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James Best

General Information (James Best)

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Mostly Credited As:

James Best

Sometimes Credited As:

James K. Best
Jimmy Best
Jim Best

Birth Name:

Jules Guy

Date Of Birth:

July 26, 1926 (Age 83)

Country Of Birth:

USA

Birth Place:

Powderly, Kentucky

Height:

6' 1" (1.85 m)

Spouse
Dorothy Best	Aug/15/1986 - Present

James began his acting career shortly after WWII by doing a play titled "My Sister Eileen" on a European tour. He then returned to New York and appeared on the stage in both Summer and Winter stock theater versions of the same play. He then moved on to Broadway performing in the musical "Marinka" for 18 months. He was noticed by an executive of Universal Studios and received a 2 year contract to make movies. The result was the making of 83 motion pictures and over 600 TV appearances.

Best went into a brief retirement in the early '70s and began teaching drama at the University of Mississippi. But after four years he signed with Warner Brothers and began acting in his most memorable role as Roscoe P. Coltrane in "The Dukes of Hazzard." In 1992, Best returned to teaching at the University of Central Florida. James has been an actor, teacher and an accomplished painter during his long and productive career.

James Best TV Appearances

Main cast

Show: The Dukes(1983)	As: Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane -- [Voice]
Show: The Dukes of Hazzard(1979)	As: Sheriff Rosco P. Coltraine

Episode Cast Credits

Show: CMT Insider (2004)
	• Special Edition: The Dukes of Hazzard	(2006)	As	Himself
Show: Inside Fame (2001)
	• Dukes of Hazzard	01x02: (2005)	As	Himself
Show: E! True Hollywood Story (1996)
	• The Dukes of Hazzard	05x03: (Jan/21/2001)	As	Himself
Show: In the Heat of the Night (1988)
	• Sweet, Sweet Blues	05x08: (Nov/26/1991)	As	Nathan Bedford
Show: B.L. Stryker (1989)
	• Night Train	02x07: (May/05/1990)	As	Unknown
Show: The Midnight Special (1973)
	• Host: John Schneider	09x23: (Mar/13/1981)	As	Himself
Show: Enos (1980)
	• Horse Cops	01x05: (Dec/17/1980)	As	Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane
Show: How the West Was Won (1978)
	• Luke	02x09: (Apr/02/1979)	As	Sheriff Gruner
Show: Centennial (1978)
	• The Scream of Eagles	01x12: (Feb/04/1979)	As	Hank Garvey
Show: The Manhunter (1974)
	• The Windy City	01x23: (Mar/12/1975)	As	Kenny Wagner
Show: Hawkins (1973)
	• Blood Feud	01x05: (Dec/04/1973)	As	Unknown
Show: Dan August (1970)
	• Murder by Proxy	01x01: (Sep/23/1970)	As	Wiley
Show: Lancer (1968)
	• Goodbye, Lizzie	02x23: (Apr/28/1970)	As	Clay
Show: Gunsmoke (1955)
	• Charlie Noon	15x07: (Nov/03/1969)	As	Charlie Noon
	• The Glory and the Mud	09x14: (Jan/04/1964)	As	Sam Beal
	• With a Smile	08x29: (Mar/30/1963)	As	Dal Creed
Show: The Guns of Will Sonnett (1967)
	• Robber's Roost	02x15: (Jan/17/1969)	As	Harley Bass
	• Meeting at Devil's Fork	01x08: (Oct/27/1967)	As	Rake Hanley
Show: The Felony Squad (1966)
	• The Distant Shore	03x11: (Dec/02/1968)	As	George 'Lucky' Collins
	• Flame Out	01x06: (Oct/17/1966)	As	Arnold Wyatt
Show: The Mod Squad (1968)
	• The Price of Terror	01x08: (Nov/26/1968)	As	Frank Lynch
Show: I Spy (US) (1965)
	• Suitable for Framing	03x23: (Mar/25/1968)	As	The Doctor
	• Lisa	02x13: (Dec/07/1966)	As	Sam
Show: Bonanza (1959)
	• The Price of Salt	09x19: (Feb/04/1968)	As	Vern Schaler
	• The Legacy	05x11: (Dec/15/1963)	As	Page
	• The Fugitive	02x20: (Feb/04/1961)	As	Carl Reagan
Show: Hawk (1966)
	• Blind Man's Bluff	01x17: (Dec/29/1966)	As	Emile
Show: The Green Hornet (1966)
	• Deadline for Death	01x12: (Dec/02/1966)	As	Yale Barton
Show: The Iron Horse (1966)
	• High Devil	01x03: (Sep/26/1966)	As	Chico
Show: Perry Mason (1957)
	• The Case of the Unwelcome Well	09x25: (Apr/03/1966)	As	Allan Winford
	• The Case of the Surplus Suitor	06x19: (Feb/28/1963)	As	Martin Potter
Show: The Virginian (1962)
	• Letter of the Law	04x14: (Dec/22/1965)	As	Curt Westley
Show: Honey West (1965)
	• A Matter of Wife and Death	01x04: (Oct/08/1965)	As	Unknown
Show: Burke's Law (1963) (1963)
	• Steam Heat	03x03: (Sep/29/1965)	As	Tucson, 'The Cowboy'
Show: Flipper (1964) (1964)
	• The Call of the Dolphin	01x29: (Apr/03/1965)	As	Dr. Peter Kellwin
Show: Ben Casey (1961)
	• A Little Fun to Match the Sorrow	04x22: (Mar/08/1965)	As	Dr. Joe Sullivan
	• Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast	03x10: (Nov/13/1963)	As	Simon Waller
Show: Daniel Boone (1964) (1964)
	• The Devil's Four	01x21: (Mar/04/1965)	As	Jethro Wyatt
Show: Death Valley Days (1952)
	• Hero of Fort Halleck	13x02: (Oct/09/1964)	As	Jim Campbell
	• Sixty-Seven Miles of Gold	12x09: (Jan/14/1964)	As	Jimmy Burns
	• The $275,000 Sack of Flour	11x06: (Oct/10/1962)	As	Ruel Gridley
	• Million Dollar Wedding	03x10: (Mar/01/1955)	As	Tiny Stoker
Show: Rawhide (1959)
	• Incident of El Toro	06x26: (Apr/09/1964)	As	Unknown
	• Incident of the Rawhiders	06x08: (Nov/14/1963)	As	Brock Quade
	• Incident at Spider Rock	05x16: (Jan/18/1963)	As	Willy Cain
Show: The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962)
	• The Jar	02x17: (Feb/14/1964)	As	Tom Carmody
Show: Combat! (1962)
	• Mail Call	02x21: (Feb/04/1964)	As	Trenton
Show: The Fugitive (1963) (1963)
	• Terror at High Point	01x13: (Dec/17/1963)	As	Dan
Show: Redigo (1963)
	• Little Angel Blue Eyes	01x06: (Oct/29/1963)	As	Les Fay
Show: The Gallant Men (1962)
	• The Warriors	01x20: (Feb/23/1963)	As	Pvt. Hook
Show: The Twilight Zone (1959)
	• Jess-Belle	04x07: (Feb/14/1963)	As	Billy-Ben Turner
	• The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank	03x23: (Feb/23/1962)	As	Jeff Myrtlebank
	• The Grave	03x07: (Oct/27/1961)	As	Johnny Rob
Show: General Electric True (1962)
	• Open Season	01x14: (Jan/06/1963)	As	Ernie Swift
Show: Cheyenne (1955) (1955)
	• Sweet Sam	07x03: (Oct/08/1962)	As	Sam
	• Satonka	07x02: (Oct/01/1962)	As	Ernie Riggins
Show: Hawaiian Eye (1959)
	• Day in the Sun	04x01: (Oct/02/1962)	As	Johnny Olin
Show: Bronco (1958)
	• Then the Mountains	04x18: (Aug/20/1962)	As	Banton
Show: The Rifleman (1958)
	• The Day the Town Slept	04x29: (Apr/16/1962)	As	Bob Barrett
Show: 77 Sunset Strip (1958)
	• The Long Shot Caper	04x27: (Mar/23/1962)	As	Babe Mackie
Show: Laramie (1959)
	• The Runaway	03x17: (Jan/23/1962)	As	Johnny Best
	• Company Man	01x21: (Feb/09/1960)	As	Ben Leach
	• The Lawbreakers	01x06: (Oct/20/1959)	As	Dallas
Show: SurfSide 6 (1960)
	• One for the Road	02x03: (Oct/02/1961)	As	Ernie Jordan
Show: Whispering Smith (1961)
	• The Hemp Reeger Case	01x11: (Jul/17/1961)	As	Hemp Reeger
Show: Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) (1955)
	• Make My Death Bed	06x37: (Jun/27/1961)	As	Bish Darby
	• Cell 227	05x34: (Jun/05/1960)	As	Hennessy
	• Death Sentence	03x30: (Apr/27/1958)	As	Norman Frayne
Show: The Andy Griffith Show (1960)
	• The Guitar Player Returns	01x31: (May/15/1961)	As	Jim Lindsey
	• The Guitar Player	01x03: (Oct/17/1960)	As	Jim Lindsey
Show: Stagecoach West (1960)
	• The Dead Don't Cry	01x30: (May/02/1961)	As	Mike Pardee
	• The Arsonist	01x19: (Feb/14/1961)	As	Jack Craig
	• High Lonesome	01x01: (Oct/04/1960)	As	Les Hardeen
Show: The Barbara Stanwyck Show (1960)
	• The Choice	01x28: (Apr/17/1961)	As	Joe
Show: Michael Shayne (1960)
	• Strike Out	01x23: (Mar/10/1961)	As	Danny
Show: Have Gun, Will Travel (1957)
	• A Quiet Night in Town (2)	04x18: (Jan/14/1961)	As	Roy Smith
	• A Quiet Night in Town (1)	04x17: (Jan/07/1961)	As	Roy Smith
	• The Long Night	01x10: (Nov/16/1957)	As	Andy Fisher
Show: Bat Masterson (1958)
	• Dakota Showdown	03x08: (Nov/17/1960)	As	Danny
	• Stampede at Tent City	01x04: (Oct/29/1958)	As	Joe Best
Show: The DuPont Show With June Allyson (1959)
	• Love on Credit	02x08: (Nov/17/1960)	As	Jovan Wilanskov
Show: The Rebel (1959)
	• Deathwatch	02x06: (Oct/23/1960)	As	Abel Wares
	• Night on a Rainbow	01x34: (May/29/1960)	As	Ted Evans
Show: Lock-Up (1959)
	• Beau and Arrow Case	02x05: (Oct/22/1960)	As	Roy
Show: The Overland Trail (1960)
	• The Escort Detail	01x15: (May/22/1960)	As	Frank Cullen
Show: Men into Space (1959)
	• Beyond the Stars	01x31: (May/11/1960)	As	Lt. John Leonard
Show: The Texan (1958)
	• Killer's Road	02x33: (Apr/25/1960)	As	Clay Kirby
Show: General Electric Theater (1953)
	• Aftermath	08x28: (Apr/17/1960)	As	Hardy Coulter
Show: Wagon Train (1957)
	• The Clayton Tucker Story	03x18: (Feb/10/1960)	As	Art Bernard
	• The Colonel Harris Story	03x15: (Jan/13/1960)	As	Bowman Lewis
	• The Andrew Hale Story	02x35: (Jun/03/1959)	As	Garth English
Show: Pony Express (1959)
	• The Story of Julesberg	01x01: (1960)	As	Unknown
Show: Ford Startime (1959)
	• Cindy's Fella	01x11: (Dec/15/1959)	As	Duke
Show: The Lineup (1954)
	• Lonesome as Midnight	06x08: (Nov/18/1959)	As	Unknown
Show: The Man and the Challenge (1959)
	• Maximum Capacity	01x02: (Sep/19/1959)	As	David Mallory
Show: Frontier Justice (1958)
	• The Three Graves	02x01: (Jul/06/1959)	As	Pyke Dillon
Show: The David Niven Show (1959)
	• Portrait	01x10: (Jun/16/1959)	As	Frank Simms
Show: Black Saddle (1959)
	• Client: Nelson	01x16: (May/02/1959)	As	Ben Travers
Show: Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958)
	• Six-Up to Bannach	01x19: (Jan/10/1959)	As	Luke Perry
	• Sheriff of Red Rock	01x13: (Nov/29/1958)	As	Stoner
Show: Behind Closed Doors (1958)
	• The Enemy on the Flank	01x09: (Dec/04/1958)	As	Webb
Show: Trackdown (1957)
	• Sunday's Child	02x12: (Nov/21/1958)	As	Joe Sunday
	• The Mistake	01x27: (Apr/18/1958)	As	Bud Ehlers
	• The Marple Brothers	01x01: (Oct/04/1957)	As	Rand Marple
Show: The Restless Gun (1957)
	• Jebediah Bonner	02x01: (Sep/22/1958)	As	Jim Kenyon
Show: The Millionaire (1955)
	• Millionaire Fred Morgan	05x03: (Sep/17/1958)	As	Fred Morgan
Show: Tombstone Territory (1957)
	• Guilt of a Town	01x23: (Mar/19/1958)	As	Matt Porter
Show: Climax! (1954)
	• The Secret Love of Johnny Spain	04x22: (Feb/20/1958)	As	Shag
Show: Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1951)
	• Guys Like O'Malley	07x15: (Jan/10/1958)	As	guest star
Show: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1957)
	• The Merry-Go-Round Case	01x12: (Sep/23/1957)	As	Jack Milhoan
Show: West Point Story (1956)
	• Dragoon Patrol	01x37: (Jun/14/1957)	As	William Purdom
Show: Zane Grey Theater (1956)
	• The Three Graves	01x14: (Jan/04/1957)	As	Pyke Dillon
Show: Cavalcade of America (1952)
	• Woman's Work	05x08: (Nov/20/1956)	As	guest star
	• One Day at a Time	04x07: (Nov/15/1955)	As	Harry
	• Night Strike	01x16: (Apr/29/1953)	As	guest star
Show: Frontier (US) (1955)
	• Out From Texas	01x28: (Jun/24/1956)	As	Jason Cartwright
	• The Texicans	01x12: (Jan/08/1956)	As	Ben Reed
Show: The Adventures of Champion (1955)
	• Andrew And The Deadly Double	01x15: (Feb/13/1956)	As	Unknown
	• The Stone Heart	01x11: (Dec/13/1955)	As	Unknown
Show: The Lone Ranger (1949) (1949)
	• Framed for Murder	04x47: (Jul/28/1955)	As	Jim Blake
Show: Buffalo Bill Jr. (1955)
	• The Death Of Johnny Ringo	01x06: (Mar/22/1955)	As	Larry Martin (as Jimmy Best)
Show: The Adventures of Kit Carson (1951)
	• The Phantom Uprising	04x24: (Jan/08/1955)	As	guest star
	• Frontier Empire	04x18: (Nov/27/1954)	As	guest star
Show: The Gene Autry Show (1950)
	• Hoodoo Canyon	04x07: (Aug/17/1954)	As	Ray Saunders
	• The Holdup	04x03: (Jul/20/1954)	As	Bank Teller
Show: Annie Oakley (1954)
	• Annie and the Outlaw's Son	01x26: (Jul/03/1954)	As	guest star
	• Outlaw Mesa	01x25: (Jun/26/1954)	As	Scott Warren
Show: Stories of the Century (1954)
	• Little Britches	01x22: (Jun/17/1954)	As	Dave Ridley
Show: Hopalong Cassidy (1952)
	• Silent Testimony	02x20: (Feb/19/1954)	As	Rick Alston
Show: The Lux Video Theatre (1950)
	• Three Just Men	04x14: (Dec/10/1953)	As	Clem Wallace
Show: Hallmark Hall Of Fame (1951)
	• McCoy of Abilene	03x03: (Oct/18/1953)	As	guest star

James Best Crew Credits

Episode Crew

Show: The Dukes of Hazzard (1979) (Credited in 3 episodes from this show)		Filter List; Show only credits as: Director (3 Credits)
• Cale Yarborough Comes to Hazzard	07x09	Nov/23/1984	As: Director
• Dead and Alive	06x14	Jan/20/1984	As: Director
• Diamonds in the Rough	04x03	Oct/23/1981	As: Director