nader as Dr. Glenn Barton, a research scientist for the Institute of Human Factors, an agency that conducted...
, Combat
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
, The Mod Squad
The Mod Squad
The Mod Squad is a television series that ran on ABC from September 24, 1968, until August 23, 1973. This series starred Michael Cole, Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III, and Tige Andrews...
- Episode "The Price of Terror" (1968), The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, I Spy, Perry Mason
Perry Mason (TV series)
Perry Mason is an American legal drama produced by Paisano Productions that ran from September 1957 to May 1966 on CBS. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los Angeles defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
, The Incredible Hulk, The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
("Terror At High Point"), Stagecoach West
Stagecoach West (TV series)
Stagecoach West is a highly-acclaimed Western drama television series which ran for thirty-eight episodes on the ABC network from October 4, 1960, until June 27, 1961. Characters Luke Perry and Simon Kane operate the Timberland Stage Line from Missouri to San Francisco...
, and In the Heat of the Night
In the Heat of the Night (TV series)
In the Heat of the Night is a television series based on the motion picture and novel of the same name. It was broadcast on NBC from 1988 until 1992, and then on CBS until 1995...
.
In 1958, Best appeared as a guilty young man about to be lynched for murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
in Gene Barry
Gene Barry
Gene Barry was an American stage, screen, and television actor. Barry is best remembered for his leading roles in the films The Atomic City and The War of The Worlds and for his portrayal of the title character in the TV series Bat Masterson, among many roles.-Personal life:Barry was born...
's NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
series Bat Masterson
Bat Masterson (TV series)
Bat Masterson is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The title character was played by Gene Barry and the half-hour black and white shows ran on NBC from 1958 to 1961...
in the episode "Stampede at Tent City", set in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. As the story unravels, the Best character had killed the brother of a leading townsman played by William Conrad
William Conrad
William Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television....
.
Fans of The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
will remember Best for his portrayal of the young guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
player Jim Lindsey in two episodes.
The Dukes of Hazzard
Best played Sheriff Rosco P. ColtraneSheriff Rosco P. Coltrane
On the American TV series The Dukes of Hazzard, Rosco Purvis Coltrane is the bumbling sheriff of Hazzard County and right-hand man of its corrupt county commissioner, Jefferson Davis "J.D." Hogg ....
on The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
from the show's debut in 1979 until the series ended in 1985, and this 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 the very early episodes, Sheriff Coltrane was a more serious, aggressive, and more competent police officer than he would be by the end of the first season, even shooting one person in an early show. After the show became a hit among children and moved production from Georgia to California, the role of Sheriff Coltrane was toned down and made into the more familiar bumbling and comical character that is best remembered today. On the set, Best was particularly close to Sorrell Booke
Sorrell Booke
Sorrell Booke was an American actor who performed on stage, screen, and television. He is best known for his role as the heavyset, corrupt politician "Boss" Hogg in the television show The Dukes of Hazzard....
, who played the character of Boss Hogg
Boss Hogg
Jefferson Davis "J.D." Hogg, better known as "Boss" Hogg, is a fictional character featured in the American television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He was the greedy, unethical commissioner of Hazzard County. A stereotypical villainous glutton, Boss Hogg always wore an all-white suit with a white...
, 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.
The character of Rosco was best known for his love of "hot pursuit," chasing Bo and Luke Duke in car chases that usually ended badly, either with Rosco losing them, a "horrendous crash," or some other problem (such as "scuffing his vehicle"). Rosco was a bachelor and childless, so he was also known for his love of his pet basset hound, Flash (introduced at the start of the third season, at the suggestion of Best), whom he loved and treated as it was his child. Rosco was also known for insulting and yelling at his deputies, Enos Strate
Enos Strate
Enos Strate is a character on the television series, The Dukes of Hazzard played by Sonny Shroyer.-Fictional biography:Enos was born in Hazzard County to a loving family, and grew up as friends with Bo and Luke Duke. At the age of sixteen, he enrolled at the Hazzard Police Academy, graduated at the...
(played by Sonny Shroyer
Sonny Shroyer
Otis Burt "Sonny" Shroyer, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in various television and movie roles. He is best known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Enos Strate in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He also starred in a spin-off called Enos based on his Dukes of Hazzard character...
) and Cletus Hogg
Cletus Hogg
Deputy Cletus Hogg is a fictional character featured in the American television series, The Dukes of Hazzard. He was played by Rick Hurst....
(played by Rick Hurst
Rick Hurst
Richard Douglas "Rick" Hurst an American actor who portrayed Deputy Cletus Hogg, Boss Hogg's cousin, in the 1980 to 1983 seasons of The Dukes of Hazzard....
), most often calling them "dipstick" and he also often lied to them about the crooked plans that he and Boss Hogg were working on.
Later career
In 1991, in contrast to the comic Coltrane of Dukes of Hazzard, Best appeared in an episode of the NBC crime drama In the Heat of the NightIn the Heat of the Night
In the Heat of the Night is a 1967 mystery film based on the John Ball novel In the Heat of the Night published in 1965, which tells the story of a black police detective from Philadelphia who becomes involved in a murder investigation in a racist small town in Mississippi. The film won five...
. He won the Crystal Reel Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Nathan Bedford in the episode Sweet, Sweet Blues
Sweet, Sweet Blues
"Sweet, Sweet Blues" is an award winning episode of the NBC drama series In the Heat of the Night, starring Carroll O'Connor as Chief Bill Gillespie and Howard Rollins as Detective Virgil Tibbs.In the Heat of the Night was based on the 1965 novel by John Ball, which was also the basis for the...
. In the episode, directed by Vincent McEveety
Vincent McEveety
Vincent Michael McEveety is an American director and producer.- Career :TelevisionVince McEveety has directed numerous Emmy Award winning television series, including The Untouchables, Gunsmoke, six Star Trek , Magnum, P.I., How the...
and written by William James Royce
William James Royce
- Career :TelevisionWilliam Royce began his television career writing for the NBC television series In the Heat of the Night, starring Emmy Award winning actor Carroll O'Connor as Chief William O. Gillespie and Academy Award nominee Howard Rollins as Detective Virgil Tibbs...
, Best plays a repentant killer who has to come to terms with his crime.
He later moved to Florida and taught at the University of Central Florida
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida, commonly referred to as UCF, is a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States...
. 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
Hickory, North Carolina
Hickory is a city in Catawba County, North Carolina. Hickory has the 162nd largest urban area in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 341,851, making it the 4th largest metropolitan area in North Carolina. The city's population was 37,222...
.
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
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
for two years prior to his stint on The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :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
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
on August 27.
Personal life and family
Best married Jobee Ayers, in 1959. They had two daughters, Janeen and Jojami. They divorced in 1977. Best also has a son, Gary, from a previous marriage.He married his current wife, Dorothy Best, in 1986. Best is also the father-in-law of actor-singer Michael Damian
Michael Damian
Michael Damian Weir is a long-time American actor, Billboard #1 recording artist and producer, known mainly for his role as singer Danny Romalotti on the soap opera The Young and the Restless, which he played from 1980 to 1998.-Career:Damian made his feature film debut as an actor in the Garry...
.
Partial filmography
- Winchester '73 (1950) as Crator
- Comanche Territory (1950) as Sam
- Kansas Raiders (1950) as Cole Younger
- Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible ManAbbott and Costello Meet the Invisible ManAbbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man is a 1951 comedy horror film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the team of Abbott and Costello alongside Nancy Guild.The film depicts the misadventures of Lou Francis and Bud Alexander, two private detectives investigating the murder of a...
(1951) as Tommy Nelson (Arthur Franz's stand-in) - The Beast from 20,000 FathomsThe Beast from 20,000 FathomsThe Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a 1953 science fiction film directed by Eugène Lourié and stars Paul Christian, Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway with visual effects by Ray Harryhausen. The film is about an atomic bomb test in the Arctic Circle that unfreezes a hibernating fictional dinosaur, a...
(1953) as an unnamed radar operator - SeminoleSeminole (film)Seminole is a 1953 American western film directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Rock Hudson and Anthony Quinn. Much of the film was shot in the Everglades National Park, Florida, USA.-Plot:...
(1953) as Capt. Gerard - The Caine MutinyThe Caine Mutiny (film)The Caine Mutiny is a 1954 American drama film set during World War II, directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Stanley Kramer. It stars Humphrey Bogart, José Ferrer, Van Johnson and Fred MacMurray, and is based on the 1951 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Herman Wouk The Caine Mutiny. The film...
(1954) as Lt. Jorgensen (uncredited) - Forbidden PlanetForbidden PlanetForbidden Planet is a 1956 science fiction film directed by Fred M. Wilcox, with a screenplay by Cyril Hume. It stars Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon, and Anne Francis. The characters and its setting have been compared to those in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and its plot contains certain...
(1956) as an unnamed crewmember - The Naked and the DeadThe Naked and the Dead (film)The Naked and the Dead is a 1958 widescreen film based on Norman Mailer's World War II novel The Naked and the Dead. Directed by Raoul Walsh and filmed in Panama the screenplay attributed to the Sanders Brothers adds a strip tease and larger action scenes to Mailer's original narrative...
(1958) as Pvt. Rhidges - The Left Handed Gun (1958) as Tom Folliard
- The Killer ShrewsThe Killer ShrewsThe Killer Shrews is a 1959 science fiction film directed by Ray Kellogg. It has been released on DVD and is considered a cult classic. It was featured in the fourth season of Mystery Science Theater 3000, as well as the first season of the similar show This Movie Sucks!.-Plot:Thorne Sherman and...
(1959) as Thorne Sherman - Verboten!Verboten!Verboten! is a 1959 film written, produced and directed by Samuel Fuller. It was the last film of the influential but troubled RKO studio, which co-produced it with Fuller's own Globe Enterprises. It was filmed at the RKO Forty Acres backlot...
(1959) as David Brent - The Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
(TV series, 1960-1968) as Jim Lindsey - The Mountain RoadThe Mountain RoadThe Mountain Road is a 1960 war film starring James Stewart and directed by Daniel Mann. Based on a book by Theodore White, the film follows the attempts of a U.S. Army major to destroy bridges and roads potentially useful to the Japanese during World War II.Starting on Sunday, June 28, 1959,...
(1961) as Niergaard - Shock CorridorShock CorridorShock Corridor is a 1963 film, directed and written by Samuel Fuller. The film tells the story of a journalist who gets himself committed to a mental hospital in order to track an unsolved murder.-Plot:...
(1963) as Stuart Couter - The Quick Gun (1964) as Sheriff Scotty Wade
- ShenandoahShenandoah (film)Shenandoah is a 1965 American Civil War film starring James Stewart, Doug McClure, Glenn Corbett, Patrick Wayne, and Katharine Ross. The picture was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. Though set during the American Civil War, the film's strong antiwar and humanitarian themes resonated with audiences...
(1965) as Carter - Three On A CouchThree On A CouchThree on a Couch is a comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis.Filmed from September 13-December 1, 1965, it was released on July 7, 1966 by Columbia Pictures. Co-starring are Janet Leigh, James Best, Mary Ann Mobley and Kathleen Freeman....
(1966) as Dr. Ben Mizer - FirecreekFirecreekFirecreek is a 1968 western movie directed by Vincent McEveety and starring James Stewart and Henry Fonda in his second role as an antagonist that year. The film is similar to High Noon in that it features an entire town refusing to help a peace officer against outlaws, showing no backbone...
(1968) as Drew - SounderSounder (film)Sounder is a 1972 film starring Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Kevin Hooks, Carmen Mathews, Taj Mahal, Eric Hooks and Janet MacLachlan. It was adapted by Lonne Elder III and directed by Martin Ritt from the 1970 Newbery Medal-winning novel Sounder by William H...
(1972) as Sheriff Young - Ode to Billy JoeOde to Billy Joe (film)Ode to Billy Joe is a 1976 film with a screenplay by Herman Raucher, inspired by the 1967 hit song by Bobbie Gentry, titled "Ode to Billie Joe" ....
(1976) as Dewey Barksdale - NickelodeonNickelodeon (film)Nickelodeon is a 1976 comedy film directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starring Ryan O'Neal, Burt Reynolds, and Tatum O'Neal. According to Bogdanovich, the film was based on true stories told to him by silent movie directors Alan Dwan and Raoul Walsh...
(1976) as Jim - Rolling ThunderRolling Thunder (1977 film)Rolling Thunder is a 1977 film starring William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones. The film was directed by John Flynn. The screenplay was by Paul Schrader and Heywood Gould.-Plot:...
(1977) as Texan - HooperHooper (film)Hooper is a 1978 action-comedy motion picture starring Burt Reynolds, based loosely on the experiences of director Hal Needham, a one-time stuntman in his own right...
(1978) as Cully - CentennialCentennial (miniseries)Centennial is a 12-episode American television miniseriesthat aired on NBC from October 1978 to February 1979. It was based on the novel of the same name by James A. Michener. The miniseries was produced by John Wilder....
(TV miniseries, 1978) as Hank Garvey - The Dukes of HazzardThe Dukes of HazzardThe Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
(TV series, 1979–1985) as Sheriff Rosco P. ColtraneSheriff Rosco P. ColtraneOn the American TV series The Dukes of Hazzard, Rosco Purvis Coltrane is the bumbling sheriff of Hazzard County and right-hand man of its corrupt county commissioner, Jefferson Davis "J.D." Hogg .... - The DukesThe DukesThe Dukes is an animated series which ran on CBS in 1983 based directly on the popular live-action television series The Dukes of Hazzard.-Plot:...
(TV series, 1983) as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane - In the Heat of the NightIn the Heat of the Night (TV series)In the Heat of the Night is a television series based on the motion picture and novel of the same name. It was broadcast on NBC from 1988 until 1992, and then on CBS until 1995...
(Tv series, 1991) as Deputy/Sherrif Nathan Bedford - Crystal Reel Award, Best Actor - Moondance AlexanderMoondance AlexanderMoondance Alexander is a comedy/drama directed by Michael Damian and written by Janeen Damian. The film was released in North America in October, 2007. The story is set in Colorado and is based on actual events from the life of Janeen Damian. It stars Kay Panabaker as the title character and Lori...
(2007) as friend and storekeeper of the Alexander's (based on life of real-life daughter Janeen)