James Best as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane
James Best (July 26, 1926 – April 6, 2015) was an American actor, who in six decades of television is best known for his starring role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He also worked as an acting coach, artist, college professor, and musician.
Best was born as Jules Franklin Guy in Powderly, Kentucky, on July 26, 1926. His mother was the sister of Ike Everly, the father of the pop duo The Everly Brothers. After his mother died in 1929, the three-year-old James was sent to live in an orphanage. He was later adopted by Armen Best (1897-1984) and his wife Essa (1896-1988) and went to live with them in Corydon, Indiana. He served honorably in the United States Army Air Forces as a gunner on a B-17 bomber during World War II.
James Best on Frontier
James Best on Twilight Zone
